Fonds MS-2-660 - Samuel Ernest Sprott fonds

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Samuel Ernest Sprott fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record

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Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

MS-2-660

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1929-1996, predominantely 1958-1978 (Creation)

Physical description area

Physical description

3 m of textual records. - 3m of textual material ; 1 audio cassette ; 64 slides ; 26 rolls of microfilm

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Archival description area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Samuel Ernest Sprott, known as Ernest or “Ern”, was born December 4th, 1919 in Hobart Tasmania, Australia to Moses and D. Florence (Harris) Sprott. He received his M.A. (1942) and B.D (1947) from the University of Melbourne, and went on to Columbia University where he received his Ph.D. in 1954. He was a lecturer at Barnard College at Columbia from 1947 to 1949 and an instructor at Brooklyn College during the summer of 1948. Sprott went on to McGill where he was an assistant professor from 1949 to 1954 in the department of English, and joined the Faculty of English at Dalhousie University in 1958.

While at Dalhousie he was a committee member of the Dalhousie Faculty Association (1963-1965), Faculty Council of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (1963-1965), Committee on Tenure, Salaries and Promotions, Department of English (1969-1973), Committee on Research Fund (Humanities, etc.), Graduate Studies (1969-1972), Selection Committee of the Woodrow Wilson Foundation (1963-1964) and Canada Council (1966-1967) and Chairman of the Theatre Building Committee (1963-1965) and the Library Building Committee (1964-1965).

Sprott, a writer and lecturer, attended the weekly Distinguished Speakers Series of the English Department until his death. He was published in the Dalhousie Review, Philological Quarterly, Publications of the Modern language Association, as well as published books including Milton’s Art of Prosody (1953), The English Debate on Suicide from Donne to Hume (1961), John Milton: A Maske, the earlier versions (1973) and a book of poems titled Poems (1955). He was also a collector of Australian literature and donated his collection, the S.E. Sprott Australian Literature Collection, to the Killam Library at Dalhousie University in 1984.

On May 20th, 2009 Dr. Sprott died at his home, his final lecture “Shakespeare’s Hall Plays-A Fiftieth Anniversary Lecture” took place January 22, 2009.

Custodial history

Records were donated in three accessions. The first accession came in 1994 and consisted of records from the department of English, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Class Records and committee papers. The following two accessions came after Sprott's death in 2009, which contained microfilm and slides, personal papers, copies of published material, theatre and travel brochures and ILL requests.

Scope and content

This fonds consists of records created and accumulated by Dr. Samuel Ernest Sprott. Types of files include correspondence, class lecture notes and materials, reading lists, exams, notes and English department supplements, Library committee meeting minutes and reports and other committee papers Sprott was associated with, manuscripts and published journal articles and books and records from the Faculty of Arts and Science and Graduate Studies, such as events and meetings.

Series include Class Records ; Correspondence ; Dalhousie University Libraries ; Department of English ; Faculty of Arts and Science ; Faculty of Graduate Studies ; McGill University ; Microfilm ; Personal Papers ; Published Work ; and Slides

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Language and script note

English

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

All files are open, except Class Records are closed until 2024.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room. Materials may be under copyright. Contact departmental staff for guidance on reproduction.

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Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

General note

Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Samuel Ernest Sprott fonds, MS-2-660, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

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