After months of financial belt-tightening, Harvard College Library (HCL) announced last Friday that a major donation of rare 18th-century books, paintings and artifacts has checked in to Houghton Library.

The bulk of the gift, given to Harvard by the estate of celebrated book collector Mary Hyde Eccles, contains original letters, drafts and manuscripts written by Samuel Johnson, the writer and scholar widely known for creating the first modern English dictionary in 1755.

Johnson, a massively inspirational literary force, produced a diverse body of work that includes political journalism, poetry, essays, fiction, fairytales and drama.

According to Gurney Professor of English Literature James Engell, the newly acquired materials will be a resource for students and faculty.

“I was delighted to hear the news,” he said. “I think it’s a wonderful thing for Harvard University, and it’s a wonderful thing for the scholarly world as a whole. That material now simply belongs to the world of letters, and you know that it’s going to be preserved.”

In accordance with Hyde Eccles’ will, Harvard received her entire 18th-century literary collection, which, in addition to the Johnson writings, includes materials by his colleagues and friends.

“What’s always exciting about it is to introduce a group of juniors who are working on their thesis,” HCL Curator of Manuscripts Leslie Morris said of the acquisition. “They may have read the Penguin edition of Boswell’s Life of [Samuel] Johnson, but to show the corrected proof of the book brings the process of creation and the history of literature much closer.”

The collection will be housed in Houghton’s Donald Hyde Memorial Room and will be made available to students and faculty after two years of cataloguing.

Engell, Harvard’s resident expert on Johnson, says that he is eager to incorporate the Hyde collection into his English courses as soon as it becomes available.

“I think it’s invaluable as a teaching aid. It brings it to life in a way a modern printed version never does,” Engell said.

According to Engell, the collection at Harvard will attract scholars from all over the world in a way that Hyde Eccles’ private library never could, despite its open-door policy.

Morris said that under Hyde Eccles’ ownership, anyone who demonstrated a legitimate research interest could access the collection.

“They didn’t try to keep it secret,” she said. “They had a very nice library in their home in New Jersey, and all of the noted Johnson scholars have worked there over the past two generations.”

Engell has spent his share of time in the Hyde Eccles’ private collection, examining handwritten poetry and studying Johnson’s composition style through marginal notes and corrections.

Fearrington Librarian of the Houghton Library William P. Stoneman said the collection will serve as a portal into the scholarly dialogue among Johnson’s friends and colleagues.