A major UK library has honoured late Irish writer the literary icon by reissuing a reader's card in his honor, 130 years after his initial was revoked following his conviction for "gross indecency".
The celebrated author and dramatist was barred from the institution's study area in the late 19th century over his prosecution for having had homosexual relationships, which was a illegal act at the time.
This replacement pass, which will be collected by his descendant, writer Merlin Holland, on Thursday, is intended to "acknowledge the injustices and immense suffering" Wilde faced, the institution said.
The grandson said the reissued pass is a "lovely gesture of forgiveness" and "I believe his memory will be honored and pleased".
The ruling to withdraw the author's access for the reading room - then the British Museum reading room - was recorded without comment in the trustees' minutes for 15 June 1895.
He had been in prison for three weeks at the time after being given a two-year prison sentence with hard labour.
The author was found guilty after he was defeated in a defamation case against Lord Queensberry, who had charged him of being homosexual after discovering that his offspring, Bosie, was the author's partner.
The library regulations at the time said anyone convicted of a offence should have their card revoked.
'Jail correspondence deeply impactful'
The national library holds original manuscripts of some of Wilde's most well-known plays including "The Importance of Being Earnest", "An Ideal Husband", "A Woman of No Importance" and Lady Windermere's Fan.
Its collection also includes De Profundis, the letter he penned to Lord Alfred Douglas from Reading Gaol.
Mr Holland, the only living descendant of the writer, will receive the new card at a event at the location on what would have been his grandfather's 171st birth anniversary.
Commenting on the occasion, Mr Holland said he felt both "proud" of his relative and somewhat weighted by the duty of managing his heritage.
"People will so often write in to me and say, 'I cannot tell you how much your grandfather's De Profundis meant to me'" he stated.
"It has a note of positivity at the end... he's going to come out of prison and do something again".
"Readers have expressed, 'During deep personal despair, I turned to De Profundis, and your relative's jail writings provided immense comfort'".
The library chair, head of the British Library, described Wilde as "a foremost 19th-century literary personality".
She said that by reinstating his library card, "our aim is to commemorate Wilde's legacy while recognizing the grave injustices he suffered due to his legal case".
She continued that they were "delighted" to receive his grandson - who is the writer of a new book, "After Oscar: The Aftermath of a Scandal" - to receive the pass on his part.