The archive consists of working papers, leaflets, articles (1973-1987) and a photocopy of a periodical 'Women and Librarianship', volume 5 number 4 1984.
Women in LibrariesThe archive consists of two scrapbooks of manuscript poems, reviews and press cuttings. The volumes contain items relating to the suffrage movement and general news items about politics, art, literature and theatre. There are many press cuttings from 'The Freethinker' and manuscript poems by Simmons. The archive also includes a photocopied surrogate version of parts of the scrapbooks and an index.
Simmons , Bayard , fl 1906 , authorThis scrapbook consists of general press cuttings about the events of the Second World War.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings on the subject of prostitution from national and regional newspapers, for the years 1929-2001 (only five cuttings dated before the 1970s).
UnknownThese scrapbooks consist of press cuttings from the national and local press relating to 'women's organisations' ‘'he dangerous trades', 'child labour', 'home industries' and 'sweating'.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings on a range of subjects relating to women in public life with particular reference to women in the civil service.
UnknownScrapbook of press cuttings on a wide range of issues relating to women's position during and immediately subsequent to the First World War, including employment, venereal disease, women in public life and the activities of the Women's Freedom League. Many of the press cuttings came from a press cuttings agency.
UnknownScrapbook of press cuttings related to the Women's Suffrage Bill, 1897.
Not knownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings of obituaries; ephemera relating a memorial service held for Millicent Fawcett in 1919 and to the unveiling of a memorial in Westminster Abbey in 1932; also includes a photograph of Fawcett, seated and with a cat on her lap.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings from the national and regional press relating to the suffrage campaigns, 1908-1909.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings, mainly from the national press; also including some cuttings from the United States, 1939-1940.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings relating to lectures held by the Bureau and to the periodical Women's Employment, 1917-1953.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings concerning tax resistance, the Women's Tax Resistance League and general issues concerning women and tax, 1910-1912.
UnknownScrapbook of press cuttings, 1909-1941, concerning the activities of the Women's Employment Publishing Company, including the publications 'The Fingerpost', 'Careers and Vocational Training'.
Provenance uncertainScrapbook of press cuttings on women in domestic service, restaurant work, catering, household management, and related fields, 1915-1935.
Not knownScrapbook of press cuttings and printed ephemera on a range of subjects, 1910, including the suffrage campaigns, the General Election and the death and funeral of King Edward VII. Includes commemorative postcards of the latter.
Winterne , A E WThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings, the provenance is unknown. The volume contains the bookplate of Lucy Adela Jenner and it is possible that this is an indication of the provenance of the suffrage cuttings. The suffrage press-cuttings, including from the local press in London and Hampshire are about the suffrage campaigns, 1908-1909.
Additional press-cuttings from a press agency from 1918-1919 and those relating to domestic service, appear to have been added at a later date [possibly from the same added by the Library source as those in 10/06].
Jenner , Lucy Adela , b 1859This scrapbook consists of press cuttings relating to concerts, entertainments, recitals, dramatic performances, fetes, bazaars, charitable and fund-raising events, many taken from women's magazines, such as The Lady; also includes profiles of women notable for a wide range of specialisms ranging from botany to tapestry painting.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings and typescript notes on the position relating to family allowances in different countries including America, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, France, Germany and Luxembourg, 1930-1934.
UnknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings with a strong visual content, ephemera, postcards and a few original photographs relating to the suffrage campaigns. The photographs include images of the Women's Social and Political Union procession in Edinburgh, Oct 1909.
Murray , Eunice Guthrie , 1878-1960 , suffragist and authorScrapbook of press cuttings on a wide range of topics, including divorce law reform, imprisonment for debt, the suffrage campaigns, home work and the sweated trades, 'the white slave traffic', and any others.
Lawrence , Emmeline , Pethick- , 1867-1954 , Lady Pethick-Lawrence , suffragetteThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings, leaflets, posters and other ephemera relating to the suffrage campaigns in Sheffield and the activities of the Sheffield Women's Suffrage Society.
