About the George Finlay Papers
The George Finlay Papers contain materials created by and related to the British Historian and Philhellene George Finlay, his father John Finlay, Greek-American Philhellene George Jarvis, and British Philhellene Captain Frank Abney Hastings, dating from 1791 to 1949. Most of the collection consists of George Finlay’s meticulous records of his travels, personal and official correspondence, his personal expenditures, copious memoranda on strategy and on military and political organisation, journal entries, maps, facetiae, scrapbooks, personal notes on people—Greeks and others—and on revolutionary events, newspaper cuttings mainly on Greece and international affairs, as well as Finlay’s original manuscripts of the History of the Greek Revolution (1861) as well as corrected proofs of Finlay’s other published works.
Also included are the papers of Finlay’s father, John, two journals of Greek American philhellene, George Jarvis, and those of Finlay’s fellow British philhellene, Captain Frank Abney Hastings. The Hastings papers, which Finlay purchased in 1830, include personal and official correspondence, ship’s logs, notes that he took on board or ashore, as well as memoranda on strategy and on the naval organisation of the revolutionary forces. Collectively, these records reveal a great deal about the character, motivations, ideas, as well as the military and political judgements of these British individuals, as well as of many others, both British and Greek, with whom they interacted during the Greek War of Independence as well as many of Finlay's other interests, such as Classical and Byzantine history, natural history and politics.
William Mure to George Finlay. n.d. re visit to Prokesch and Gordon (previously attached to front flyleaf of William Mure, Journal of a Tour in Greece . . ., vol. l, London, 1842). Visiting card of Col. Mure pasted on front pastedown.
Robert G. Watson to George Finlay. n.d. Thanks for loan of book (previously attached to front flyleaf of F. R. Chesney, Expedition . . ., vol. l , London, 1850).
Georg-Christian Gropius to Mrs. Finlay n.d. Invitation to her, with George Finlay and Miss Groot [? Grocott], to meet at Mme Prokesch's house that evening (in French, stuck on front flyleaf of W. R. Wilde, Narrative of a Voyage . . ., vol. 2, Dublin, 1840).
Ludwig Ross to George Finlay. 13 December n.y. Regrets illness prevents acceptance of invitation, and requests loan of Spon and Guillet (in French, stuck on front flyleaf of L. R., Reisen auf den griechischen Inseln . . ., vol. l, Stuttgart, 1840).
James Skene to George Finlay. n.d. Asks for loan of Arundell, Asia Minor. (Loose in front of A. Forbiger, Handbuch der alten Geographie, vol. 1, Lepizig, 1842.)
James Skene to George Finlay. n.d. Returns Arundell, Asia Minor. (Loose in front of A. Forbiger, Handbuch der alten Geographie, vol. 1, Lepizig, 1842.)
G. Werthern to George Finlay. n.d. Invitation to meet German archaeologists (in French; previously loose in front of C. Boetticher, Der Baumkultus der Hellenen, Berlin, 1856).
General Sir Richard Church to George Finlay. n.d. Asks if he may delay return of book on Dacia lent by George Finlay (stuck on front flyleaf of J. A. Vaillant, La Romanie . . ., Paris 1844+loose newspaper cuttings).
News clippings on 'Turkey' (1858), 'The Servian Insurrection and the Hungarian Government of 1848-9' (The Times, 27 November 1851), and untitled undated clipping on 'the state of the Danubian provinces now under Austrian domination.' (found loose in J. A. Vaillant, La Romanie . . ., Paris 1844+loose newspaper cuttings).
Millingen's itinerary from Smyrna to Kiutaya, with newspaper cutting 'Turkey in Asia' from our own correspondent [on Erzerum] (previously loose in front of H. Kiepert, Memoir über die Construction der Karte von Kleinasien . . ., Berlin, 1854).
James Clyde to George Finlay. n.d. Thanks for receipt of newspapers (previously stuck on back flyleaf of J. A. Cramer, A Geographical and Historical Description of Ancient Greece, vol. 1, Oxford, 1828).
