Title: Charles E. Mudie Collection, 1816-1897
ID: 01/MSS00042
Primary Creator: Mudie, Charles E. (1818-1890)
Extent: 0.3 Cubic Feet
Arrangement: The collection is arranged in two major series: correspondence and mixed materials. Correspondence is arranged in alphabetical order.
Subjects: Libraries
Charles Edward Mudie (1818-1890) was a British publisher, author, and founder of Mudie's Select Library, a London-based circulating library for members at an affordable subscription rate. With the assistance of his family, Mudie was able to establish a Victorian-era network of publishers and writers to support and maintain the library.
Mudie curated the books of his Select Library in accordance with Victorian morals, limiting titles to subjects such as science, biography, fiction and "adventure" (travel). The lending of books was facilitated by holding multiple copies of particular works. The concept of Mudie's Select Library proved successful with the opening of three branches outside of London, these located in York, Manchester, and Birmingham.
Charles Edward Mudie was born on October 18, 1818 in Chelsea, London, to Margaret Wilson (1781-circa 1862) and Thomas Mudie (1781-1851), a bookseller and stationer. Mudie worked under his father at T. Mudie & Sons (later Mudie & Sons Ltd.) until 1840, when he opened his own shop, selling newspapers and stationery, as well as lending books.
By 1842, book-lending became his primary area of interest and he founded Mudie’s Select Library, a circulating library with modest subscription rates that made books more accessible to a middle class audience. The “Select” of this library’s naming is attributed to Mudie’s role in choosing the materials suitable for the collection, assuming the role of “unofficial protector of public morals.”
Mudie’s Select Library thrived through the 1860s, when he was able to open new branches in Birmingham and Manchester. Much of this success can be attributed to his purchases of newly-released titles from publishers in large quantities, which provided Mudie with a discounted price and eager subscribers with a shortened wait time, subscription rates starting at one guinea per year, and plentiful advertisements in popular newspapers and periodicals. At its height, Mudie’s Select Library serviced approximately 50,000 subscribers and held about one million volumes.
Mudie fully retired in 1884; his son, Arthur Oliver Mudie (1854-1936) had assumed control of the Library in 1879 after the death of his elder brother, Charles Henry Mudie (1850-1879). The Library began its slow decline in the early 1890s, when publishers began to move away from the popular three-volume novel format, and eventually closed in 1937.
Mudie married Mary Kingsford Pawling (1820-1898) on April 20, 1847; the couple shared eight children. He died on October 28, 1890 in Hampstead, London.
Repository: Rare Book & Manuscript Library, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Access Restrictions: Open to researchers.
Use Restrictions:
The RBML reproductions policies can be found here:
http://www.library.illinois.edu/rbx/ReproductionServices.htm
The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.
Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study scholarship or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would damage materials or involve violation of copyright law.
Submit request (Aeon)
