John S. Mayfield and the Swinburne Series

Located in Georgetown in Washington D.C., the Special Collections Research Center at Georgetown University is home to several special collections of rare manuscripts and books. One collection housed at the university is the John S. Mayfield Papers.

John S. Mayfield was born in Meridian, Texas. In 1930, Mayfield received his BA from the University of Texas. Two years later, he earned his MA at Southern Methodist University. Mayfield was a military man. He was an auditor for the United States army and government, and later worked as the chief of recruitment, training, and placement in the General Accounting Office in Washington, D.C. Mayfield also served as a lieutenant commander with the United States Navy during World War II. Following the war, Mayfield returned to D.C., where he worked with the War Assets Administration and the Department of Defense.

In 1950s, Mayfield transitioned to a career in the private sector. It was also in the 1950s that Mayfield had solidified his reputation as an avid book collector and bibliophile. He became the curator of the division of manuscripts and rare books at the Syracuse University Library. After his retirement, Mayfield held a position with Georgetown University Library Associates.

Mayfield was recognized as one of the leading collectors of works by Algernon Charles Swinburne, maintaining what was possibly the largest private collection of content produced by the Victorian poet. What could be his greatest achievement was his assemblage of first edition copies of Swinburne’s Atalanta in Calydon. With this collection, Mayfield was able to put to rest the rumor that only one hundred copies of this first edition had been published; he collected one hundred and one copies.

Also in Mayfield’s collection was the original manuscript of Swinburne’s grotesque and controversial poem “The Leper” from his equally grotesque and controversial collection of poetry Poems and Ballads, which Mayfield also had a first edition copy of. One of the most fascinating pieces of Mayfield’s collection is a private journal that had been kept by Swinburne, presumably during his years at Oxford.

Image of Algernon Charles Swinburne’s private journal.

Mayfield’s collection was donated to the Special Collections Research Center at Georgetown University and is currently maintained by specialists Lisette Matano, Lulen Walker, Mat Darby, and Ethan Henderson. The fragile books are handled with extreme care, and the manuscripts are held inside protective plastic cases. In 2010, Matano spearheaded an exhibit highlighting this collection called “A Swinburne Gallimaufry: Selections from the John S. Mayfield Papers,” which was described as follows: “This exhibition marks the centenary of the death of the great Victorian lyric poet, Algernon Charles Swinburne. More exactly, it is a celebration of his work, as well as of the accomplishments of one – if not the – most devoted of his collectors, John S. Mayfield.” Currently, the collection remains on reserve at Georgetown for students and researchers to observe and study.