“On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL’s library collections” is the 2026 Main Library Exhibition. It focuses on eight different collections across UCL’s libraries. In this post, Becky Sims, Head of Archives, writes about the creation of the George Orwell archive.

When George Orwell’s second wife, Sonia, approached David Astor, the proprietor of the Observer newspaper, for help in finding a suitable home for the residue of the writer’s papers, he turned for advice to Sir Ifor Evans. Evans was then Provost of UCL and former Professor of English Language and Literature. UCL had already established a reputation for forward-thinking collecting policies in the field of literature (having acquired, for example, the Ogden Library, James Joyce collection, Poetry Store and Little Magazines collections), and Sonia agreed that UCL was a suitable home for Orwell’s papers as well as his library.

Photograph of Sonia Orwell, c. 1951. UCL Special Collections, ORWELL/T/3/B/2/6

The first boxes were presented to UCL, on permanent loan, in 1960. Over the years Sonia continued to add to the archive from her own collection, and UCL Library’s accession registers from this period feature frequent records listing the items she presented. She also worked alongside UCL’s librarians to the develop the collection further, seeking items from a wide range of people. In particular, she developed a close working relationship and, later, friendship with UCL’s Deputy Librarian, Ian Angus.

Ian had already been instrumental in helping to develop the Small Press collection, and over the years he worked tirelessly to obtain items from Orwell’s friends, family and acquaintances. He was not always successful, but he did manage to locate a vast number of letters, that now form the bulk of series letters from Orwell to others (ORWELL/G), thereby ensuring UCL holds the most comprehensive body of source material for Orwell studies anywhere.

Photograph of Ian Angus in 1982. UCL Special Collections, UCLCA/7

Throughout the 1960s, he and Sonia also collaborated to research and edit the four-volume Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell, published in 1968. This work brought together Orwell’s nonfiction work dating from 1920-1950, helping to make Orwell’s writing accessible to a wider audience, as well as promoting the contents of the archive at UCL.

Through using Sonia’s papers, which are now part of the Orwell archive, alongside Ian’s own correspondence, you can trace a relationship that developed into a close friendship. Letters tell of dinners at Sonia’s home, and of socialising with friends. They touch on house purchases and the events of everyday life. But they also document the amount of work that went into publishing the Collected Works and provide an insight into Sonia’s worries and the responsibility she felt that she was doing the right thing by George.

Ian went on to become the Head Librarian at King’s College London but also continued to help develop and promote the archive at UCL, regularly corresponding with UCL’s library staff. In the 1990s, he supported Peter Davision, to compile the 20 volume Complete Works of George Orwell, (Secker & Warburg, 1997-1998), the most comprehensive scholarly resource on Orwell’s work. His standing as an Orwell scholar in his own right, means UCL’s Special Collections now also holds his own archive which has recently been catalogued and is now available. You can access more information about the archive through our catalog.

“On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL’s library collections” is the 2026 Main Library Exhibition. It focuses on eight different collections across UCL’s libraries. In this post, Breege Whiten and Esther Cable write about the Language and Speech Science Library’s test collection.

As part of the UCL Library Services bicentenary exhibition “On the Shelf”, the Language and Speech Science Library is proud to showcase a selection of speech and language therapy (SLT) assessment tools from our unique collection which reflect the history of the profession, and the library’s part in supporting it.

Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) focuses on diagnosing and treating communication disorders. It began to take shape as a recognised profession in the UK in the early 20th century, but it wasn’t until the 1960s that standardised assessments became widely available.

The test collection in the LaSS library at Chandler House circa 1990

These tools allow therapists to reliably identify communication difficulties and track progress over time. Among the earliest were the Renfrew Language Scales and the Reynell Developmental Language Scales, both first published in 1969. These assessments, designed for young children, remain in use today in updated forms, as shown in our display.

The Language and Speech Science (LaSS) Library has collected assessment tests in support of trainee and practicing therapists since its establishment as the library of the National Hospital College of Speech Sciences in the 1970s. The library continued to expand its collection of these important resources as it became part of UCL in 1995 when the college merged into the Department of Human Communication Science.

Also featured in the exhibition is the E2L Toy Test, developed in 1991 by UCL’s Merle Mahon in collaboration with colleagues from Great Ormond Street Hospital. This test was a pioneering response to the lack of culturally and linguistically appropriate tools for children whose first language is not English. It highlights the profession’s commitment to equity and inclusion – principles that continue to guide research and practice today.

Since 1985, the LaSS Library has been based in Chandler House, a former 19th-century hospital building originally built for the Royal Free. Following a major refurbishment completed in 2008, the library was transformed into a modern, purpose-built space with a dedicated area for what is now one of UCL’s flagship collections.

The test collection in the LaSS library at Chandler House in 2026

As well as students, the library supports members of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists and welcomes enquiries from researchers across the world with a need to consult the many unique SLT materials held in the collection.

Follow the links to find out more about UCL 200, the exhibition at UCL’s Main library, and The Language and Speech Science Library.

“On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL’s library collections” is the 2026 Main Library Exhibition. It focuses on eight different collections across UCL’s libraries. In this post, Dr Katie Meheux writes about the role the Institute of Archaeology Library played in rebuilding collections across Europe.

