The Josephine Butler Society Library is an unrivalled resource for the study of sexuality and public morality from the late nineteenth to the mid twentieth century. This unique collection of books, pamphlets, periodicals, leaflets and, campaigning documents, covers subjects ranging from the regulation of prostitution, venereal disease, social purity, sexuality and public health to criminology, penology, eugenics and population control. Although a small number of individual items continue to be added to the collection by the Josephine Butler Society, the bulk of the printed materials date from the late nineteenth and early to mid twentieth centuries.

The Josephine Butler Society Library is particularly important because it brings together the Library of the organisation alongside its campaigning literature and business papers. In addition to sources for the study of prostitution and attitudes to sexuality in Britain the collection includes significant amounts of material on slavery, procuring, public health and the armed forces in India. It contains late nineteenth century works on sexology by Havelock Ellis, Bloch, Forel and Krafft-Ebing and psychology by Freud, Jung and Ellis, as well as works on marriage, the family and sex education. Although most material in the collection is in English there are small but significant numbers of works in European languages. The geographic scope of the collection extends beyond Britain and the Commonwealth; papers of the International Bureau for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons 1899-1968, for example, relate to the Bureau's work with the League of Nations.

The archive consists of Annual Reports (1875-1880), Executive Committee (1887-1888) and British Committee (1890-1915) minutes with British Committee Chairperson's Book and Log (1897-1903), circulars (1909), pamphlet (1896), indexes to pamphlets (1874-1909) and indexes to Henry J Wilson files, an 'inwards' letter-book including an envelope containing copies of correspondence with government (1893), a letter-book of correspondence from India and a report compiled by Dr Kate Bushell and Mrs Andrews during a visit there (1891-1896).

This archive consists of letters primarily by Josephine Butler, but also by key members of her family (such as her husband) and by colleagues and friends (such as Henry Wilson). Josephine Butler was a Victorian social reformer who campaigned against prostitution and the Contagious Diseases Acts (1864,1866 and 1869). In addition to the original letters held by The Women's Library, this archive includes photocopies of correspondence held at the University of Liverpool Special Collections.

At some point (probably in the 1960s) the correspondence held at The Women's Library was placed in chronological order. Prior to the collection being copied to microfiche (possibly in the 1980s), the photocopies from Liverpool were interleaved. Also interleaved and copied to microfiches were abstracts and administrative history notes made by Miss Burton, a member of the Fawcett Library.

The online catalogue includes the index of who the letters were to and from; the date of the letter; abstracts of each individual letter; and the administrative history and biographical notes made by Miss Burton.

The catalogue supercedes the original finding aid, a card index of correspondents that was available in The Women's Library Reading Room. The collection is available on microfiche in the Reading Room.

Henry J Wilson was Honorary Secretary of the Northern Counties Electoral League For The Repeal Of The Contagious Diseases Acts. There are a number of letters in the Josephine Butler Letters Collection which relate to the Northern Counties Electoral League. These letters bear Henry J Wilson's usual stamp for those files and his reference numbers (marked in blue pencil). At some stage his copies of letters were removed from his personal archive and placed in the Josephine Butler Letters Collection. Readers should also look at 3HJW for further records re the Northern Counties League.

Some of the copy letters are very faint, both on the microfiche and in the original. These are primarily letters that were copied using a 'wet' process. A thin sheet of tissue paper was damped and blotted over the original letter. This took a pale, often fuzzy copy of the letter, which was read 'through' the tissue. As well as being very faint these copies are very fragile.

ABBREVIATIONS:

CD / CDA Contagious Diseases Act

'RR' in the notes refers to 'Rough Record' a copy of which is available in the library, [search Printed Collections Catalogue for 'Keyword' for 'Rough Record'.]

Scientific notes, reports, photographs and correspondence, 1924-1957, relating to expeditions to East Africa, 1935-1936, and Southern Rhodesia, 1926-1928 and 1933-1935 to investigate malaria; report by Leeson on mosquito specimens collected by Captain Ward from the Island of Socotra, Yemen; a malaria survey in Arabia; includes scientific notes, tables, graphs, drawings, maps, photographs, correspondence and reports.

Papers of John Frederick Marshall, 1920-1965, mainly relating to his establishment of the British Mosquito Control Institute on Hayling Island in 1925 with associated papers concerning its work and administration; programmes, addresses and reports of meetings and conferences concerned with mosquito and malaria research; Reports of the Proceedings of the Institute; articles and pamphlets by Marshall on mosquitoes and malaria; press cuttings relating to mosquitoes and malaria in Britain, and to the malaria outbreak of 1927; sale particulars of the Institute as part of Marshall's estate.