Ludwig Ross to George Finlay. n.d. Requests loan of E. L. Bulwer on Athens and the Athenians (previously stuck on front flyleaf of E. L. B., Athens and its Rise and Fall . . ., London, 1837).
Clipping of letter to The Times from 'Senex' concerning Lord Melbourne and Lord Brougham, 8 April 1869 (previously loose in Brougham, Political Philosophy, London, 1843).
Clipping of letter to The Times from M. D. Hill, concerning Lives of Lord Lynhurst and Lord Brougham by Lord Campbell, 1869 (previously loose in Brougham, Political Philosophy, London, 1843).
Clipping on The Late Lord Brougham and his Dentist (previously loose in Brougham, Political Philosophy, London, 1843).
Clipping on The Late Lord Brougham and his Dentist (previously loose in Brougham, Political Philosophy, London, 1843).
Newspaper clipping of Lord Brougham's arguments on sugar and the slave trade (previously loose in Brougham, Political Philosophy, London, 1843).
Newspaper clipping on 'The Memory of Canning and the Conduct of Peel' and 'Lord Stanley's Protest against the Corn Bill' (previously loose in Brougham, Political Philosophy, London, 1843).
Clipping on The North of Italy and the Crown and Government Security Bill, The Times, 12 April 1848 (previously loose in Brougham, Political Philosophy, London, 1843).
G. Wagner to George Finlay. n.d. Invitation to dine with Queen of Prussia (previously stuck on front flyleaf of J. von Muller, Sämmtliche Werke, Pt. 21, Tübingen, 1816).
Several pages from beginning of book. Two visiting cards of Mr le Dr Hopf, contents written by George Finlay, two letters from Carl Hopf in German, dated 3 August 1852 and 24 February 1863 (Previously bound into De historiae ducatus Atheniensis Fontibus, Bonne, 1852).
8 clippings of letters to The Times concerning Byron's "Childe Harold" and Byron's "Lines to the Ocean", 1873 (previously loose inside The Complete Works of Lord Byron, Paris, 1835)
Clipping on 'The Recal (sic) of Sir Harry Smith' (previously loose inside Greek, Ionian and Turkish Papers 1862-1863, London)
Clipping on 'Turkey in Asia', April 1854 (previously loose in Heinrich Kiepert, Memoir über die Construction der Karte von Kleinasien und Turkisch Armenien, Berlin, 1854)
Letter from Diomedon Kysiakos to George Finlay, Athens, 8 / 20 April 1865. (previously loose in E. Puillon Boblaye, Recherches géographiques sur les ruines de la Morée, Paris, 1836.)
Scrap addressed to the English Embassy in Greek (previously loose in Protocols and Papers on the affairs of Greece, London, 1826-1846)
Church to George Finlay, no date. (previously loose in Correspondence Respecting the Relations between Greece and Turkey, 1854, London, 1854)
Note on ancient lead weights (previously loose in An Essay on the Ancient Weights and Money, by Robert Hussey, Oxford, 1836).
Note on ancient weights (previously loose in An Essay on the Ancient Weights and Money, by Robert Hussey, Oxford, 1836).
? to George Finlay, Athens, 18th July, 1844 (previously loose in Correspondence Relating to the Recent Events in Greece, 1843-44, London, 1844)
Clipping on 'Antiquities from Cyprus,' The Times, 14 December 1872 (previously loose in by Charles Newton, Travels and discoveries in the Levant, vol. I, London, 1865)
XXVI Tags Befehl für das Königl. Greich. Heer. (previously loose in Αιών. Athens, 1838 - [1887]). Bilingual in Greek and German
Stephanos A. Kumanudes to George Finlay, 8 June 1872. Requests a copy of an article on his sepulchral inscriptions. (previously loose in Αττικής επιγραφαί επιτύμβιοι, Athens, 1871)
Manilla paper enclosure with cuttings pasted and loose and letters and draft letters loose, on the dispute over the change in postal fees for newspapers being send abroad. 1867-1868.
