Irving Rosenwater Collection

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: IR
Held at	: Marylebone Cricket Club Library   Click here to find out how to view this collection at https://www.lords.org/history/ ›
Full title	: Irving Rosenwater Collection
Date(s)	: 1923-2005
Level of description	: Fonds
Extent	: 0.465 cubic metres
Name of creator(s)	: Rosenwater | Irving | 1932-2006 | journalist
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Irving Rosenwater was born on 11 September 1932 at Mile End in London. He was initially known as 'Isidore' and was registered as such on his first birth certificate, until his parents (Rosenwater's father was Polish) decided to change his name. He was educated at Parmenter's Grammar School in Bethnal Green, London.

Rosenwater was a former assistant editor of The Cricketer magazine, founder editor of The Cricket Society Journal, a frequent contributor to Wisden, and a statistician for BBC and Channel 9. He was also a noted cricket writer - his book Sir Donald Bradman - The Biography, released in 1978, won The Cricket Society Literary Award. In 1970, Rosenwater became the cricket scorer for BBC TV, but he left in 1977 to become part of World Series Cricket. Rosenwater died in 2006 in Stepney, London.

Rosenwater was an avid collector of cricket material and the majority of this collection is made up of the period when he worked for BBC and Channel 9 - in particular during the World Series Cricket era - and contains scorecards, scoresheets and reports from that period, as well as ephemera. Also included in this collection is MCC records from the late 1920s-early 1930s, including letters sent to its then Secretary, William Findlay - an indication of Rosenwater's keenness for collecting any kind of cricket material. As Rosenwater was an MCC member he kept a lot of items sent to him during the course of his membership, such as invitations to events and notifications of meetings.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Documents relating to World Series Cricket: player plaintiffs, scoresheets, newspaper cuttings, sponsorships, affidavits, pens, t-shirts, posters, match tickets, seat reservations, correspondence, minutes, emblems, souvenir cards, digital clocks, cassettes, caricatures, iron-on transfers, clothing caps, teaspoons. Ball used during Australia vs. India Test Match in Melbourne, February 1981; Scorecards, reports and statistics from internationals played in Australia, 1980-1987; MCC Receipts at the Pavilion, 1933; letters from the MCC Secretary, 1923-1930; hospitality boxes; copy of the Clark Committee Report and newspaper cuttings, 1966; takings sheets from the Warner Stand and Mezzanine Bar in 1995; dinner menu cards, 1989-2005; receipts; correspondence on laws, 1929, annual reports, newsletters, members catalogues; fixture cards, 1949-2003; tickets, application brochures, pamphlets; MCC rules; membership correspondence 1987-1990; Scoresheets from first-class cricket played in England, c 1970; World Cup 2003 Playing Conditions posters, c 1970-2005

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Arranged into scoresheets, World Series Cricket documents and acquired material.

Conditions governing access:

Access is by appointment only. Records under 30 years are closed to the public for Data Protection purposes, records dated between 30 and 40 years require permission from the Club Secretary before access. All other records are open.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Copies available subject to status and condition of original. Reproduction of scoresheets is not permitted.

Finding aids:

http://mcc.adlibhosting.com/Details/archive/110007554

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Christopher Saunders

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Robert Curphey, MCC Archive Cataloguer. The following sources were used to compile the history of the collection: 'Irving Rosenwater', ESPN Cricinfo, http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/240585.html 'Irving Rosenwater' Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Rosenwater The Irving Rosenwater Collection Part II, Christopher Saunders Books, 2008 The Irving Rosenwater Collection Part III, Christopher Saunders Books, 2008

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in accordance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000. Descriptions are indexed using the UK Archival Thesaurus and UNESCO Thesaurus and meet the National Council on Archives' Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
November 2014