After the end of World War II (1939-1945), people in Europe, as in the wider world, faced rebuilding their devastated countries while finding ways to reconnect with former enemies. Amongst them were the archaeologists of Europe, once a small, close-knit community bound together by shared intellectual interests and personal friendships. Hungry for news of old friends and new discoveries, archaeologists broke the long silence imposed by war, firing off letters, both joyful and sombre as they learned the fate of individuals and institutions. Despite the devastation and division, they were keen to rebuild the networks that had once sustained them. In this they succeeded; European archaeologists created a strong, collaborative future for their discipline that still endures today.

The vital role of libraries in this process has long been neglected and deserves to be celebrated. A new future needed shared ideas and the latest information. Research provided a unifying neutral way for archaeologists to negotiate new post-war relations. Books and journals were vital, but in a continent with little money, stringent rationing, poor communication, and no international monetary exchange, obtaining and sharing them was challenging. Libraries and librarians rose to the task. Book and journal exchanges were established; gifts and unwanted duplicates were sent out across Europe by whatever means possible. The humble pamphlet, long used to facilitate academic research, became the hero of post-war communication. Short on expensive paper and cheap to post, pamphlets winged their way across Europe in their thousands, small hopeful messengers of reconciliation and unity.

The ‘Annual Report of the Institute of Archaeology’, the Institute’s in-house journal, and documents in the Institute of Archaeology Library archive reveal the key role of the Institute of Archaeology Library in this process of repair through research. They document the efforts that Institute Director, renowned prehistorian Vere Gordon Childe (1892-1957), and librarian Joan du Plat Taylor (1906-1983) made to help colleagues in Europe, whilst gaining access to important resources, as well as the ruthlessness, charm, and ingenuity required. Beneath the professionalism, we see the emotions that accompanied the books, journals, and pamphlets;  the ambivalent attitudes to former enemies, flashes of hostility, and distrust of growing Soviet power. Books could promote bibliographic reconciliation, but human forgiveness was harder to achieve. The journey to a shared future for European archaeology was not a smooth and rapid process, but one fraught with emotion and sustained by silence.

“On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL’s library collections” is the 2026 Main Library Exhibition. It focuses on eight different collections across UCL’s libraries. In this post, Abi Heath, Library Manager of the School of Pharmacy Library, writes about the library’s object collection.

When we think about libraries and archives, we generally think of books or written records, however objects can also be a valuable part of a collection. When the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), set up the School of Pharmacy, a museum of pharmaceutical objects and specimens was created and maintained. This was widely used for teaching purposes as lecture specimens and was also the primary resource for materia medica research  The Pharmaceutical Journal praised the museum for “exhibiting a great variety of specimens, an advantage which is not possessed to the same extent in other establishments where the science of medicine is taught” (Pharmaceutical Journal, September ).  Indeed, the Society’s Museum, alongside its library, was considered indispensable to the school and the educational aims of the Society.

Due to spiralling cost, the school split from the RPS in 1949, and moved to its current location at Brunswick Square in the late 1950s. A new library and museum were created with the school’s first librarian appointed in 1958 . Following the society’s tradition of appointing a qualified pharmacist, the school’s first librarian was Anthony (Tony) Evans, a graduate and current assistant lecturer at the school. Professor Evans served as Librarian until 1964 when he moved to Loughborough College of Advanced Technology as University Librarian.  The challenge of establishing a School of Pharmacy Library stood him in good stead for this role where he was involved in the construction of the Pilkington Library and establishing a Department of Information and Library Studies.

Photograph of Prof Tony Evans

The importance of the school museum for teaching gradually diminished and both the herbarium and materia medica collection were transferred initially to the University of Bradford in 1965 and later to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew in 1982 Whilst there is no longer a dedicated museum, the library took on the tradition of providing objects for teaching. Within our current collection we loan anatomical models as well as blood pressure monitors and VR headsets amongst other teaching aides.

Throughout the school’s history there have been links with UCL. Following the school’s BPharm course introduction in 1924, subjects were divided between the two institutions, and it was not until 1935 that all teaching for the BPharm courses was transferred to the school. In 2012 the school officially merged with UCL to become UCL School of Pharmacy.

Recognising the value of objects to preserving our history, the school archive collects objects relating to pharmacy history. The objects provide a new dimension to our archive in providing tangible and relatable experience.  Objects range from a ceremonial chair presented to the school in 1962, to Victorian pill making machines, a probe from an NMR machine and artwork including a painting by John Ward.

The small selection on display as part of the Innovative Collecting exhibition provide a flavour of our archive.

The drawer from the Materia Medica cabinet reflects the in-house nature of many of our objects. Technicians have always been important members of the school’s staff and have made various equipment to aid teaching and research. Our Materia Medica cabinet dates to the 1960/1970s and was used to store crude drugs which were used in teaching and as reference material for research projects. The empty cabinet remained in teaching rooms of the school until 2023 when it was relocated to the library and became officially part of the school archive collection.

The glass bottle, referred to as a shop round, likely dates to the late 1800s. Unlike today, medicines in Victorian pharmacies were made to order and the main display would be rows of glass bottles. The bottles would contain various ingredients that would be mixed up in the shop, or in this case at the school, to make up medicines. As poison would be used in small doses, bottles containing poison were visibly different , usually green or blue in colour, and made with ribbed glass. This particular bottle would have contained cinnamon water. Cinnamon was used as a stimulant and antiseptic and would have been mixed with other herbal extracts to create compound tinctures or elixirs.

