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James Wilson Poultney papers

 Collection — Box: 1
Identifier: MS-0325

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of literary papers and organizational reports of author and Classics professor, James Wilson Poultney. Included are reprints of Dr. Poultney's writings in the American Journal of Philology, minutes and reports from his position as secretary of the American Philological Association, and the holographic manuscript of his published work, The Bronze Tables of Iguvium. There are no personal papers in the collection or material specific to his teaching career at Hopkins.

In the collection are 28 reprints of articles and reviews written by Dr. Poultney and published in philological journals. The largest number is from the American Journal of Philology (1964-1987) where Dr. Poultney served as contributing editor. Dr. Poultney also published in Indo-European Studies, Classical World, and Language.

Dr. Poultney became a member of the American Philological Association in 1932, later serving as secretary in the late 1950s. In the collection are financial reports, committee reports, minutes, correspondence, and membership information, 1956-1958.

One part of Dr. Poultney's contributions to philological research is represented by the final item in the collection. In 1959, his work on the Iguvium tables, the extant records of the dialects and language of pre-Roman Italy, was published. In the collection is the holographic manuscript which is nearly three hundred pages in length. The manuscript pages do not include the "Lexicon and Index Verborum" which forms Section IV of the published work. The published work is titled The Bronze Tables of Iguvium.

Dates

  • Creation: 1956-1987

Creator

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.

Biographical Note

James Wilson Poultney, author and philologist, was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, September 21, 1907. He entered The Johns Hopkins University in 1925 and received the M.A. degree in 1932 and the Ph.D. in Greek, 1934. He began teaching Greek at the University in 1932 and remained on the faculty until 1937. Dr. Poultney taught in the Classics Department at Carthage College in Illinois until 1942 when he left to enter the Army Air Force. After service in World War II, he taught at the University of Pennsylvania until 1947. Dr. Poultney then returned to Hopkins as professor of Classics, a position he held until his retirement in 1973 when he was appointed Professor Emeritus.

Dr. Poultney was a member of several scholarly associations including the Archaeological Institute of America, the Linguistic Society of America, and the American Philological Association. While a member of the Philological Association, he published many articles and reviews in the organization's journal, and he served as secretary of the society for a period during the late 1950s.

Dr. Poultney was also a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. In the 1962 edition, he was responsible for 28 articles including one for each letter of the alphabet. He also reviewed classical translations for the Sunpapers (Baltimore, MD) and published two book on philological topics. The Syntax of the Genitive Case in Aristophanes was published in 1936; The Bronze Tables of Iguvium in 1959.

Extent

0.167 Cubic Feet (.5 document box)

Language of Materials

English

Provenance

The papers were given to the University by Dr. James Wilson Poultney, May 1991. The Accession Number is 90-91.41.

Related Materials

Related material of the American Philological Association can be found in the Basil Lanneau Gildersleeve Papers MS.0005 and the Johns Hopkins University Collection MS.0137.

Processing Information

Finding aid prepared by Joan Grattan in May 1992.

Title
James Wilson Poultney papers
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA