A large proportion of The Women's Library Photograph Collection is comprised of portraits of famous women and significant individuals in women's campaigning. There is also a range of photographs of the birthplaces, burial places and funerals of prominent women.

The main strength of the collection is in the group of photographs that represent suffrage campaigning. The images represent a wide range of activities such as suffrage arrests, elections, petitions, demonstrations, processions and exhibitions.

The work undertaken by women on the Home and Western fronts is recorded in a number of photographs taken during the First and Second World Wars.

There is a limited, but growing, range of photographs that document post-suffrage women's campaigning such as feminist work during the 1970s and 1980s, in the form of arrests and demonstrations. There are images relating to a few of the many 20th century women's organisations and their activities, such as conferences and debates.

A small number of photographs grouped by subject illustrate women's everyday experiences in areas such as sport and education.

Although focussing on the United Kingdom, the international nature of campaigning means that a number of international women or places are represented in this collection.

As at Jan 2009, The Women's Library held approximately 1,144 postcards in the Museum Collection, with 211 postcards identified in the archives.

The earliest postcards held result from suffrage campaigning and include: documentary photographs of suffrage activities and events, and portraits of activists produced by the Women's Social and Political Union, the Women's Freedom League, and illustrated propaganda cards produced by the Artists' Suffrage League and the Suffrage Atelier. The collection also includes a significant number of anti-suffrage comic cards produced by commercial printers. There is a range of cards illustrating the campaigns for women's enfranchisement in Holland, Sweden, France and USA amongst other countries. Women's contribution to the First World War is documented in a number of postcards that represent the Scottish Women's Hospitals and other hospitals.

In addition, the collection contains contemporary postcards dating from the late 1970s to the present day. It includes a selection of satirical cartoons concerned with female characteristics and roles, a range of cards produced by women's organisations and campaign groups, particularly peace groups, cards representing campaigning on issues internationally.

Most postcards in the collection are blank on the reverse side. There are a number, such as those sent by women on the suffrage caravan tours and during the First World War, which were sent and the text may be useful for research.

As at Jan 2009, The Women's Library held approximately 1050 posters in the Museum Collection, with c 100 posters identified in the archives.

The earliest posters held result from suffrage activities and can be divided into three main groups; advertisements for meetings and events, illustrated propaganda posters arguing why women should get the vote, and thirdly newspaper bills bearing suffrage related headlines, used to promote paper sales.

All other posters are arranged by subject and date from the 1970s to the present day. The collection represents a mixture of women's campaigning, campaigning by organisations to promote gender equality, and posters produced to advertise women-focused events and publications. There are a small number of posters that portray women's issues and campaign work internationally. The work of The Equal Opportunities Commission in England and Ireland is particularly well represented as a result of a large donation of their obsolete posters during the 1990s. Also well represented with almost 80 posters is the work of See Red Women's Workshop, a women's liberation screen-printing collective (1974-1984).

Two scrapbooks of presscuttings and printed ephemera documenting Miss Nettlefold's legal career and the campaigns relating to women's entry into the legal profession. It also includes legal documents relating to Bebb v. The Law Society, a ms paper [by Miss Nettlefold] entitled, 'Women and the Legal Profession'; and a ts paper entitled, 'History of the efforts to open the legal profession to women in England and Scotland', Mar 1920. Also included are articles on women lawyers in Britain and abroad and cuttings relating to the barrister Helena Normanton.

Scrapbooks of press cuttings, printed material and photographs relating to Ruth Homan's career as a member of the London School Board (London County Council). It includes an album of press cuttings and albums of photographs of domestic science teaching / domestic service training in the London area showing classrooms, girls at school and some photographs of girls and boys playing.

Scrapbook 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.

This scrapbook consists of press cuttings from the national and regional press relating to the suffrage campaigns, 1908-1909.

Scrapbook 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.

This 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.

This 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].

Scrapbook 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.

Scrapbook of press cuttings related to the Women's Suffrage Bill, 1897.

This scrapbook consists of press cuttings concerning tax resistance, the Women's Tax Resistance League and general issues concerning women and tax, 1910-1912.

This 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.'