The last object on display is a chemical balance dating to 1948. An incredibly precise balance, this can measure the difference of one microgram (one millionth of a gram). This level of precision would have been of importance within the school’s laboratory and pharmacies. An annual inspection card shows that this was in use from at least 1979 until 1992. Technological advances saw electronic analytical balances replace chemical balances due to the high accuracy, ease of use and digital readouts. This object shows the role technology has played in pharmacy and the development of medicines. The link with our archive collection can also be seen in the Square Chronicle cartoon which features a chemical balance.

For more information about the history of the School of Pharmacy see:

Hudson, B., & Boylan, M. (2013). The School of Pharmacy, University of London: Medicines, Science and Society, 1842–2012. Academic Press/ Elsevier.

Wallis, T.E. (1964). History of the School of Pharmacy, University of London / foreword by Sir Hugh Linstead ; by T.E. Wallis. Pharmaceutical Press.

To arrange to view our archive please contact sop.library@ucl.ac.uk

“On the Shelf: 200 years of building UCL’s library collections” is the 2026 Main Library Exhibition. It focuses on eight different collections across UCL’s libraries. In this post, Vanessa Freedman writes about the William Marguiles Yiddish Library.

When Yiddish teaching began at UCL in 1989, the library held fewer than thirty Yiddish books. Two decades later, it had one of the foremost Yiddish collections in Europe. This transformation was led by Yiddish lecturer Hugh Denman and Hebrew and Jewish Studies librarian Dalia Tracz, with generous support from William Margulies—a retired publisher and passionate advocate for Yiddish culture. Together, they built the collection through donations, transfers, antiquarian purchases, and new publications. Today, UCL continues to develop the collection, acquiring contemporary works and filling historical gaps, ensuring that Yiddish language and culture remain accessible to future generations.

Items on display:

Annotated list of Yiddish acquisitions recommended for the William Margulies Yiddish Library

Hugh Denman diligently compiled lists of new publications in or about Yiddish, as well as suggesting purchases from antiquarian booksellers to fill gaps in the collection. He continued to do this long after his retirement.

Paris un Viene

One of the first additions to the new collection, Pariz un Viene is a Yiddish epic love poem attributed to Elijah Levita. This is a facsimile of the 1594 edition published in Verona, with an added introduction in French and Italian.

Brilianṭn

Esther Kreitman (1891-1954) was a Yiddish novelist and elder sister of the famous Yiddish writers Israel Joshua and Isaac Bashevis Singer. Her novel Brilianṭn (Diamonds) is a family saga set in Antwerp and London. This copy is one of the few Yiddish books already in the UCL library before the development of the separate Yiddish collection. It came from the personal library of Sir Montague Burton (1885–1952), founder of Burton Menswear.

In ṿeldl

A play for children by Mikhl Davidzon (1883-1941), illustrated by printmaker Todros Geller (1889-1949). One of the many books donated by William Margulies from his own library.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in Yiddish

Arun Schaechter Viswanath’s 2024 translation of JK Rowling’s second Harry Potter book. The publisher, Olniansky Tekst, is a small Yiddish press based in Sweden where Yiddish is a national minority language. The publication was supported by the Swedish government.

We are delighted to announce the winners of this year’s Anthony Davis Book Collecting Prize. The annual Prize, generously funded by Mr Anthony Davis, encourages student book collectors at any London university. 

Following a highly competitive selection process, the Prize was awarded to Aisling Twomey for her collection of lockdown zines. In recognition of the strength and originality of this year’s submissions, the award was divided between the two strongest candidates, with Penny James named the runner-up for her collection of stamp books.  

 “I am drawn to zines,” Aisling wrote in her application, “because they are a product of love.” Her collection is both an excellent example of rapid response collecting in practice, and a highly personal reflection on the disparate zine communities’ experience of the pandemic. Aisling bought her first zine in April 2020, drawn to its message about pen pals. That zine introduced her to the world of Postcrossing which became a subsequent source of community, and zines! Today, the collection offers an important glimpse into the world of DIY publishing as it was shaped by the pandemic internationally. But it does more than that. As Aisling put it, it is “a small contribution to the collective memory of a global community in crisis.” 

A selection of zines and postcards from Aisling’s collection.

Like Aisling’s, Penny’s collection grew out of a chance encounter. She has come across her first stamp album in a charity shop. She didn’t buy it then but has been looking for a copy ever since! Penny collects used stamp albums, focusing on the bound albums rather than the more expensive variants which typically include interchangeable leaves. “In part,” Penny explains, she focuses on that format “because the printed covers of a mid-twentieth century album is what initially caught my attention, but also because of the way the binding fixes the album as a static object. I enjoy exploring how original stamp collectors negotiated this material boundary.” That is, Penny doesn’t collect stamps themselves, only the volumes designed for their compilation (although many, inevitably, include stamps too). The collection then is, in Penny’s words, a collection of abandoned collections – a collection of collecting activity itself.  

A selection of stamp album covers from Penny’s collection

Pages from one of Penny’s stamp album, showcasing stamps from Ukraine, Vatican City, and the USA

Congratulations to the winners!  

Interested in submitting your collection to the Anthony Davis Book Collecting Prize? The competition runs annually, with next round of submissions planned for spring 2026 (dates TBC). Updates on the 2026 competition will be posted on this blog.