Wilson , Helen Mary , 1864-1951 , social purity campaigner and physicianThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings from the regional and specialist press, including many articles written by Cécile Matheson, relating to the Birmingham Women's Settlement and her other social welfare interests and activities.
Matheson , [Marie] Cécile , c 1870-1950 , social and welfare workerOver 3,000 periodical titles are held dating from 1745, some in single issues, but many in complete or representative runs. The Periodicals Collection brings together academic, popular and campaigning women's journals in one location and gives a unique insight into periodicals published about, for and by women. Titles range from commercially-produced popular magazines (Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan), to academic quarterlies (Gender and History, Feminist Review), organisational journals (One Parent Families, National Association of Women Pharmacists), special interest publications (Executive Black Woman), and older titles such as the English Woman's Journal. Many of these titles are not held in other research collections. The non-commercial nature of many of these periodicals with limited self-published print runs, resulted in periodicals that were issued irregularly, on poor quality paper and often only selectively deposited with the main copyright libraries.
COMMERCIALLY PUBLISHED
The Library's collection of commercially published magazines, a key resource for research into social history and popular culture, begins with the Ladies' Almanack of the 1740s and documents women's fashion and domestic concerns from runs of the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine, The Queen, Ladies' Magazine, Ladies Monthly Magazine and Lady, Gentlewoman, in the 19th century; Home Chat, Woman's Weekly, Woman, Woman's Own, Honey,, Cosmopolitan and Marie Claire in the 20th century; Grazia, Glamour and Easy Living of more recent years. Also included are some magazines aimed at girls and young women such as The Girls' Own Paper, Petticoat, Just 17 and Jackie.
FEMINIST AND CAMPAIGNING
At the heart of the Periodical Collection are the women's campaigning journals and feminist periodicals. The collection of feminist periodicals at The Women's Library is unrivalled in its extent and breadth. It begins with the English Woman's Journal of the mid-19th century, and continues with titles such as The Young Women and includes complete runs of titles such as The Women's Penny Paper, the Woman's Herald, Victoria Magazine, the Woman's Signal, the Woman's Leader, Englishwoman's Review, Englishwoman, Freewoman, Time and Tide, Woman's Gazette, and Shafts all of which were key to the development of feminist theory and progressive ideas.
SUFFRAGE
The Library's extensive collection of suffrage periodicals is central to the study of women's rights in the 20th century, titles including Votes for Women, Common Cause, Woman's Dreadnought, The Vote, the Women's Suffrage Journal, Women's Franchise, the Suffragette Newssheet, the Independent Suffragette, Britannia, and the Suffragette as well as titles such as the Anti-Suffrage Review.
WOMEN'S LIBERATION MOVEMENT
The collection of journals documenting 'second-wave' feminism in the UK includes complete runs of titles such as Spare Rib and Trouble and Strife and near complete runs of other liberation titles such as Red Rag, Shrew, WIRES, Outwrite and the London Women's Liberation Newsletter. Regional involvement was an integral part of the movement and this is charted through a number of regional titles including Brighton and Hove Women's Liberation Group, Edinburgh Women's Liberation newsletter, Leeds Women's Liberation newsletter, Leicester Women's Liberation newsletter, Manchester Women's Liberation newsletter and Norwich Women's Centre newsletter.
CONTEMPORARY FEMINISTS
The periodical holdings continue to document the development of contemporary feminism, sometimes referred to as 'third wave', with titles including Verve and Subtext. Additional contemporary feminist publications can be found within our 'zine' collection (dating from 2002).
WOMEN'S ORGANISATIONS
Periodicals created by women's organisations, networks and campaigns. These can include weekly or monthly newsletters and magazines aimed at members, quarterly and annual journals aimed at members and a wider academic audience, and annual reports aimed at a wider audience. Given the short life of many campaigning organisations, their newsletters and bulletins often provide the main record of their activities. Few of these publications are held elsewhere, and they are only selectively deposited with national collections, organisations include: the Fawcett Society, National Council of Women, The National Federation of Women's Institutes (Home and Country), Townswomen's Guilds (The Townswoman), UK Federation of Business and Professional Women, Girls' Friendly Society, Executive Black Woman, Catholic Citizen and National Association of Women Pharmacists document women's efforts to come together to improve the quality of their lives.
