Working Class Autobiographies Collection

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 1975 Working Class Autobiographies
Held at	: Brunel University Library   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.brunel.ac.uk/services/library ›
Full title	: Working Class Autobiographies Collection
Date(s)	: Created 1790-1945; copied 1984-1989
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 6 linear metres
Name of creator(s)	: Burnett | John | b1925 | historian Mayall | David | b1953 | historian Vincent | David | b1949 | historian
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

The archive of working class autobiographies at Brunel University Library was gathered together by John Burnett, David Mayall and David Vincent during their compilation of their three volume annotated bibliography The autobiography of the working class (Harvester Press, Brighton, 1984-1989). The authors "sought to identify not only the large numbers of printed works scattered in various Local History Libraries and Record Offices, but also extant private memoirs, many of which remain hidden in family attics, known only to the author and a handful of relatives" (introduction to volume 1, p29). The criteria for inclusion in the autobiography were that the writers were "working class" for at least part of their lives, that they wrote in English and that they lived for some time in England, Scotland or Wales between 1790 and 1945. The autobiography indicates the location of unpublished items (over 230), which comprise the archive kept at Brunel. A few others of more marginal relevance are also available upon request.

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Photocopies of c230 manuscript and typescript autobiographies of English, Welsh and Scottish working class individuals, c1790-1945, collated and copied by John Burnett, David Mayall and David Vincent for their The autobiography of the working class (Harvester Press, Brighton, 1984-1989). The majority of authors recall memories of their childhoods and early working lives in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English.

System of arrangement:

Arranged alphabetically by surname of individual author.

Conditions governing access:

Readers should apply at the issue desk of Brunel University Library, Uxbridge Campus, during normal opening hours.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Single photocopies of up to 10% of an autobiography may be made for private study; readers wishing to make more extensive reproduction of particular items may need to obtain permission from the present copyright owners, where applicable.

Finding aids:

Most of the autobiographies are listed in The autobiography of the working class (Harvester Press, Brighton, 1984-1989). A complete list of holdings, giving details of author, memoir, date and provenance, is available in hard copy at Brunel Library, or online at http://www.brunel.ac.uk/depts/lib/collections/worktable.html

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Deposited by the authors, 1984-1989.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Excerpts from some of the autobiographies have been published in Destiny obscure: autobiographies of childhood, education, and family from the1820s to the 1920s, edited by John Burnett (Routledge 1994 and A Lane 1982).

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Compiled by Robert Baxter as part of the RSLP AIM25 Project. Source: Working Class Autobiographies webpage, Brunel University Library at http://www.brunel.ac.uk/depts/lib/collections/working.html

Rules or conventions:
Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Date(s) of descriptions:
July 2001