Our new exhibition on Water and Sanitation in 19th Century London is now open at the UCL Cruciform Hub. It features reproductions of items from our collection that cover the debate over clean water and sanitation in the lead up to, and immediate aftermath of, the 1875 Public Health Act. The Act set out a requirement for local authorities to provide clean water and sanitation to residents.

Reproductions are displayed alongside research from the curators who have worked to put the exhibition together: Alex Careswell, Anna Gonzalez-Fort, and Chelsie Mok. We are planning to install a full version of their exhibition on public health in the UCL Main Library in 2027.

The exhibition is located in the lower ground floor of the Cruciform Building, adjacent to the Cruciform Café. It is open to anyone with a UCL ID card.

Thank you to Alex, Anna and Chelsie for their research and work on this exhibition!

Cartoon from Punch, part of the Cruciform exhibition.

The Special Collections Outreach Team has been fortunate to host two students on a placement from the IOE’s BA in Education Studies. As their time comes to a close with us, they’ve written a blog post about their experiences. In this post, Joann Zhang reflects on her experience.

As part of my placement module this term, my colleague Elena Yu and I had the opportunity to work closely with the Outreach team at UCL Special Collections. This experience not only deepened my understanding of how the collections operate behind the scenes but also gave me a new perspective on how historical resources can be used for educational purposes.

This wasn’t my first time engaging with the UCL Special Collections. In Year 1, during the module The Worlds of UCL, Professor Georgina Brewis introduced us to various selected materials from the collection as part of our classwork. As a BA Education Studies student, I also often wonder how these resources could be used in school teaching. So, I was very excited when I knew that I was allocated to the Special Collections team—and even more so when I found out we would be developing a series of GCSE History learning materials.

Selection of photographs from the Worlds of UCL seminar

However, using collection items in a taught class and actually working as part of the team that selects and prepares those materials are very different experiences. In classes, items are pre-selected, but the process behind this is far more complex. First, our topic this year focused on Commonwealth immigration—something I had very little prior knowledge of. Also, I was unfamiliar with archive search engines and didn’t know how to begin locating relevant materials. In total, everything felt new to me at the beginning.

Luckily, with the support of Vicky Price and Sarah Pipkin, Elena and I were able to start with a presentation on the history of Commonwealth immigration, which gave us a basic understanding and helped us set a direction for our research. We then learned how to navigate UCL Library Services and use the archive catalogue to search for materials. Finally, we booked the Reading Room to check items in person and arrange our findings into a spreadsheet.

Viewing items in the IOE and SJRR Reading Rooms

Throughout this process, I was impressed by the diversity of items held in the collection. Beyond published rare books, there were small press materials like magazines and newspaper clippings, as well as personal letters and ephemera. My favourite item among all my findings was a videotape called Motherland, found in the Marina Foster collection. It was a play created by a group of female students at Vauxhall Manor School, based on the real-life stories of 23 Caribbean women who migrated to the UK in the 1950s. It might be particularly inspiring for GCSE students to learn about what students of the same age were creating more than 40 years ago.

Watching the Motherland VHS

This research experience felt like a treasure hunt: starting with almost no knowledge and slowly digging deeper to uncover hidden gems with teamwork and guidance from our supervisors. There were times of disappointment, especially when items didn’t quite match what I was looking for. But there were also rewarding moments brought by unexpected findings. Over the last four months, I was glad to see my confidence grow with each visit to the Reading Room, and I have developed new research skills that I can apply in other contexts.

At the end, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Amy Howe, Becky Sims, Chelsie Mok, Colin Penman, Liz Lawes, Sarah Pipkin, and Vicky Price, who supported me throughout the placement with patience and kindness. I’m truly grateful for this opportunity and hope to see you in the future, both in and beyond the Special Collections.

Thank you so much to Joann for her hard work and her reflection on her placement!

The Special Collections Outreach Team has been fortunate to host two students on a placement from the IOE’s BA in Education Studies. As their time comes to a close with us, they’ve written a blog post about their experiences. In this post, Elena Yu reflects on her experience.

Introduction

I chose the Education Placement Module this term, and it is so lucky for me to spend 50 wonderful hours with warm-hearted staff members in UCL Special Collection team and my classmate Joann Zhang, working on a project around the topic of “Commonwealth Migration”. We hope that our research and work will offer some help for GCSE students’ history study. Our placement started in late January with an initial online meeting with Vicky Price and Sarah Pipkin. Over the following weeks, Joann and I gained insight into the various aspects of the team’s work — including archiving, cataloguing, digitisation, and the outreach efforts related to the collection.

Working as a team   

Illustration of shooting an ancient book in the digitization process

While working through the archives, a number of staff members generously shared their expertise, guidance, and advice—all of which greatly inspired me and contributed to the development of my research. Colin Penman from the UCL Records suggested several useful items from the Records collection. Becky Sims, Liz Lawes, and Chelsie Mok kindly offered valuable advice on locating materials, and Amy Howe patiently demonstrated the digitization process (as shown in the photo). Their support was instrumental in deepening my understanding of archival work and contextualizing it within the scope of my research. 