SPECIALIST INTEREST
Whilst retaining the collecting focus of women's lives in the UK, there are a number of subject specialist interest areas including:
-
The Arts - titles such as Feminist Arts News, Heresies: a feminist publication on art and politics, n.paradoxa: international feminist art journal, Vogue and Women's Art Magazine.
-
Domestic Violence - titles such as Rights of Women Bulletin, Violence Against Women: an international interdisciplinary journal and Women at War: preventing gun violence, WAVAV - Women Against Violence Against Women.
-
Education - titles such as Gender and Education, The Woman Teacher, Gen: an anti-Sexist Education Journal, British Federation of University Women, and The Parents' Review.
-
Employment - titles such as Work and Leisure, Women's Union Journal, Labour Woman, Women's Trade Union Review, Equality Now: magazine of the Equal Opportunities Commission, Executive Woman, the Woman Worker, The Woman Engineer: journal of the Woman's Engineering Society and Double shift: working women's newsletter.
-
Family and the home - titles such as Women's Weekly, Woman's Own, Family Planning Today and New Home economics.
-
Feminist Theory - titles such as Feminist Studies, Feminist Economics, Feminist Theory, and the International Journal of Feminist Studies.
-
Health - titles such as Women and Health, Top Sante, London Black Women's Health Action project newsletter and Mental Health.
-
Law - titles such as ALRA newsletter: Campaigning for a Woman's Right to Choose on Abortion, Family Law, Individualist: monthly journal of personal rights, Lesbian Employment Rights, and Rights of Women Bulletin, National Abortion Campaign.
-
Literature - titles such as Mslexia, Silver Moon Quarterly and Writing Women.
-
Media - titles such as Feminist Media Studies, The Woman Journalist and Women's Media Action Bulletin.
-
Medicine - titles such as Women in Medicine: newsletter of the Medical Women's Federation and National Association of Women Pharmacists newsletter.
-
Motherhood - titles such as Home and Family: journal of the Mother's Union, Journal of Marriage and Family, Maternity Alliance, Gingerbread, One Parent Families, World Congress of Mothers News and Information.
-
Sexuality - titles such as Sappho, Sex Roles: a journal of research, Journal of the history of sexuality, Chroma, Diva, Arena Three and Dykelife.
-
Women and peace - titles such as Woman today, Greenham Newsletter, Peace and Freedom News: journal of the British Section of Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Sellafield Women's Peace Camp Newsletter, Women for a Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific Newsletter and WoMenwith Hill: Women's Peace Camp Newsletter.
-
Politics - titles such as Equal Opportunities International, Gender and Society and the NAWO e-bulletin (National Alliance of Women's Organisations).
-
Prostitution - titles such as The Shield: to promote the repeal of Contagious Diseases Act, Network: news from the English Collective of Prostitutes and WHISPER: Women hurt in systems of prostitution engaged in revolt.
-
Ethnicity - titles such as Pride, Race Today and Manushi.
-
Religion - titles such as Church Militant, Jewish Women's Review, Catholic Citizen, Newsheet/Women Living Under Muslim Laws International Solidarity Network, and Movement for the Ordination of Women.
-
Science and Technology are The Woman Engineer, Science for People, Women Chemists Newsletter and Forum: Journal of the Association for Women in Science and Engineering.
-
Sport - titles such as Poise: the Health and beauty magazine, Ladies' Alpine Club, The Dyke: Lesbian Walkers' Magazine, Women in Sport: the Voice of Women's Sport and Outdoor Women.