Papers of Shirley Gordon, 1984-2006, including reports by Gordon including 'Report on Central American Mission Visit 26th February - 28th March 1986'; report for the Commonwealth Secretariat, 'Commonwealth Student Mobility in the Nineteen Eighties', 1984; abstract, 'Issues raised by Ladies in limbo: the fate of women's bureaux six case studies from the Caribbean' prepared by Gordon and 'An evaluation of the Canadian UNICEF committee - CIDA/NGO division three year programme 1983- 1986'. Papers relating to research by Gordon including notes and photocopies of archival material including of the registry of baptisms, Falmouth Methodist Society Island of Jamaica; Typescript papers by Gordon including 'VI Decolonisation'; 'Historical perspectives on the education of women in the Caribbean'; 'Food supply and pricing'; 'The impact of macro-economic policies on women', 28 Nov 1986; 'Contemporania: A New Phase of Third World Educational Development'; proofs with corrections and typescript index for 'Our cause for His glory: Christianisation and emancipation in Jamaica'; 'Bahamian history'; edited proofs of God Almighty Make Me Free; 'God is dumb until the dumb speaks: religious life in Jamaica before emancipation'; 'The Christianisation of Jamaica during slavery'; 'God is all we got to gamble wit' Roots of Afro-Jamaican Religion and comments by Gordon on H Fergus', History of Education in the Leeward Islands (for UWI press, 2001); Press cuttings including obituary of Edna Manley, The Times, 27 Feb 1987 and on the Gulf War, 1991; Correspondence , 1989-1994, on topics including vol. 5 of UNESCO General History of the Caribbean, 1993-1994; the history of missionaries; the 'Christianisation' of Jamaica; missionary activity and with US and UK archives; Papers by others including 'The contributions of Joseph John Williams, S.J., 1875-1940 to the study of religion in the history of Africa and the Caribbean', by Robert J Stewart; 'The work of the Anglican church in Jamaica 1826- 1845' , MA research paper by Fay Aileen Williams, UWI 1987; 'Hilary's tales - from the 1998 crop', 'Hilary's tales - the harvest of 1999', 'Still more tales, 2001', by Hilary Semmens and paper [by John Macpherson] on St. Anthony's Church, Montserrat. Papers on the 'Gender and Education' programme, Women and Development Studies, Faculty of Education and The Women's Studies Group, University of the West Indies (UWI) Nov 1989; proposal to the Spencer Foundation, 'Education and society in the Creole Caribbean'; paper from the Second Meeting of Commonwealth Ministers Responsible for Women's Affairs, 'The policy process: integrating women and development initiatives', 1987 and programme for opening ceremony and list of participants for the 3rd disciplinary seminar, 'Gender and Education', UWI, 1989. Personal papers including letter from solicitors regarding citizenship of Jamaica; letter confirming honour of 'Friend of West Indian Education', Jamaica Historical Society; certificate for travel to British West Indies, 1958; copy of Gordon's will; programme for Gordon's memorial service, with notes from John MacPherson, Hilary Semmens, and Tony Elvin and obituary in The Guardian, 2006.

Pamphlets, leaflets, manifestos, conference reports, histories, speeches, appeals, letters and newsletters, 1976 onwards, issued by Afrikaans-Duitse Kultuurunie (Namibia), the Campaign Against the Namibian Uranium Contracts, Interessengemeinschaft Deutschsprachiger Südwester, the Namibia Support Committee, the South West Africa Volunteer Enterprise, the SWA/Namibia Information Service and the SWAPO Women's Solidarity Campaign.

The collection is mostly comprised of diaries written by Florence Turtle between 1917 and 1980. The first three diaries (1917-1919) contain generally brief and sporadic entries. There are then no diaries for the years 1920-1928. From 1929 onwards the diaries contain more detailed entries. There are no diaries for the years 1944, 1946, 1948-1949, 1952-1954, 1962, 1964-1965, or 1967-1970. Florence writes in her diaries about her relationships with family and friends, her living situation, work life, social life, holidays, and local, national and international current events, and records her thoughts and feelings on various matters. Many of the diaries contain additional notes, clarifications and corrections made by Florence in the 1970s. Some of the diaries contain photographs, and also pencil illustrations by Florence. The collection also contains one volume in which Florence reviews the books she reads throughout 1936, and a volume entitled 'Book of Ideas', in which Florence has written quotations from various sources, and also glued newspaper cuttings. The remaining items in the collection are a set of photographs of Florence's family and friends, and a framed certificate of election to the Buyers Association of Great Britain.

Includes papers and correspondence for: Wandsworth Working Women's Charter Group, 1975-77; Wandsworth Against Corrie's Bill, 1979-1980; National Abortion Campaign local groups, 1975; Wandsworth Women's Aid; Libraries for the Disadvantaged, 1974-75; Holiday Playschemes; Wandsworth Housing Project, 1979-82; County Courthouse development, 1974-78; Law Centres, 1975-77; York Gardens community centre, 1976-78; Wandsworth Housing Aid Society; Wandsworth Poverty Action Group; Channel Tunnel; Wandsworth Against Racism; Wandsworth Rights Umbrella Group papers; Popular Planning Project papers; other correspondence relating to housing, poverty and women's rights.

