British Library will reinstate Oscar Wilde's revoked reading pass
THE British Library has confirmed it will reinstate an historic reader pass once belonging to Oscar Wilde which was revoked when he was found guilty of 'gross indecency' in 1895.
'After 130 years, the British Library plans to symbolically reinstate the Reader Pass that belonged to the renowned poet and writer Oscar Wilde,' the organisation confirmed this month.
'As revealed in a Trustees' entry in the British Museum's Standing Committee Papers, Wilde was officially excluded from the Library on June 15 in 1895, which at the time was still known as the British Museum's Reading Room,' they explain.
Wilde's exclusion from the library is referenced in trustees papers from May 1889 to April 1896, in the British Museum Archive (Pic: Trustees of the British Museum)
'The decision to revoke Wilde's Reader Pass was made following the trial and conviction he faced as a result of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, which criminalised acts of "gross indecency" between men.'
Theya added: 'Oscar Wilde is regarded by many as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian age and is celebrated for his prolific literary output, including novels, poems and plays.'
The library holds a collection of Wilde's works, including the handwritten love letter written by Oscar Wilde to Lord Alfred Douglas from Reading Gaol titled De Profundis.
His reinstated pass will be officially handed over to Wilde's only grandson Merlin Holland at a special event due to be held at the library in October 2025.
During the event Holland will launch his new book After Oscar, which is described as 'the definitive study of the rise and fall of Oscar Wilde'.
The book will be released on October 16, 2025 to coincide with Wilde's 171st birthday.
See More: British Library, Merlin Holland, Oscar Wilde, Reading Pass
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Irish Post
4 days ago
- Irish Post
British Library will reinstate Oscar Wilde's revoked reading pass
THE British Library has confirmed it will reinstate an historic reader pass once belonging to Oscar Wilde which was revoked when he was found guilty of 'gross indecency' in 1895. 'After 130 years, the British Library plans to symbolically reinstate the Reader Pass that belonged to the renowned poet and writer Oscar Wilde,' the organisation confirmed this month. 'As revealed in a Trustees' entry in the British Museum's Standing Committee Papers, Wilde was officially excluded from the Library on June 15 in 1895, which at the time was still known as the British Museum's Reading Room,' they explain. Wilde's exclusion from the library is referenced in trustees papers from May 1889 to April 1896, in the British Museum Archive (Pic: Trustees of the British Museum) 'The decision to revoke Wilde's Reader Pass was made following the trial and conviction he faced as a result of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, which criminalised acts of "gross indecency" between men.' Theya added: 'Oscar Wilde is regarded by many as one of the greatest playwrights of the Victorian age and is celebrated for his prolific literary output, including novels, poems and plays.' The library holds a collection of Wilde's works, including the handwritten love letter written by Oscar Wilde to Lord Alfred Douglas from Reading Gaol titled De Profundis. His reinstated pass will be officially handed over to Wilde's only grandson Merlin Holland at a special event due to be held at the library in October 2025. During the event Holland will launch his new book After Oscar, which is described as 'the definitive study of the rise and fall of Oscar Wilde'. The book will be released on October 16, 2025 to coincide with Wilde's 171st birthday. See More: British Library, Merlin Holland, Oscar Wilde, Reading Pass
Irish Post
4 days ago
- Irish Post
Writing desk and bed belonging to Oscar Wilde fetch high sums at auction
TWO antique items which once belonged to Oscar Wilde have fetched well over their estimated price at auction. A desk and a bed formerly owned by the Irish literary icon featured in Fonsie Mealy's Summer Fine Art & Antique Sale which took place on June 19. The Davenport desk, which was made in 1830, stood in Wilde's study when he lived at 16 Tite Street in west London's Chelsea. It is believed to have been where he wrote some of his most notable works. Despite an estimate of €8k the item proved popular among bidders and it eventually sold for €29k. The Davenport desk which belonged to Oscar Wilde sold for €29k at auction Dublin-born Wilde moved into Tite Street in 1884 with his wife Constance. They went on to have two sons whilst living in the property, where they remained until Wilde's arrest and prosecution for 'gross indecency' in 1895. During his time there, he wrote classics including The Picture of Dorian Gray and The Importance of Being Earnest. The desk was removed from the house by his friend, the artist Mortimor Menpes, shortly before the court-ordered auction of Wilde's possessions following his trial and imprisonment. So too was a French bed once belonging to Wilde's mother, which also went up for auction in this month's sale. A richly carved walnut and ebonised bateau bed, the item, like the Davenport desk, was removed from Wilde's house by Menpes prior to the auction of his possessions on April 24, 1895. Oscar Wilde's mother's bed sold for €15k at auction this month 'It was originally purchased by Lady Wilde (Oscar Wilde's mother) during a visit to Paris in 1878,' the auctioneers state. 'Believed to have been acquired at the Exposition Universelle - the Paris World's Fair of that year - the bed reflects the grandeur and decorative exuberance of mid-late 19th-century French design,' they add. 'The headboard is surmounted by an exquisitely carved coat of arms for the city of Paris, featuring the city's crest—a ship and three fleur-de-lis—topped by a coronet and framed by an oak branch with detailed leaves and acorns on one side, and a finely rendered stem of laurel on the other. 'Below this, a flowing scroll bears the Parisian motto Fluctuat nec mergitur ('[She] is rocked by the waves, but does not sink'), a symbolic and poetic touch befitting the Wilde family's taste for art, symbolism, and continental flair.' The bed, which had an estimate of €4k, sold for €15k when it went under the hammer at Fonsie Mealy's auction house in Co. Kilkenny. See More: Auction, Bed, London, Oscar Wilde, Tite Street, Writing Desk
Irish Independent
20-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Madeleine Keane on books: Oscar Wilde's reader's card is ‘uncancelled' by the British Library, 130 years on
Plus the Cork Midsummer Festival, and something for Beatles fans too Today at 09:30 After 130 years, the British Library plans to symbolically reinstate the reader pass that belonged to Oscar Wilde. Wilde was officially excluded from the Library on June 15, 1895, following the trial and conviction he faced as a result of the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1885, which criminalised acts of 'gross indecency' between men.
