Russell: The Journal of Bertrand Russell Studies

Bibliographies/archival inventories The finding-aids ofthe Russell Archives by Kenneth Blackwell I. THE PHYSICAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE RUSSELL ARCHIVES There are 346 feet of documents in the Russell Archives, divided into Archives I, II, and Recent Acquisitions. Archives I and II are shelved on their own in large, fire-resistant cabinets. The archival boxes comprising the two archives are clearly distinguished from one another, as are the embargoed boxes. On the whole, similar classes in the two archives are not shelved together. In addition to the archives purchased from Lord Russell and his Estate, we have acquired a large quantity of original, photocopied or microfilmed material from other sources. The smaller files are housed in metal filing cabinets, the larger ones in archival boxes in the large cabinets. All of the documents of Archives I and II have a document number. This facilitates scholarly citation and our refiling. Since both archives have been microfilmed, one can go directly to and from the microfilm and the files. The number has six digits: in the case ofArchives I the first digit is always "0"; in the case of Archives II it is always "I". The Recent Acquisitions have an accession number written on their filing folders and are filed in that order. The full archival call number includes a three-digit class number. This number is preceded by an asterisk which is read as "class". See issues ofRussell for 1979 and 1980for the schedule ofclasses in Archives II .. The physical arrangement of some of the uncatalogued classes-e.g. the Miscellaneous Correspondence (*720) of both archives-is alphabetical . Such files constitute, in effect, their own index to correspondents . The chronological order of the manuscripts has a similar function for chronologically minded researchers into Russell's writings. This is especially useful in the case of Archives I, whose catalogue listing of the manuscripts lacks the fine tuning of the subsequent eighteen years of 66 The finding-aids of the Russell Archives 67 archival control and bibliographical and (now) editorial discovery. Indeed , the only group of documents whose physical order does not facilitate research is the Recent Acquisitions. Even here the internal arrangement of a given file may help. There is, of course, no substitute for a proper catalogue of all the manuscripts. The two archives and other acquisitions are thus shelved separately, with the following exceptions. The microfilm print-outs of the letters to Lady Ottoline Morrell are boxed and shelved just after the original letters from her in Archives 1. (The few originals to her in Archives I are not integrated with the print-outs, and the few from her that came with Archives II are housed in sequence in *710 in Archives II.) The greeting cards of the two archives, with few exceptions, do not overlap in dates and are shelved in one sequence. The addenda that arrived between the two archives are, for the most part, integrated with Archives II. II. THE CATALOGUES OF ARCHIVES I AND II There are comprehensive catalogues of both Russell Archives. The original archives were sorted and listed by a team hired by Lord Russell's accountant and literary agent, Anton Felton. The team,under the guidance of Miss P. M. Fisher, lately of the British Museum archival staff; and the management of Barry Feinberg, spent nearly a year and a halfon the project. Their work culminated in A Detailed Catalogue of the Archives ofBertrandRusseU, edited by B. Feinberg, D. Ash, R. Kasrils and myself (London: Continuum I Ltd., 1967). The purpose of this 343-pagebook was to sell the papers. 300 copies were printed for sale at£14. However, McMaster's University Librarian at the time, William Ready, was already interested in the papers by the time of the Catalogue's publication late in 1967, and its chiefuse has been to inform researchers ofthe archives' contents. Recognizing theCatalogue's value, Ready bought several dozen copies to sell to interested parties. Half-adozen copies remain. The book has often been seen in booksellers' catalogues, and one was advertised in Toronto last year for $100. The Feinberg Catalogue reports the organization of the first archives by the team that sorted them. Although the classification system...