The collection comprises of three draft manuscripts of books written by A M W Stirling 1908-1914; an account of Queen Mary's visits to Launceston Place and Old Battersea House; as well as a travel diary of a tour in Switzerland kept by Anna Maria Spencer-Stanhope.

Papers of Patricia Hannah Clarke, 1963-2003, comprising biographical material including autobiographical material compiled for Clarke's personal record as a Fellow of the Royal Society; curriculum vitae; video of an interview for the Biochemical Society; papers relating to Deer Park School, Cirencester of which Clarke was a Governor, 1988-1999 and correspondence with local and national politicians on education, tobacco advertising and asylum seekers.

Papers relating to Clarke's interest in the historical contribution of women scientists and her concern in encouraging women scientists. Includes, correspondence, notes, printed reports and photocopied material used for a number of activities including her lecture 'Women in Science at University College, 1878-1978', 1992; Royal Society meeting on 'Women in Science and Technology: opportunities for change?', 28 May 1993; papers relating to Clarke's service on the Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Technology and a meeting on Women in Science at the Royal Society, 27 Mar 2001.

Publications including an incomplete set of offprints of Clarke's works; papers relating to her biographical memoirs of Roger Yate Stanier and Michael Douglas Lilly and her entry for Muriel Robertson for the New Dictionary of National Biography; lecture material including for Clarke's Royal Society Leeuwenhoek Lecture 'Experiments in microbial evolution: new enzymes, new metabolic activities', 1979, and the 19th J D Bernal Lecture, 'New directions in biology: basic science and biotechnology', delivered at Birkbeck College London, 1988.

Papers relating to eight UK and overseas societies and organisations, 1975-2001, including the British National Bibliographical Research Fund, the Royal Society, the Palm Oil Research Institute of Malaysia and the Research Grants Council, Hong Kong.

Papers relating to Clarke's visits and conferences, 1971-1998, including visits to the Far East including Singapore, Malaysia, China and Hong Kong and meetings marking the centenary of the birth of J B S Haldane, 1992.

Correspondence, including with researchers at University College London, colleagues in the UK and scientists in the USA and Europe. Correspondents include R E Drew, B W Holloway, S Brenner; H L Kornberg, R D Sager and R Y Stanier.

Notes from the lectures of George Fordyce at his house in Essex Street, Strand, for a period extending over 30 years on subjects including clinical lectures, acute diseases, chemistry, chronic diseases, diseases of women and children, materia medica and the natural history of the human body. Transcribed, mainly from short-hand notes, by Henry Rumsey, one of his pupils, 1785-1787.

Translation of Gilbertus Anglicus The Sekenesse of Wymmen [formerly identified as the Liber Trotularis], early 15th century, comprising a manuscript translation of a medieval obstetric/ gynaecological manuscript; an envelope containing 7 slips of transcripts of various pages in the manuscript, possibly written by Samuel Merriman (1771-1852); a letter from Mrs Dorothea Waley Singer concerning the manuscript and the publication of a catalogue of medieval manuscripts in Great Britain, Nov 1919; a notebook containing an unfinshed transcript of the manuscript when it was erroneously identified as the Liber Trotularis, Jan 1949; notebook and envelope of notes made by William Le Fanu on the 'Trotula' manuscript (now known to be Gilbertus Anglicus), and other medieval manuscripts from the Bodleian Library and other libraries.

Papers of Eleanor Davies-Colley, 1932, comprising a letter of reference by Davies-Colley, written on the headed paper of 16 Harley Street, 23 Mar 1932. Recommending Sister Perry, who worked at the South London Hospital for Women, 1929-1930. Including a note by Perry.

Papers of Brenda Francis, 1930s-1980s, comprising a large collection of photographs of domestic science, home economics, needlework, cookery, child care and homecraft teaching in London schools, possibly compiled as a reference collection intended for the use of teachers; minutes, circulated papers and reports of the United Kingdom Federation for Education in Home Management, 1954-1962; some printed material about home economics education.

