Scholar, editor, librarian, philologist.

21 November 1838 – 18 December 1911 

Education

Home educated to a high standard.

Some Key Achievements and Interests

1870 Collected and published a collection of early English trade guild ordinances (a collection started by her father).

Worked as a research assistant for others. Conducted her own research and published scholarly editions of medieval and early modern English and French texts. She translated from French.

1883 Member of the Folklore Society.

1885 Member of the Camden Society which published historical texts including those she submitted for publication.

1883 Published York Plays: The Plays Performed by the Crafts or Mysteries of York, on the Day of Corpus Christi, in the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th Centuries.

1894 Became First official librarian of Manchester College, Oxford.  Remained librarian until 1911 developing its collections.

Contributed to periodicals including Atalanta and wrote entries for the Dictionary of National Biography (eg on her friend Mary Kingsley).

Promoted the profession of librarianship for women. 1899 spoke on this at the International Congress of women in London.

1906 Edited The Itinerary of John Leland in or about the Years 1535-1543 (5 vols).

1909 Published The Shakespeare Allusion-Book: A Collection of Allusions to Shakespeare from 1591-1700.

Issues

Needed to earn her own living and did so through her writing and professional posts. However, much of her research work for scholars was unpaid.

Connection to Bloomsbury

Researched and worked in the British Museum Reading Room.

Female networks
Elizabeth Blackwell, Mary Kingsley.

Some Works

1870 English Gilds: The Original Ordinances of more than one hundred Early English Gilds

1879 Shakespeare’s centurie of prayse; being materials for a history of opinion on Shakespeare and his works, A.D. 1591-1693; Ingleby, C; M ed Lucy Toulmin Smith. 1883 Published York Plays: The Plays Performed by the Crafts or Mysteries of York, on the Day of Corpus Christi, in the 14^th, 15^th and 16^th Centuries

1885 A Grammar Manual.

1899 On Openings for Women in Library Work, Library Association Record, 1, November, pp.719-24.

Further reading

Smith, Lucy Toulmin (1838–1911), literary scholar and librarian | Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (oxforddnb.com)

Women who made (Harris) Manchester College | Harris Manchester College (ox.ac.uk)

Lucy Toulmin Smith – Wikipedia