The catalogued Pamphlet Collection comprises over 12,000 titles dating from approximately 1830 to the present. The Pamphlet Collection consists of printed material less than 60 pages in length and includes government policies, reports, annual reports and campaigning material, primary law, including Bills and Acts. The subject material of the collection reflects and enriches the wide range of topics held elsewhere in the Women's Library.The topics covered include: English fiction, children's stories, poetry, women's organisations, feminism, role of women in society - UK and abroad, nursing, sex discrimination law, divorce law, employment, occupations, careers, equal opportunities, labour law, pension law, social security, taxation, housing, health, pregnancy, abortion, birth control, domestic violence, mothers, one-parent families, children, family life, housekeeping, religion, ordination, arts, costume, suffrage. Organisations include Equal Opportunities Commission, Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital, National Union of Suffragettes, National Society for Women's Suffrage, US Women's Bureau, American National Red Cross, Union of Jewish Women, National Union of Townswomen's Guilds, National Federation of Women's Institutes, Fawcett Society, National Council for the Unmarried Mother and Her Child, British Federation of University Women, Association of University Women Teachers, Divorce Law Reform Union. Most of the material is in English, but there are also pamphlets in other languages, such as Italian, German and French.The pamphlets are arranged in two sections - one for standard sized pamphlets and one for oversized pamphlets.
The 'UDC Pamphlet Collection' [Universal Dewey Decimal Classification]: In addition to the main Pamphlet Collection is the 'UDC Pamphlet Collection.' The UDC collection was the first pamphlet collection created by the Library and consists of approximately 10,000 pamphlets dating from mid nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries, covering all subjects. As the collection was gradually acquired during the Library's first 20 years of life, it was arranged by subject, using the Universal Decimal Classification system. The pamphlets were primarily deposited by organisations and individuals, although some purchases were made. There is a finding aid kept with the collection but the collection was never catalogued and therefore remained a hidden resource within the Library for more than 80 years. Unsurprisingly other libraries did not collect most of these pamphlets. In 2007 as part of a cataloguing funding bid preliminary sampling of the collection against Copac (the merged online catalogues of 24 university research libraries in the UK, plus the British Library and the National Library of Scotland) found that over 60% of the UDC pamphlets were not listed in these major research collections. This is a very significant level of unique printed material.Cataloguing of the UDC collection started in 2007 and as the pamphlets are catatogued, they are transferred to the main pamphlet collection described above. As at 2009 the collection was partially catalogued and The Library was seeking additional funds to complete the project.
VariousThe Cavendish-Bentinck Library contains many pre-1850 books, pamphlets and periodicals. There are many seventeenth and eighteenth century classic publications, such as Richard Brathwaite's The English gentlewoman: drawne out to the full body and Look ere you leap: or, A history of the lives and intrigues of leud women; first editions of publications by Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley, the Brontes, Fanny Burney, Maria Edgeworth, George Eliot, Virginia Woolf and many others. The periodical holdings include The Lady's magazine 1760-1839 and The Englishwoman's domestic magazine 1852-1879. Cookery and household management books include Hannah Wolley's The Queen-like closet, 1675, and Mrs Beeton's Book of household management, 1861. The collection is also strong on material relating to the suffrage campaigns, including many rare pamphlets. Newly acquired material was added to the collection until the 1950s - hence this collection houses most of the The Women's Library's printed holdings dating from 1600 to 1850. The Cavendish-Bentinck collection is catalogued on The Women's Library's online catalogue and volumes can be ordered by completing a Collections order slip and consulted in the Reading Room. Due to the age and fragility of most of the material in the Cavendish-Bentinck collection no photocopying is permitted.
Bentinck , Ruth , Cavendish- , 1867-1953 , suffragist x Cavendish-Bentinck , RuthScrapbook of press cuttings, 1936-1938, concerning women's work in a wide variety of occupations and general employment issues such as equal pay and insurance contributions; also deals with the employment of women outside Britain.
Provenance unknownThis scrapbook consists of press cuttings, mainly from the national press, concerning the events of the First World War.
Inscribed on the flyleaf: 'These press cuttings were collected by Dame Adelaide Anderson during the early years of the Great War, 1914-18.'
Anderson , Dame , Adelaide Mary , 1863-1936 , HM Chief Lady Inspector of Factories