Laurence Hutton (August 8, 1843 – June 10, 1904) was an American essayist and critic.

Biography

Hutton was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on August 8, 1843, and educated privately there. He was an inveterate traveler and for about 20 years spent his summers abroad. From about 1870 he contributed continually to periodicals. He was the dramatic critic of the ''New York Evening Mail'' from 1872 to 1874. From 1886 to 1898 he was the literary editor of ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

''. He was one of the organizers of the

Authors' Club The Authors' Club is a British membership organisation established as a place where writers could meet and talk. It was founded by the novelist and critic Walter Besant in 1891. It is headquartered at the National Liberal Club. The Authors' C ...

and of the International Copyright League, and was a member of the Players' Club, the Princeton Club, and the Nassau Club. An ardent collector of literary curiosities, his collections are of remarkable interest. In 1892 he received the degree of A.M. from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and an honorary Master of Art degree from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1897. From 1901 until his death in 1904, he was a lecturer of English at Princeton. Hutton died of pneumonia in New York City in 1904. He left a collection of papers (Laurence Hutton Papers), 801 rare books, and a collection of death masks to the

Princeton University Library Princeton University Library is the main library system of Princeton University. With holdings of more than 7 million books, 6 million microforms, and 48,000 linear feet of manuscripts, it is among the largest libraries in the world by number of ...

. After his death, his friend Samuel Elliott donated $2,500 in his memory to endow the Laurence Hutton Prize, awarded annually to the top student in the

Princeton University Department of History Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

Death mask collection

According to Princeton University, Hutton's collection of life and death masks contains about 100 masks and is the largest of its kind in the United States.

Frank Weitenkampf Frank Weitenkampf, (13 April 1866 - August 23, 1962), was an American authority on engraving and chief of the art and print departments at the New York Public Library (NYPL), where his papers are archived. Biography Weitenkampf was born at 132 Br ...

quotes Hutton and the ''Epoch'' magazine on its genesis:''Manhattan Kaleidoscope'', Frank Weitenkampf, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1947, page 186. Princeton maintains an online repository of death-mask images from the collection
"Laurence Hutton Collection of Life and Death Mask, A Pictorial Guide by John Delaney"

Works

His writings on dramatic subjects include: * ''Plays and Players'' (1875) * ''Curiosities of the American Stage'' (1891) * ''Memoir of

Edwin Booth Edwin Thomas Booth (November 13, 1833 – June 7, 1893) was an American stage actor and theatrical manager who toured throughout the United States and the major capitals of Europe, performing Shakespearean plays. In 1869, he founded Booth's Th ...

'' (1893) * with

Brander Matthews James Brander Matthews (February 21, 1852 – March 31, 1929) was an American academic, writer and literary critic. He was the first full-time professor of dramatic literature at Columbia University in New York and played a significant role in est ...

, ''Actors and Actresses of

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and of the United States'' (1886–87) * ''A Boy I Knew'' (1899) He edited the '' American Actor Series'' (1881–82) and published a group of delightful literary guidebooks, including: * ''Literary

Landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

s of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

'' (1887) * ''

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

'' (1892) * ''

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

'' (1895) * ''

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

'' (1896) * ''

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

'' (1897) * ''

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

'' (1897) * ''Literary Landmarks of the Scottish Universities'' (1904) Other works: * ''Portraits in Plaster, from the Collection of Laurence Hutton'', Harper & Brothers, New York (1894)

References

External links

* * *
Works by Laurence Hutton
at

Hathi Trust HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries. Its holdings include content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digit ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutton, Laurence American essayists Writers from New York City 1843 births 1904 deaths

Biography

Death mask collection

Works

References

Further reading

External links