Introduction

Although William Wilfred Campbell is the subject of one of the earliest book-length studies of a member of the Confederation group, Carl F. Klinck’s Wilfred Campbell: a Study in Late Provincial Victorianism (1942, 1977), he has yet to be given the full biographical treatment accorded, for example, to Charles G.D. Roberts. The following transcription of "An Intimate Picture of Wilfred Campbell" by his daughter, Faith L. Malloch, will not fill that void, but it will provide a useful supplement, not only to Klinck’s work, but also to the various brief accounts of Campbell’s life that appear in W.J. Sykes’ edition of his Poetical Works (1922), in George Wicken’s "William Wilfred Campbell (1858-1918)" in Canadian Writers and Their Works (1983) and in Laurel Boone’s Introduction to the Selected Poetry and Prose (1987) and her entry in volume 14 of the Dictionary of Canadian Biography.

In the Bibliography in Wilfred Campbell: a Study in Late Provincial Victorianism, Klinck mentions "An Intimate Picture of Wilfred Campbell" as "a valuable biographical sketch" consisting of "89 pages in typewritten copy." That typescript remained in Klinck’s possession until his death in 1990, at which point it went into the custody of a friend, who passed it on to me in the Spring of 2003. Among the materials appended to it (which include an index and maps of England and Scotland) as well as the items included below) is a note in Klinck’s hand that reads:

This book was typed from the original Mss. Contained in an exercise book, the property of Mrs. Malloch and obtained for me by her brother, Mr. Basil B. Campbell of Toronto. Typed during the later part of January, 1931. Finally checked and corrected by myself, February 12, 1931. Three copies were typed.

On the first page of the typescript, a note, also in Klinck’s hand, reads "Property of Carl F. Klinck".

The Present Text

The present text of "An Intimate Picture of Wilfred Campbell" is based on the typescript that Klinck evidently commissioned and corrected in 1931. Obvious spelling and typographical errors have been corrected. Where errors or lacunae have dictated the addition of a letter, word, or punctuation mark, it has been set off in square brackets.

The present text was transcribed as well as edited by Kat Evans and Julia Obert.

So far as the Canadian Poetry Press has been able to ascertain, "An Intimate Picture of Wilfred Campbell" is not subject to copyright, but any information in this regard would be gratefully received.