Papers of Sir Ronald Ross, c1880-1928, including correspondence, manuscripts, reprints and newspaper cuttings collected by Ross. Includes information on the major campaigns for the control of malaria, closely documenting his own work through his notebooks, diagrams and thousands of letters from medical scientists, principally with Sir Patrick Manson in regard to Ross's research into malaria in India, and including correspondence with Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister, (Heinrich Hermann) Robert Koch, (Charles Louis) Alphonse Laveran; correspondence relevant to the early discoveries in trypanosomiasis and leishmaniasis; records of malaria researches during the World War One, and during his work at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, 1902-1918; papers and correspondence relating to Ross' efforts to improve the pay of research workers and the improvement of sanitation in the colonies, including letters from political figures such as James Ramsay MacDonald, (William) Waldorf Astor, 2nd Viscount Astor, John Edward Bernard Seely and Sir (Joseph) Austen Chamberlain; correspondence relating to publications by Ross; papers relating to Ross' work at the War Office, and his visit to South East Asia and India in 1926-1927, including photographs, medals, diplomas and copies of his literary works; papers relating to Ross' literary interests, including correspondence from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sir Henry Rider Haggard, Herbert George (H G) Wells and (Joseph) Rudyard Kipling; photographs and biographical information on Ross, including family correspondence containg letters from his two younger brothers discussing their work and careers, and a few letters from other relatives, primarily connected with researches into his family background for his autobiography.

Papers of The Centre for Sexual and Reproductive Health Research comprise posters and ephemera relating to sexual and reproductive health, and evaluation and campaign material, 1980s-1990s. Posters notably concern AIDS prevention and originate from countries across Europe including Norway, Greece, Switzerland and UK. Posters use strong imagery including condoms and syringes to illustrate the importance of sexual health, for example a Swedish poster includes an image of man and woman with condoms as halos, the caption reads 'Var din egen skyddsangel' or 'Be your own guardian angel'. Ephemera includes badges, bags, leaflets and tapes and videos from various countries concerning AIDS and sexual health campaigns.

Evaluation and campaign material relates to work carried out in 1980s and 1990s concerning AIDS and notably includes pamphlets and leaflets from campaigns carried out across Europe, AIDS Strategic Monitor publications and surveys and research collated by various market research companies. The material was presumably collected from and hence relates to Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Austria, Italy, Luxemburg, UK, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Norway and Greece.

Drewitt's pathological drawings, 1876-1881, both water-colour drawings and pencil sketches, of cases admitted to St George's Hospital, 1876-1878 and undated, and of cases of pharyngoeal diphtheria, made at Great Ormond Street Hospital, 1880, and scurvy, rickets and variola, 1881. Many are labelled and annotated.

Gavin Milroy's papers, 1870-1881, consist of reports and correspondence, between Milroy and the Colonial Office, on the subject of leprosy, particularly the contagiousness of the disease, and more specifically Milroy's inquiry into Louis Daniel Beauperthuy's treatment of leprosy in the West Indies, 1870-1881.

Records of the London Lock Hospital, 1746-1948, including administrative records detailing patient admissions and treatment. Board Minutes 1755-1948 (neat), 1761-1857 (rough); Asylum Minutes - general & special & annual, 1746-1948; Asylum Committees 1787-1842; Building Committee 1839-1849 including Chapel building fund 1845; Chapel Committee 1809-1877; Hospital Committee 1781-1870; Financial records 1787-1877; Annual Reports 1818-1945; Bye- laws 1890's; Annual Statistics 1870-1877; Dinners 1846-1864; Drug registers and case notes 1813-1814 and John Pearson (Assistant Surgeon) - clinical notes 1798-1799.

Papers of Thomas Anwyl-Davies, comprising photograph albums of exterior and interior scenes of St Thomas's Hospital, 1910-1917, compiled whilst a student and House Surgeon at St Thomas's, including photographs of staff, sports teams and surgical operations; albums of press cuttings, [1918-1965], relating to venereal disease, his work at St Thomas's Hospital Department of Venereal Diseases and London Hospital (Whitechapel) Clinic for Venereal Diseases, copies of some of his articles and lectures on venereal disease, press cuttings relating to the Royal Medical Benevolent Fund.

Manuscript copy of thesis submitted by Collis for the MB degree, University of Cambridge, titled 'On the results of tracheotomy in diphtheria', 7 Jun 1894.

Papers of William Hutchinson, 1810, comprising 2 volumes of manuscript notes by Hutchinson, taken at the surgical lectures of Sir Benjamin Brodie, covering topics such as inflammation, head injuries, burns and scalds, gonorrhea, and the effects of mercury.

Papers of Albert Wilson, c1870, comprising a volume titled [H]uman [P]athology, Prof. Saunders, 2 containing manuscript notes by Wilson, taken at the Pathology lectures of Professor Sanders at Edinburgh University; and a loose sheet containing notes on Tubercular Phthisis. The sheet of paper is from the Edinburgh Medical-Missionary Society's Training Institution and Dispensary at No 39 Cowgate. Wilson was resident physician at the Cowgate Dispensary.