The most exciting collection item  

Material reference number: GA/9/2/4

After keyword searching in the catalogues of online library and looking at them in the UCL Special Collections Reading Room, GA/9/2/4 is a part of most intriguing material that I found. These colourful leaflets and booklets are from 1970-1987, and perfectly show activities that were done by the Commonwealth Institute to provide better service to both immigrants’ lives. Leaflets included multiple types of activities offered, such as school visits to exhibition art galleries, educational services, quiz pamphlets featuring fun facts or knowledge of commonwealth nations’ culture, teaching packs, workshops and library services. The content of the activities covered wide range of commonwealth nations and communities. They are suitable for assisting students with GCSE History learning, as they used harmless language with easy vocabularies, with interesting illustrations and contents created for children in similar age groups.  

What I have learned   

This placement has provided me with not only practical work skills but also meaningful life experience. As a student who began with little background knowledge in either archival work or the topic of Commonwealth migration, I initially felt overwhelmed and uncertain. Thanks to the helping hands from Vicky, Sarah, and Joann, I gradually developed a clearer understanding of the research topic, along with the ability to navigate specific catalogues to find relevant materials, and it is truly cheerful when I can see my progress. I still remember Vicky’s words: “It’s human instinct to push away from daunting tasks but give yourself the courage to climb over the mountain and take the first step. That’s the hardest part of the process—once you’ve made that move, you’re already making progress.” Her encouragement stayed with me throughout the journey and continued to motivate me whenever I felt discouraged.  

Thank you so much to Elena for her hard work and her reflection on her placement!

The UCL Research Institute for Collections (RIC) is inviting applications for the 2025 RIC Fellowships. In addition to the Special Collections Visiting Fellowship and Liberating the Collections Fellowship we are delighted to announce the new Museums Collections Fellowship.

The RIC Fellowships offer opportunities to visit UCL to conduct research using the UCL holdings of archives, rare books, records, and museums collections.

Liberating the Collections Fellowship
The Liberating the Collections Fellowship is intended to unearth underrepresented voices and find new ways of engaging with collection stories and presenting them to wider society. As a Fellow, you will help us gain perspectives on our collections beyond the structural narratives that currently prevail.

Special Collections Visiting Fellowship
The Special Collections Visiting Fellowship offers an opportunity to visit UCL to conduct research on a topic centred on the UCL holdings of archives, rare books, and records. The aims of the Fellowship are to facilitate new research into UCL Special Collections and to raise awareness of the collections amongst the research community and the general public.

Museum Collections Visiting Fellowship
New for 2025 is the RIC Museum Collections Visiting Fellowship which offers an opportunity to visit UCL to conduct research on a topic centred on the collections of UCL Art Museum, Grant Museum of Zoology, Pathology Museum, Petrie Museum of Egyptian and Sudanese Archaeology and UCL Science Collections.

The successful candidates will spend up to six weeks, or the part-time equivalent, at UCL researching the collections.

Projects can start from July 2025 onwards. Fellows should aim to finish their project by the end of 2025.

The closing date for applications is Monday 6th January 2025.

For more information please click on the individual fellowship links or click here for an overview.

Please note that this blog post contains historic uses of language, which is outdated, offensive, and discriminatory. The language is retained in its original context and does not represent views of UCL Special Collections. We are commitment to contextualising and addressing dated and harmful languages in our collecting practice, collection documentation, teaching, and engagement activities. You can read about some of our work in this area as part of UCL’s Liberating the Collections programme here.   

Writing for the Tribune in 1945, George Orwell described Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin as “the supreme example of the ‘good bad’ book.” The “good bad book,” Orwell explained, “was the kind of book that has no literary pretensions but which remains readable when more serious productions have perished.” For Orwell, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is both “unintentionally ludicrous,” “full of preposterous melodramatic incidents,” and at the same time a “deeply moving” serious representation of real-world struggles; an account of the cruelty of slavery in mid-19th c. America.  

Orwell’s exploration of “good bad books,” such as Uncle Tom, was prompted by a project of his contemporary publisher to produce reprints of minor or partly forgotten novels – “a valuable service in these bookless days,” as he put it. Interestingly, the history of Stowe’s novel is a history of 19th century reprint culture. Its unprecedented publishing success is in no small part a result of burgeoning mass market publishing, lack of international copyright regulations, and complex cultures of media production of the period. This blog, part of our short Black History Month series, explores the publication history of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and its significance to histories of slavery, through UCL’s Special Collections holdings.  

The passing of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850 became a major catalyst for Stowe’s antislavery writing. This new legislation required all citizens to return runaway slaves to their owners. Its impacts were felt particularly acutely in places like Cincinnati, a border city of the free state of Ohio, where Stowe’s family lived, across from the slave state of Kentucky. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, while a fictional account, was an attempt to document the dichotomies of slavery and freedom Stowe witnessed. Its contribution to the abolitionist cause was notable, but its subject was only one reason for the novel’s bestselling success. It is the unique publishing ecology of the time that enabled its rapid international circulation and resulting widespread engagement with Stowe’s anti-slavery stance. Political sentiment and growing capitalist impulse came together in this unique phenomenon of the 19th c. publishing culture.  

