Bolton Corney

Bolton Corney(1784–1870) was an English army officer and official, known as a critic and antiquary.

Life

Corney was born atGreenwichon 28 April 1784, and baptised in the parish church of St. Alphage. He obtained in 1803 a commission as ensign in the28th Foot.Later he was at Greenwich, where he held the post of first clerk in the steward's department at theRoyal Hospital.He retired in 1845 or 1846, when he married, and moved toBarnes, Surrey,where he lived to his death on 30 August 1870, surrounded by his books.^[1]

Corney was a member of the council of theShakspere Societyand theCamden Society,and an auditor of theRoyal Literary Fund.He engaged in controversy withAnthony Panizziof theBritish Museum.^[1]

Works

Corney's works were:^[1]

Researches and Conjectures on the Bayeux Tapestry[Greenwich, 1836], London 1838. He contended that the tapestry was not executed till 1205, and his view was adopted byJohn Lingard.Édouard Lambert (1794–1870) published a reply to Corney,Réfutation des objections faites contre l'antiquité de la Tapisserie de Bayeux,’ Bayeux, 1841.
Curiosities of Literature by I. D'Israeli illustrated,Greenwich [1837], criticism ofIsaac D'Israeliwho replied inThe Illustrator illustrated[1838], prompting Corney to bring out a second edition, withIdeas on Controversy, deduced from the practice of a Veteran; and adapted to the meanest capacity.
On the new General Biographical Dictionary: a Specimen of Amateur Criticism, in letters to Mr. Sylvanus Urban,Lond. 1839, privately printed. Letters originally published in theGentleman's Magazine,criticising the work ofHugh James Rose.
Comments on the Evidence of Antonio Panizzi, Esq., before the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the British Museum, A.D. 1860;privately printed.
The Sonnets of William Shakspere: a Critical Disquisition suggested by a recent discovery(by V. E. Philarète Chasles, relating to the inscription which precedes the sonnets in the edition of 1609) [Lond. 1862]; privately printed.
An Argument on the assumed Birthday of Shakspere: reduced to shape,1864; privately printed.

He edited:^[1]

From manuscriptAn Essay on Landscape GardeningbySir John Dalrymple, 4th Baronet,Greenwich, 1823;
The Seasonsby James Thomson, with illustrations designed byThe Etching Club,1842;
Oliver Goldsmith'sPoetical Works, illustrated, with a Memoir,1846;
The Voyage of Sir Henry Middleton to Bantam and the Maluco Islands in 1604(for theHakluyt Society), 1855;
Of the Conduct of the Understanding, by John Locke,1859.

Corney was a contributor toNotes and QueriesandThe Athenæum;and he made collections onWilliam Caxton,which he provided toWilliam Blades.^[1]

Family

Around 1846 Corney married Henrietta Mary Pridham, eldest daughter of Richard Pridham R.N. ofPlymouth.He left an only son, Bolton Glanvill Corney, born 1851, of the Royal College of Surgeons, who was appointed government medical officer in Fiji.^[2]

Notes

^^a ^b ^c ^d ^eStephen, Leslie,ed. (1887)."Corney, Bolton".Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 12. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
^Taylor, Clare L. "Corney, Bolton".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6330.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)

External links

Attribution

This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain:Stephen, Leslie,ed. (1887). "Corney, Bolton".Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 12. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

[DNB-1] Stephen, Leslie,ed. (1887)."Corney, Bolton".Dictionary of National Biography.Vol. 12. London: Smith, Elder & Co.

[ODNB-2] Taylor, Clare L. "Corney, Bolton".Oxford Dictionary of National Biography(online ed.). Oxford University Press.doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/6330.(Subscription orUK public library membershiprequired.)

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