(Previously bound in Correspondence Relative to the Affairs of Greece, London, 1865). 6 letters, 5 cuttings, 2 notes
Former binding, with sheets of pasted clippings and notes. Clippings cover populations of the Ionian islands, the secretaryship of the Ionian islands, revolt against the British, election results in the islands, insurrection in Cephalonia. Notes on the islands and some book titles on the Ionian islands. Visiting card of G. Ferguson Bowen. (From George Ferguson-Bowen, The Ionian Islands under British Protection, London, 1851)
George Finlay's own library is at present split: certain works have been placed in the main library of the British School at Athens and the rest are housed (together with a number of modern works) in the students' common room or in the archive room. Items in this section can be identified only by the title of the book and the shelf-mark and as far as possible they are arranged here chronologically. 'George Finlay' after the present shelf-mark indicates that the book has not been transferred to the main library. This is an interim report: the collection is so widely dispersed and neither this nor the School Library has yet been professionally catalogued so that it is possible that some letters in books may have been overlooked.
The library shelf numbers of the books where the items were found are listed in the 'Library Shelf Number' field.
Please note that Joan Hussey listed the letters in chronological order in the FIN/GF/B/09 series. This means that letters with different dates but found in the same book can appear separately in the series.
Set of documents grouped together in Hussey catalogue and includes: Election to Corresponding Membership of the lnstituto di Correspondenza Archeologica di Roma (9 December 1839).
Enclosed-letter of the Editor of the Society (3 March 1838) and letter of the same (22 February 1840).
Black folder, leather spine tied top, bottom, and side, 'George Finlay' in gilt on front cover, some loose sheets. The A-E categories below have been copied from the type-written sheets in the folder.
The records in Folder A (FIN/GF/A/21/1 - FIN/GF/A/21/7) are miscellaneous papers.
The records in Folder B (FIN/GF/A/21/8 - FIN/GF/A/21/15) are passports.
The records in Folder C (FIN/GF/A/21/16 - FIN/GF/A/21/32) are diplomas, honours conferred, etc.
The records in Folder D (FIN/GF/A/21/33 - FIN/GF/A/21/40) are miscellaneous correspondence.
The records in Folder E (FIN/GF/A/21/41) are miscellaneous photographs There is a miscellaneous newspaper clipping at the end (FIN/GF/A/21/42)
Portrait photograph pasted on card of a seated older George Finlay, with interlaced hands and looking off camera. Written in pencil at the bottom in Greek is, 'Πόνσο', and on the back 'George Finlay'
George Finlay's bookplate stamp with his family crest, motto and signature.
Seated portrait of George Finlay, when he is older, holding a book. Cut into oval as if it had once been frame.
The collection contains John Finlay, Frank Hastings and George Jarvis’ personal papers as well as those of George Finlay, although George Finlay’s papers form the bulk of the collection.
The collection includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, commonplace books, catalogues of books, journals, drafts of Finlay’s History of the Greece, a sketchbook, log books, commonplace books and account books. Many of the letters are pasted or copied by Finlay into letter books. These records give an overview of the Greek War of Independence and especially the role of the British philhellenes, as well as many of Finlay's other interests, such as Classical and Byzantine history, natural history and politics. Finlay had a wide range of correspondents, both Greek and British.
The collection also contains the personal papers of Frank Abney Hastings, with Hastings' naval involvement in Greece heavily represented.
Greece was one of the last European countries to adopt the newer Gregorian calendar. For most of the nineteenth century, the Julian calendar was 12 days behind the Gregorian. British correspondents in the Finlay Collection tend to use the newer calendar. Letters with two dates 12 days apart, eg. 24 April / 6 May 1828, refer to both the Julian and Gregorian calendars.