The novel was first issued in a book form in March 1852, released as a two-volume edition by an American publisher, J.P. Jewett. That first edition followed a highly successful serialised publication in The National Era, an abolitionist newspaper, which printed it in 41 weekly instalments between June 1851 and April 1852. It was hugely popular as a serial and Jewett expected a major commercial success. Claire Parfait noted, in her study of the novel, that Jewett chose to have the novel stereotyped. A relatively new printing technology at the time, which only appeared in the USA in the 1820s, stereotyping relied on manufacture of stereotype plates, instead of setting type to produce books. While expensive, it enabled much faster reprints – the ready-made plates could be reused multiple times and didn’t call for additional labour needed to re-set type for new impressions of the same publication. Because it required heavy investment, stereotyping was reserved for those publications which were expected to sell well. Jewett clearly knew his market – an instant bestseller, the novel sold 10,000 copies in the first two weeks. It was thanks to this choice of printing technology that Jewett was able to meet demand and issue a second printing of 5,000 copies of the novel as soon as the first printing sold out, only two days after its publication.  

It is interesting to note how rapidly Uncle Tom’s Cabin grew to be translated, published abroad, often pirated too. The first UK edition followed the American publication very quickly; Clarke & Company, a London-based publisher, issued it in May 1852, i.e. only two months after it was originally released. And a boom for UK editions followed, with the novel selling 1,5 million copies in the first year of publication. Katie McGettigan estimates that at least eighteen different publishers issued editions of the novel in its first year on the UK market. No other book had sold as well in as short a time in the UK, and in the USA only the Bible sold more copies. At UCL’s Special Collections, we hold examples of these early UK editions of the novel.  

Title page of the Routledge illustrated edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

Title page of the Routledge edition, highlighting the inclusion of Carlisle’s preface

One of our copies, part of UCL’s Rotton Collection, is the 1852 UK edition published by Thomas Bosworth as Uncle Tom’s Cabin or Negro Life in the Slave States of America, published in August that year (one of the first to follow Clarke in publishing Uncle Tom on this side of the Atlantic) (UCL Reference: Rotton 24.c.26). We also hold an illustrated edition jointly published by Clarke and Routledge under the same title, also in 1852 (Ogden STO UNC/1), as well as another Routledge edition, published later that year but this time as Uncle Tom’s Cabin; a tale of life among the lowly (i.e. using the title of the first USA edition) (Ogden STO UNC/2). The latter also includes a preface by the Earl of Carlisle (introduced as a friend of Stowe’s, although the connection was exaggerated) and a preface by Stowe herself, both included here as unique selling points. All three were, characteristically, issued by publishers known for producing American reprints for the UK market.  

A common characteristic of these international editions, in the UK and elsewhere, were claims to ‘authenticity.’  The Thomas Bosworth edition, for example, was marketed as ‘the author’s edition.’ It included an ‘Advertisement to this edition’ which notes that Stowe had “a direct interest” in its sale. The Routledge and Clarke edition was published with a notice on author’s editions which read:  

we must do ourselves the justice to announce that Mrs Stowe has a direct pecuniary interest in this extraordinary success. Our editions are the real ‘Author’s Editions;’ we are in direct negotiations with Mrs. Stowe; and we confidently hope that when accounts are made up we shall be in a position to award to that talented lady a sum not inferior in amount to her receipts in America.  

On the market almost instantaneously flooded by a myriad of the novel’s editions, some authorised, many what we would consider today ‘pirated copies’, a credible association with the author became an important means of ensuring better sales of the book.  Neither of these two publishers were, in fact, Stowe’s official UK publishers; seeking out other means to make their editions attractive to the reading public was an important marketing strategy. 

“Advertisement to this Edition” from the Thomas Bosworth edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852

Notice, Author’s Editions (Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Clarke & Co. 1852)

Publishing for children formed an important and rapidly expanding part of the publishing market in both UK and USA of the period. Stowe also saw children as the first and main audience of Uncle Tom and there is evidence of the text being read to children in many 19th c. homes. The proliferation of illustrated editions of the novel definitely helped promote it as a publication for young audiences.  In fact, our illustrated Routledge and Clarke edition includes a handwritten inscription: “Presented to Clement Hall, Sept 18th 1852 by his Mamma,” implying, perhaps a similar intended usage of the copy we hold.   

Inscription in the UCL copy of the illustrated Routledge edition of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (OGDEN STO UNC / 1)

Uncle Tom’s Cabin was as controversial as it was popular. The novel was criticised both for reinforcing negative stereotypes of enslaved peoples and widely denounced by advocates of slavery, spurring a unique publication ecology of counter publications too. The so-called “anti-Tom” works typically promoted pro-slavery arguments in an attempt to discredit Stowe’s depiction of the cruelty of slavery. It was in response to the growing criticism that Stowe published in 1853 a Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The work detailed the sources and corroborated facts incorporated into her otherwise fictional account of slave struggles of the period. That work proved an instant publishing success too, and was similarly reprinted widely. It also led to a growing market for related publications. UCL’s copy of the UK 1853 edition of the Key includes, for example, a pasted-in advertisement for The American Slave Code, in Theory and Practice, published by Clarke, Beeton, and Co. as a companion to the volume (Rotton 24.c.25).  

Advertisement of a Companion Volume in The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1853)

Title page of the UK 1853 edition of The Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin

The boom in the Uncle Tom’s Cabin reprints was not unique to that title. The novel appeared in the UK in a complex transatlantic publishing landscape which relied on reprints rather than imports for distribution and circulation of works. Starting in the 1830s, reprints of existing titles, often in affordable editions, became popular, aimed especially at the growing middle- and working-class reading publics. Many UK publishers turned to texts published in the USA for that purpose, partly in search of new titles that had potential to sell well, and partly due to costs. The UK and USA copyright laws of the period meant that any US text published first in North America was considered public domain in the UK and so could be reprinted without incurring any additional costs. Republishing in the UK texts which proved popular abroad was a simple business decision; the publication history of Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a perfect example of the mid-19th publishing market logic.  

