Six Autograph Letters Signed and one Autograph Note Signed (all 'J. H. Trumbull') from the philologist James Hammond Trumbull to Thomas Raynesford Lounsbury, mainly on a paper by the latter in the Transactions of the American Philological Association

The seven items in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Totalling 10pp, 12mo. A correspondence between two Yale men. The first six items (between 11 April and 29 June 1871) relate to Lounsbury's 'paper on old English verb forms, for publication in the Transactions [of the Amerian Philological Association]'. A letter of 8 May 1871 is revealing of the difficulties encountered by Trumbull in editing the journal: 'Your paper is safe in hand, and I do not apprehend any trouble with it, typographical or other. As to punctuation, I have so far left every man to do as seemed best to him, - but as Profs. Hadley & Whitney have "led off", I will instruct the printers to conform as nearly as possible to their pattern, for the sake of uniformity. | I have now waited ten days for the return of a revise from Prof. Goodwin of Harvard, - and four compositions have been sitting still. | I can sympathize with your pangs of mental travail. My brains have not worked at more than half-caterpillar power for a month, - and every page has cost me more time to spoil than a half-quin ordinarilly does. [postscript] I shall send you proofs of course, - when we get them. How many extra copies do you want?' On 12 June 1871 he comments: 'White's article in the Galaxy was the best thing he can do. I honestly admired it, as a bit of fine play. [...] And having said so much, I feel at liberty to add, that I was delighted by the rejoinder in the "Courant". You have "counted" every time, and need have no fear of the game. I feel a personal interest in the matter - having saved White's book a grudge ever since I read early installments in the Galaxy.' The last letter discusses the question of 'where to send [Lounsbury] for a good bibliography of glossaries of English dialects and provincialisms'.