Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1830-1930 / (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
53 volumes.
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
John Thomas (Pencerdd Gwalia, 1826-1913), harpist, was born on St David's Day 1826 in Bridgend, Glamorgan. At the age of twelve, he won the prize of a new triple-strung harp at the 1838 Abergavenny National Eisteddfod. From 1840 to 1846, sponsored by Ada, Lady Lovelace, Thomas studied at the Royal College of Music. During the 1850s he gave concerts throughout Europe. From 1850 to 1910 he published over two hundred works, including editions of harp works by Handel, Spohr and Mozart, and four volumes of his own Welsh Melodies for harp and voice (1857, 1862, 1870, 1874). From 1862 Thomas promoted some forty annual concerts of Welsh music, which included large choral sounds and multiple harps. At the National Eisteddfod of Aberdare in 1861 he was invested with the title 'Pencerdd Gwalia'. In 1871 Thomas succeeded to the post of professor at the Royal Academy of Music and the following year was appointed harpist-in-ordinary (and, in 1885, musician-in-ordinary) to the queen; following Victoria's death in 1901 he continued as harpist to Edward VII. Thomas married Alice Ann Keate (1855-1880) in 1878; he married his second wife, Joan Frances Denny (1849-1926) in 1885; both were his former pupils. He gave his last concert on 17 June 1905 and died 19 March 1913.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
NLW MSS 19118-19146; Lt-Gen. Sir G. Ivor Thomas; Bushey Heath; Donation; 1950
NLW MS 19147E; Mr Philip Fitzhugh Stryker; Washington, DC; Purchase; October 1965
NLW MS 21822D; Phillips; London; Purchased at auction, lot 546; 10 June 1982; B1982/15.
NLW MSS 23389-23409; British Library; London; Donation (previous provenance unknown); March 1995; A1995/38.
NLW MS 23795A; Mrs Mary Grindley; Mottingham, London; Donation; 1999
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Papers, 1830-1930, of or relating to John Thomas (Pencerdd Gwalia), including original musical manuscripts, mainly compositions and arrangements for the harp, 1853-1905; correspondence mainly relating to his concerts, compositions and travels, and to musical circles in London and Wales, 1842-1930; journals of European concert tours, 1851-1883; concert programmes, 1851-1905; papers of his wife, Joan Frances Thomas, 1878-1926, including tour journals, 1878-1883; and passports, 1873, 1885.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Arranged according to NLW MSS reference numbers: NLW MSS 19118-19147, 21822D, 23389-23409, 23795A.
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Readers consulting modern papers in the National Library of Wales are required to abide by the conditions set out in information provided when applying for their Readers' Tickets, whereby the reader shall become responsible for compliance with the Data Protection Act 1998 in relation to any processing by them of personal data obtained from modern records held at the Library.
Conditions governing reproduction
Usual copyright laws apply.
Language of material
- English
- French
- German
- Italian
- Russian
- Welsh
Script of material
Language and script notes
English, Welsh, French, German, Italian, Russian.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
The contents of NLW MSS 23389-23409 are indexed in greater detail in Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, vol. 9 (Aberystwyth, 2003).
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents.
Alternative identifier(s)
Virtua system control number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Thomas, John, 1826-1913 -- Archives. (Subject)
- Thomas, Joan Frances, 1849-1926. (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Description follows NLW guidelines based on ISAD(G) 2nd ed.; AACR2; and LCSH
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
April 2009 and June 2012.
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
Sources
The following sources were used in the compilation of this description: Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume 8 (Aberystwyth, 1999); Handlist of Manuscripts in the National Library of Wales, Volume 9 (Aberystwyth, 2003); Y Bywgraffiadur Cymreig hyd at 1940 (London, 1953); Oxford Dictionary of National Biography WWW site, viewed 21 April 2009.
Archivist's note
Description compiled by Bethan Ifans for the retrospective conversion project of NLW MSS and revised by Rhys Morgan Jones.