While UK reprints market of Uncle Tom was able to flourish unrestricted, the local USA regulations limited it somewhat until 1893, when copyright in the work expired, prompting a flurry of new American editions of the work in the mid-1890s. That is, it was the copyright regulation, coupled with a rapidly expanding market for fiction and affordable books, rather than a strong anti-slavery stance in the UK that made it possible for this antislavery fiction to circulate in the UK widely and without restriction.  

This blog post is the first instalment in the UCL Special Collection Black History Month series exploring black histories through histories of print and publishing.  

Other posts in the series:

Independent Black Publishing and UCL’s collecting practices, by Liz Lawes

The ‘reprint revolution’ and cultures of 20th c. Black publishing, by Kaja Marczewska

On April 24th, 1895, the contents of Oscar Wilde’s house at No 16 Tite Street were auctioned off to pay his debt to the Marquess of Queensberry. Included in the sale was Wilde’s library of over 2000 books, alongside drafts, letters, paintings, furniture and his children’s toys. Wilde did not use a personalized bookplate or write his name in all his books, and the auction only provided an incomplete record of his library collection.  

Of Wilde’s library, only about 40 books have been identified. This list is slowly increasing – including the addition of at least two books that are in UCL’s collection. These books were previously unknown to researchers, and while they’ve long been listed in the catalogue as being connected to Wilde, their provenance was not fully researched.  

The Golden Lotus 

Within Wilde’s collection were several presentation copies – or copies of books given as a gift from the author alongside a personalized inscription from the author to the recipient. One such book at UCL is The Golden Lotus by Edward Greey.  

Title page of The Golden Lotus, shelfmark FLS C73 GRE

Edward Greey published several works on Japanese history and mythology. The Golden Lotus includes his retelling of several Japanese folklore stories. Today, it is part of the Folklore Society collection, currently on deposit to UCL.  

The title page includes a large inscription from the author to Oscar Wilde. A new year’s greeting is written in Japanese characters, romanised Japanese, and English. Oscar Wilde was known to be interested in Japanese art and literature, so it is not surprising to find a collection of Japanese folklore on his shelves. This volume is also listed in the Tite Street auction catalogue, making it very likely that this book sat on Wilde’s shelves until 1895.  

Courtesy of the Master and Fellows of University College Oxford: Ross d.216 p.9 cropped.

At the top of the inscription is a note by a second hand: “Bought 27/4/95 from F. Edwards, 83 High St, Marylebone (From sale of Oscar Wilde’s library under Sheriff’s order 23/4/95 by Brooks at Duke St))”.  

Salome 

Also in our collection is the English edition of Salome. This edition includes a printed dedication to Lord Alfred Douglas, Wilde’s lover and son of the Marquis of Queensberry.  

Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley from Salome, shelfmark ENGLISH RARE Q 120

While our copy contains no ownership notes from Wilde, it includes the same note added to The Golden Lotus. It also includes a donation ex-libris plate noting that the donor was F.M.C. Johnson, a librarian for both UCL and the Folklore Society. Because The Golden Lotus has a clear history connecting it back to Wilde’s library, it is likely that our copy of Salome also came from Wilde’s library. The Title Street auction lists at least two copies of Salome, though there is not enough information to absolutely confirm that the copies listed in the auction catalogue include UCL’s copy.  

Inscription from Salome, shelfmark ENGLISH RARE Q 120

Sex. Aurelli Propertii carmin 

UCL is also home to a third book owned by Wilde. Sex. Aurelii Propertii carmina : The elegies of Propertius with English notes include an inscription from Wilde dated March 1874. This book dates to Wilde’s time as an undergraduate studying classics at Trinity College Dublin. While there is no evidence connecting it back to the Tite Street sale, this was at least part of Wilde’s student book collection. 

Wilde’s inscription in Sex. Aurelii Propertii carmina. Shelfmark STRONG ROOM OGDEN 108

It is heavily annotated throughout, with almost every single page having some degree of notes and underlining. Most of the notes are clearly in Wilde’s own hand, though there are several notes by a different person.   

Annotations by Wilde and an unknown former owner. Shelfmark STRONG ROOM OGDEN 108

We are pleased that we can add to the growing list of known books from Wilde’s library. Rebuilding Wilde’s library allows us to better understand the works that influenced his own writing and his relationships with other authors. It is also a reminder of how easily history can be lost. Over a couple of days, Wilde’s entire life was dismantled, sold and spread across the world. Who knows how many of Wilde’s other books sit in libraries and private collections across the world, unrecognized because Wilde never wrote his name in them?  

While we keep an eye out for further traces of Wilde’s library in our collection, there are several other libraries that have identified Wilde’s books in their collection: 

• The National Library of the Netherlands. 
• Ransom Center, University of Texas. 
• Mark Samuels Lasner Collection at the University of Delaware.  

One of five surviving copies of the Tite Street Auction Catalogue is held by University College Oxford.  

Our collections are open to the public, and you are welcome to make an appointment in our reading room to see Wilde’s books and other items in our collections.  