Papers of John Gunn, 1926-2002, including extensive correspondence, notes, memoranda, funding applications, lecture presentations and press cuttings. The collection includes: files concerning the administration of the Institute of Psychiatry and its Department of Forensic Psychiatry, 1975-2000 (including policy, planning, funding, assessments and staffing), and the running of the Denis Hill Unit forensic in-patient service, Bethlem Royal Hospital, 1985-1998; published articles, book, chapters and book reviews by Gunn, 1966-2001, on topics including epilepsy, aggression, sex offenders, mental health legislation and suicide prevention in prison; research and research applications, 1966-2001, on topics including epileptic offenders, violence, and the discharge and subsequent care of Special Hospital patients; psychiatric questionnaires and assessments, 1967-1988; files relating to the Home Office, chiefly 1966-2000, and relating to the treatment of mentally disordered offenders, also copy medical evidence given to the Wolfenden Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution, 1954, and papers relating to the May enquiry, 1989-1992, into the convictions for IRA bombings in Guildford and Woolwich, 1974.

Prison Service correspondence and reports, 1975-2000, covering the provision of secure psychiatric units and psychiatric care of the general prison population; papers, 1975-2000, relating to the UK Special Hospitals (high security psychiatric hospitals), and to Grendon experimental prison for offenders with antisocial personality disorders; correspondence, meeting papers and background information on the impact of amendments and proposed amendments to UK mental health legislation, 1972-2000, including the Floud Committee on dangerous offenders, 1976-1981, and the work of the Parliamentary Mental Health Group in formulating policy to restrict the spread of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome), 1987-1988; reports and correspondence, 1972-2001, relating to the conduct of psychiatry, psychiatric facilities and prison welfare in countries including Australia, China, Egypt, Greece, Ireland and Turkey; papers, 1967-1999, relating to the Effra Trust, founded by Gunn in 1974 to provide accommodation and support to homeless male ex-offenders suffering from physical or mental disability.

Personal correspondence, 1921-1929, with Rev Canon Claude Jenkins, Professor of Ecclesiastical History at King's College, University of London, notably on Johnstone's application for the post of Head of History at Royal Holloway College and Jenkins' work with the Church of England. Visitors' book, 1913-1961, and autograph books, [1944], belonging to Johnstone. Presentation address from Royal Holloway College, given upon her retirement in 1942. Copy of 'Who's Who in relation to war trade', 1918, used by Johnstone in her work at the Board of Trade. Family papers, 1860-1916, including teaching certificates, 1860-1881, for Herbert and Sarah Anne Johnstone (Johnstone's mother and father); ledger, 1889-1910, containing a diary entry by Sarah Anne Johnstone describing Johnstone's exposure to scarlet fever; and a copy of 'Exile song', 10 Jan 1916, written by F H Johnstone (brother of Johnstone) and William Stephens. Photographs, [1890-1942], of Johnstone, her family, and students at Royal Holloway College.

Papers collected by Alan Hart and David McLean, including material relating to the following organisations: AIDS AHEAD (AIDS Health Education and Advice for the Deaf): correspondence and papers, newsletters, press cuttings, c 1987-1990; Campaign for Homosexual Equality, c 1979-1985, including conference papers, reports and newsletters of Croydon, Lewisham, Hampstead and Islington and Haringey CHE groups; Frontliners, a self-help group for people with AIDS or ARC, 1988-1992, including annual reports and accounts, financial records, correspondence, minutes and issues of Frontiers, the Frontliners magazine; Gays and Lesbians in Accountancy (GALIA), 1995-1996: newsletters and circulars; Albany Society, 1983, and London Lesbian and Gay Centre, 1983; Gay Community Organisation and GCO Distribution Services, 1980-1984, including papers relating to the foundation of GCO, minutes of meetings, correspondence, financial accounts, grant applications; Greater London Council (GLC) Gay Working Party, Haringey and Islington Councils Lesbian and Gay Working Groups, 1984-1986: minutes, correspondence and other papers; Open University Gay Society/Open University Lesbian and Gay Society, 1975-1985, including correspondence, newsletters; Terrence Higgins Trust, 1985-1987: newsletters, reports, circulars. Also includes: World Health Organisation papers relating to AIDS, including papers of WHO 'First International Conference on the Global Impact of AIDS', London, March 1988, newsletters and other publications, 1987-1990; publications, leaflets and press cuttings, [1974-1995], mainly regarding AIDS (including AIDS and the deaf), gay rights, gay parenting and sex education; gay fiction and photo magazines (including Gay Confessions, Kurt), brochures issued by travel agents specialising in gay holidays, gay and lesbian guides to London and other ephemera, 1970-1995; publications isssued by Inner London Education Authority and other education-related organisations re racial and sexual equality, c 1985-1987; letters to Alan Hart and David McLean, 1994-1999, mainly from MPs and politicians re debates on age of homosexual consent and Section 28; two Thethil Gay News cartoons by Peter Wicker, 1974; badges.