In July 1998 Sheffield Hallam University added the Corvey Travel Writing collection to its holdings of belles-lettres texts from the Corvey Microfiche Edition. The collection contains 994 titles of geographical works and travel literature in English dating mainly from the period 1790-1830. SHU is currently the only university in Britain to possess this rare and unique archive; visiting students and scholars are welcome.

Enquiries should be directed to: Professor Robert Miles, The Corvey Project, English Studies, Sheffield Hallam University, 32 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield S10 2BP, UK. Tel: 0114 225 2256 Email: R.D.Miles@shu.ac.uk The Travel Writing catalogue is based on a checklist provided by the publisher of this section of the CME, Olms New Media (Email: info@olms.de).

The following is a summary of information about the Travel Writing collection provided by Olms. History and Overview of the Collection Between 1800 and 1834, Victor Amadeus, Landgrave of Hesse-Rötenburg, collected a total of 774 contemporary travelogues in English (the remainder were collected by others: 29 in the 18th century; the rest later in the 19th century). Although the collection represents only a small fraction of the massive Corvey library holdings (approximately 67,000 volumes in all, with 13,800 volumes in English), it neverthless constitutes a highly significant and valuable archive, being both historically dense and diverse in its geographic coverage. Destinations The most fully-represented destination is Continental Europe (256 titles): Southern Europe is the subject of 140 titles; Central Europe, 57 titles; South-eastern Europe, 16 titles, Northern Europe, 20 titles; Eastern Europe, 28 titles. Coverage of the British Isles alone accounts for 187 titles. There are also large holdings relating to the Americas (186 titles in total) – 101 works on North America, 62 on South America, and seven covering both. Asia and the Near East are described in 112 titles, while the subcontinent of India, is the main subject of 98 travel books. Another 98 travel books deal with the African continent (80 titles) and the Middle East (18 titles). Australia is the subject of 30 travelogues. Subgenres There are 42 tales of shipwrecks and pirates; 19 South Sea voyages; 15 travel books describing several continents; 15 historical travel books of the Courts of England, France, and Spain in the 14th century; 13 collections; five descriptions of cities; two journeys to the Arctic regions; and five fictitious travel books. Authorship Fifty-three titles in the collection were published anonymously, while 131 titles were written by male authors, and 41 by female authors. Among the noted literary figures with works included in the Collection are Marguerite, Countess of Blessington, Lady Mary Wortley Montague, Lady Sydney Morgan, Frances Trollope, Edward G. Bulwer Lytton, James F. Cooper, Daniel Defoe, Charles Dickens, Washington Irving, Matthew G. Lewis, Frederick Marryat, Charles Sealsfield, and Laurence Sterne.