Thanks to Elizabeth Adams, Mark Samuels Lasner, Thomas Wright and Iain Ross for their help and insights in investigating the provenance of these items!  

UCL Library Service’s annual exhibition for 2024, “‘I Planted a Seed’: Childhood, nature, and creativity”, has recently opened in the Main Library!  

This exhibition explores how children’s imaginations are inspired by nature in their storytelling, exploration and creative world. The exhibition starts with the classroom and how nature supports creative learning in children. It then moves on to examine children’s own creative output and how nature is reflected in music, dance, play and textiles.  

On display are items from the IOE Archives and the Folklore Society collection, as well as material from outside of Special Collections including the IOE Rare Books collection and the IOE Curriculum Resources collection.  

A collage sheep, one of the items on display in the 2024 exhibition

‘I Planted a Seed’ is located in the Main Library Stairwell and 1st floor. It is free and open to the public. External visitors can book a ticket on the exhibition webpage. You can also access the exhibition catalogue and digitized collection items online.  

Emma Treleaven, PhD candidate at the London College of Fashion, won the Anthony Davis Book Collecting Prize in 2023 with her collection My Own Two Hands: Books and Ephemera About Making Dress and Textiles Before 1975. She also won the Antequarian Booksellers Association’s National Book Collecting Prize in 2023 with the same collection. She spoke to Special Collections about her experience book collecting and applying for the prize.

Emma Treleaven, 2023 Anthony Davis Student Book Collecting Prize winner

Tell us a bit about yourself and your collection!

How did your collection begin? Has it changed over time?

What was your process for discovering and choosing the theme and what to add to your collection?

A portion of Emma’s collection

Did anything surprise you in the process of collecting?

What made you want to apply for the book collecting prize?

Did you encounter any challenges during your application process? How did you overcome them?

Emma’s collection on display at a 2023 Rare Books Club session

What was your favourite part of the application process?

What advice would you give someone hoping to get into book collecting? 

Thank you to Emma for talking about her experiences applying to the Anthony Davis Student Book Collecting Prize! You can read more about her collection at:

• Winners of the 2023 Anthony Davis Student Book Collecting Prize.

• The ABA National Book Collecting Prize 2023 Winner: Emma Treleaven.

• My Own Two Hands: An Interview with Emma Treleaven.

There’s still time to apply for the Anthony Davis Student Book Collecting Prize yourself! Visit the prize webpage to read about the application processes. Applications are open to any student enrolled at a London-based university.

Post by Daniel Dickins.

The James Joyce Book Collection is a collection of rare books and archival materials in UCL Special Collections. Originally established as part of the James Joyce Centre in 1973 with the help of the Trustees of the Joyce Estate, Faber & Faber, and the Society of Authors, it is the only significant research collection on James Joyce in the UK. Containing around 1400 items, the collection includes multiple editions of all Joyce’s major works (including first editions and translations), alongside criticism and contextual literature. In addition, the collection includes material relating to Joyce’s patron, Harriet Shaw Weaver, and to his daughter, Lucia Joyce.

Title page of Shosha by Isaac Bashevis Singer (1978)

One item in the collection is a copy of Shosha by Isaac Bashevis Singer. We have a good indication that this book was owned by Lucia Joyce: ‘Miss Joyce’ is written in pen on the front cover and in pencil on the inside cover, and there is another pencilled writing that states, ‘Lucia Joyce Bequest’. There is also a note inside the book confirming that it arrived with ‘the Lucia Joyce papers from St Andrew’s Hospital’, which is the last hospital in which Lucia was institutionalised. This book was printed in 1978, so Lucia would have been at least 71 years old when she purchased this book. This book is useful for research into the later years of Lucia Joyce’s life, but there are many other reasons why the book is worth preserving. It won the Nobel Prize for literature so was considered significant at the time; it can be placed alongside items in UCL’s Hebrew and Jewish collection for research into 20^th century Jewish writing; or it can be considered as an example of a 1970s paperback, or as a book owned by someone in a hospital.

Title page of Irish Short Stories by Seamus O’Kelly (1960s – exact publication date is unknown)

Another item in the Joyce collection is Irish Short Stories by Seamus O’Kelly. O’Kelly was a contemporary of James Joyce; there is no publication date for this book, but the stories were originally written before O’Kelly’s death in 1918. This item therefore contributes to a collection that expands beyond Joyce to look at Irish literature of the early 20^th century. This book was also donated by Jane Lidderdale so it may have been owned by Lucia Joyce, but there are no annotations confirming this so further investigation is needed to determine more details of its provenance. There are, however, two pencil drawings near the back of the book. One is of a plant, and the other is a landscape scene labelled ‘Knocknarea’, in Ireland. If Lucia owned this book, she could be the source of these drawings – as well as being a professional dancer, she was also an artist who produced cover art for at least one James Joyce book.

Last page of Irish Short Stories, with a pencilled drawing of Knocknarea

With the Joyce collection, we can learn about James Joyce himself, but we can also research his daughter, his contemporaries, and 20^th century literature more broadly, allowing us to paint a fuller picture of the worlds surrounding him. The Joyce collection is fully catalogued and is open to the public. To learn more, see our online guide and to browse the collection’s contents, search for JOYCE on Explore.

Daniel Dickins was seconded to UCL Special Collections as Outreach and Exhibitions Coordinator in 2024. When not supporting Special Collections, he works in UCL’s Science Library.