Photographs: Large collection of photographs of domestic science, home economics, needlework, cookery, child care and homecraft teaching in London schools and other educational institutions such as open-air schools and teachers centres from the 1930s to the 1980s, possibly compiled as a reference collection intended for the use of teachers;

Publications: Printed material about home economics education, including works published by the ILEA, booklets published by the International Federation of Home Economics, relating to the 10th and 12th international congresses, regulations on teaching domestic education in 19th and 20th century, a publication of the Administration of Home Economics Education in Finland, a reference pack for teachers of pupils of ESN(s) [Severely educationally sub-normal] schools, and a work published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.;

Minutes and Papers: Relating to the meetings, activities and correspondence of the United Kingdom Federation for Education in Home Management.

The collection mainly consists of a set of Isabel Fry's personal diaries and notebooks dating from 1878-1958. These are supplemented by letters to her friend Eugénie Dubois, c1930-1958, and a few publications and photographs. The diaries reflect all aspects of her life and career including her teaching activities and educational ideas; her preoccupations with political and social affairs, including political reform and emancipation in the East and in Turkey and Persia; her friendships with liberal intellectuals; and her involvement with anti-militarist movements, slum clearance, socialism and feminism. Also included are details of her relationship with her family, friends and their wider social circle.

The Royal Geographical Society Additional Papers relate to all aspects of the RGS's history, 1830-1945, including Council minutes; committee minutes; Prospectus of 1830; reports on the state of the RGS, 1833 and 1837; correspondence concerning special meetings; financial statements and reports; notes on the Map Room and the Library; papers relating to the RGS's awards; regulations and byelaws; lists of Council and committee members; papers of the African Exploration Committee, 1877-1881; the fire-watcher's log books, 1940-1944; papers relating to the election of women as Fellows; papers on scientific enquiries, instruments and instruction; papers relating to the Kosmos, Raleigh and Geographical Clubs; formal addresses and diplomas; papers relating to anniversaries and other events; evening meeting minute books and papers relating to the leasing and furnishing of premises for the RGS, 1837-1930, in particular the purchase of Lowther Lodge.

Papers relating to Royal Geographical Society admission of women Fellows, 1892-1913, including report of the Special General Meeting, 1892; printed summary of the correspondence received from the Society; case submitted to Counsel and Counsel's opinion; notes by D W Freshfield; Counsel's opinion obtained in 1912; press cutting, 12 Nov 1912; printed papers, 1912 correspondence, 1910-1913 and photocopies of certificates of women elected in 1892.

Minutes of the Ladies Committee, 1849-1893, including the provisional Ladies Committee set up in 1849 and containing a list of the original Lady Visitors and a draft of the rules concerning the conduct of the young ladies; locked book containing notes by the Lady Visitors, 1850-1851, and lists of members of the House Committee, Library Committee, Education Committee and the Council, 1882-1893.

Correspondence between the RCOG President, Sir John Peel, and the Simon Population Trust concerning the enquiry into the sterilisation of women; statistical results of the survey; draft and final copies of the subsequent report, 1967-1969.

Minute book for Chelsea Hospital for Women Clinical Society from the first meeting, 19 Feb 1923, to 8 Mar 1973, with inserts including menus for Society dinners, correspondence and a printed history of Chelsea Hospital for Women.

Official programme of Reform League demonstration in London, 3 Dec 1866, giving details of times and places of meeting, routes of processions etc.

Sound recordings and papers relating to the radio series 'India: A People Partitioned', 1997. Cassette tapes of interviews (83 tapes) and partial transcripts concern the social history of partition between India and Pakistan (1947) and its effect on people in south Asia. Interviewees included some prominent political and cultural figures, but also 'ordinary' people whose lives were affected by the events surrounding independence, including the large number of refugees created. The subjects discussed include Communism, politicians including Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Muslim League, Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus. Cassette tapes of the five broadcast programmes (3 tapes) are also included: 'The Gathering of the Storm', on the context of partition, disturbances in 1946, and Gandhi's attempts to broker peace; 'The Killing Fields of Punjab', examining partition violence; ' Tearing the Veil', on women's experiences, including abduction; 'Comers and Goers', concerning the experiences of Muslims in India and their dilemma as to whether to migrate to Pakistan or remain in India; 'Unfinished Business', on the Kashmir dispute and the continuing legacy of partition in regional politics, culture and diplomacy. The partial transcripts were made for working purposes and are an indication rather than a definitive record of the contents of the tapes. Appended to the transcripts are copies of an occasional series of articles written by Andrew Whitehead for the Indian Express based on the material he gathered. An additional deposit comprises a cassette tape of the revised programme, 'Unfinished Business', 2000, and six further interview tapes, the interviewees including key participants in India-Pakistan relations, with notes on the contents of the interviews compiled for working purposes.