Manuscript collections

The Pitt Rivers Museum’s manuscript collections are made up of:

  • The papers of notable early anthropologists and curators associated with the Museum
  • Items relating to the Museum's foundation and early history
  • Historical documents and correspondence relating to the Museum’s collections
  • Special collections of field notes, works on paper and other material of particular relevance to the Museum’s interests

The manuscript collections are an important resource for researchers studying the history of museums and anthropology. They are available for consultation by appointment. 

Contact: ms-photo.colls@prm.ox.ac.uk

You can use this page to view a full list of our manuscript holdings.

 

Full list of manuscript collections:

Allan Papers
Reverend William ALLAN (1837 – c.1915)

Ambache / Saumarez Smith Papers
Jonathan AMBACHE (1945-1968) and Richard SAUMAREZ SMITH (b. 1945)

Arkell Papers
Anthony John ARKELL (1898-1980)

Baddeley Papers
John Frederick BADDELEY (1854-1940)

Baker Papers
Henry George BAKER (1918–2006)

Balfour Papers
Henry BALFOUR (1863-1939)

Barnes Papers
Alfred Schwartz BARNES (1868-1949)

Bell Papers
Sir Charles Alfred BELL (1870-1945)

Blackwood Papers
Beatrice Mary BLACKWOOD (1889-1975)

Blair Papers
John Herbert BLAIR (1904-fl. 1940)

Blomfield Papers
James Edward BLOMFIELD (1856-fl. 1910)

Bower Papers
Ursula Violet Graham Betts (née BOWER) (1914-1989)

Bradford Papers
John Spencer Purvis BRADFORD (1918-1975)

Brown Papers
Elizabeth Jean Lucas Sassoon (née BROWN) (b. 1927)

Buxton Papers
Jean Carlile Buxton (1921–1971)

Caton-Thompson Papers
Gertrude CATON-THOMPSON (1888-1985)

Chapman Papers
Frederick Spencer CHAPMAN (1907-1971)

Clausen Papers
Raymond Ernst CLAUSEN (c.1915-1993)

Cockburn Papers
John Scott COCKBURN (1891-fl.1971)

Cole Papers
Sir Henry Walter George COLE (1866-1932) and Lady Mai Kathleen COLE (fl. 1915-fl. 1920)

Cranstone Papers
Bryan Allan Lefevre CRANSTONE (1918-1989)

Crocker Jones Papers
Gigi CROCKER JONES (1933-2002)

Crook Papers
Herbert David CROOK (1856-1926)

Egerton Papers
Sir George Le Clerc EGERTON (1852-1940)

Ettlinger Papers
Ellen ETTLINGER (née Rathenau) (1902-1994)

Evans-Pritchard Papers
Sir Edward Evan EVANS-PRITCHARD (1902-1973)

Eyre Papers
Lucy Margaret EYRE (1874-1963)

Foster Papers
Georgiana Fanny Julia FOSTER (1891-1975)

Freire-Marreco Papers
Barbara Whitchurch Aitken (née FREIRE-MARRECO) (1879-1967)

Gardner Papers
Elinor Wight Gardner (1892–c.1980)

Garrod Papers
Dorothy Annie Elizabeth GARROD (1892–1968)

Gibson-Hill Papers
Carl Alexander GIBSON-HILL (1911-1963)

Gross Papers
Papers of Denise Gross (1906–1971)

Grist Papers
Robert Frederick GRIST (1919–1990)

Hardyman Collection
Keith HARDYMAN (1924 - 2009)

Hilton-Simpson Papers
Melville William HILTON-SIMPSON (1881-1938)

Hottot Papers
A. Robert HOTTOT (1884-1939)

Hutton Papers
John Henry HUTTON (1885-1968)

Jameson Papers
James Sligo JAMESON (1856-1888)

Jeffreys Papers
Mervyn David Waldegrave JEFFREYS (1890-1975)

Knowles Papers
Sir Francis Howe Seymour KNOWLES (1886-1953)

Lewis Papers
Bazett Annesley Lewis (1907–1970)

Lienhardt Papers
(Ronald) Godfrey LIENHARDT (1921–1993)

Makereti Papers
Margaret Pattison Staples-Browne (née Thom, subsequently Dennan), known as ‘Maggie (MAKERETI) Papakura’ (1872-1930)

Marett Papers
Robert Ranulph MARETT (1866-1943)

McDougall Papers
Elsie Colsell MCDOUGALL (1883-1961)

Mechling Papers
William Hubbs MECHLING (1888-1953)

Meinhard Papers
Heinrich MEINHARD (1900-1975)

Mills Papers
James Philip MILLS (1890-1960)

Miscellaneous Manuscripts
MISCELLANEOUS MANUSCRIPTS

Myres Papers
Sir John Linton MYRES (1869-1954)

Nepean Papers
Sir Evan Yorke NEPEAN (1909-2002)

Nevins Papers
Hugh Nevin NEVINS (1888-1968)

Oakley Papers
Kenneth Page OAKLEY (1911-1981)

Oldeberg Papers
Andreas Emil OLDEBERG (1892-1980)

Oxford University Anthropological Society Papers
OXFORD UNIVERSITY ANTHROPOLOGICAL SOCIETY (founded 1909)

Parsons Papers
Catherine Elizabeth PARSONS (1870-1956)

Penniman Papers
Thomas Kenneth PENNIMAN (1895-1977)

Pitt Rivers Museum Papers
PITT RIVERS MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD

Pitt-Rivers Papers
Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt-Rivers (1827-1900)

Posey Papers
Darrell Addison POSEY (1947-2001)

Powell-Cotton Papers
Diana POWELL-COTTON (1908-1986) and Antoinette POWELL-COTTON (1913-1997)

Pring Papers
Samuel William PRING (1866-1954)

Radcliffe-Brown Papers
Alfred Reginald RADCLIFFE-BROWN (1881-1955)

Robley Papers
Horatio Gordon ROBLEY (1840-1930)

Roth Papers
George Kingsley ROTH (1903-1960)

Sassoon Papers
Hamo SASSOON (1925-2004)

Skeat Papers
Walter William SKEAT (1866-1953)

Smyly Papers
Sir Philip Crampton SMYLY (1866-1953)

Spencer Papers
Sir Walter Baldwin SPENCER (1860-1929)

Temple Papers
Sir Richard Carnac TEMPLE (1850-1931)

Thesiger Papers
Sir Wilfred Patrick THESIGER (1910-2003)

Thomson Papers
Arthur THOMSON (1858-1935)

Tobert Papers
Natalie TOBERT (b. 1953)

Tylor Papers
Sir Edward Burnett TYLOR (1832-1917)

Waddell Papers
Gordon P. WADDELL (fl. 1957-fl. 1974)

Webb Papers
Anthony Damian WEBB (1918–1990)

Wenzel Papers
Marian Barbara WENZEL (1932-2002)

Westlake Papers
Ernest WESTLAKE (1855-1922)

Woodthorpe Papers
Robert Gosset WOODTHORPE (1844-1898)