Collection
The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum opened to the public in 1901 and holds a collection of over 8,000 items relating to Johnson, his circle, and Lichfield in the 1700s.
The collection includes prints and paintings, furniture, manuscripts and books, including many early and rare editions of Johnson’s work. Many significant books were obtained through two major donations, now housed in the libraries named after their donors: the Hay Hunter and Blum Libraries. The Wood library, named after the first chairman of the Birthplace Committee, holds over 2,000 volumes and serves as the Museum’s study space. We have many personal items in the collection, including Samuel Johnson’s armchair, teapot, breakfast table and portable writing desk. We also have David Garrick’s walking stick, and a bookcase belonging to James Boswell.
The Museum holds a significant manuscript collection including signature letters from Samuel Johnson and his family, and other important figures such as James Boswell, Anna Seward, Hester Piozzi, Joshua Reynolds, and Sarah Siddons.
Search the collection
The whole collection is available to search here.
You can also view our painting collection on the Art UK website (external site).
Our pre-1800 books can be searched on the British Library’s ‘English Short Title Catalogue‘ (external site). To see our holdings, choose ‘Search the ETSC’, ‘Browse Libraries’ and search for ‘The Samuel Johnson Birthplace Museum’. More records are being added regularly.
Accessing the collection
Many items from the collection are on permanent display at the Museum.
We welcome visits from researchers wishing to use the collection. Please visit our visiting for research page to find out more.
Developing our collection
We occasionally add to the collection and are always interested in finding out about items relating to Samuel Johnson or the history of our building and Lichfield in the 1700s. For more information on how we develop our collections you can read our full policy here.
Gifting an object
Due to limited space, we are unfortunately unable to accept every object that is kindly offered to the Museum, so please contact us in the first instance if you are considering gifting an object. Please send us details about the object, including photographs, measurements, and provenance to sjmuseum@lichfield.gov.uk We are always grateful for the generosity of our supporters but please do not bring the object to the Museum without prior contact.
‘Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it.’
