A Project to Trace Economists' Papers

Abstract

Projects to list primary source material for particular historical specializations have been set up recently in a number of fields. They supplement the work of the NRA. History of economic thought in Britain is largely a research subject and practitioners felt a need for a list of the papers of economists. A project for this purpose operated from September 1970 to August 1973 and information was collected from published sources and publicly available listings (including libraries' and record offices' own lists) as to the nature and whereabouts of papers of British and Irish economists 1700-1950- Considerable efforts were also made to locate new or lost material. Substantial lists of papers were compiled in many cases and the intention is that these will be published, whilst less substantial lists will be made publicly available by some other means. Research methods used are described and implications of this project discussed.

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References

The Political Records Project is financed by the Social Science Research Council and the first phase of its work resulted in the publication of A guide to the papers of British Cabinet Ministers 1900-1951 (Royal Historical Society, I974). The current phase of the Project is directed by Dr. C. P. Cook from the Library of the London School of Economics. For an account of an interesting business records survey see E. Green "Insurance sources for historians: a progress report"

Business archives, New series vol. 3, no. I (June 1974) 33-40.

History of economic thought newsletter no. 10 (Spring 1973), 6-12.

This applies in Britain, as in the USA there is a History of Economics Society, and a learned journal, History of political economy, Duke, U. P., I969-.

As from I January I975 the present writer will be editor of the Newslctter and communications can be addressed to him at the Department of Library and Information Studies, Loughborough University of Technology, Loughborough, Leics LEII 3TU.

R.M. MacLeod , Archives of British men of science (London 1972) published on microfiche.

The list of economists was circulated for comment among a wide range of scholars interested in the subject.

The Royal Economic Society, originally the British Economic Association, was not founded until I890, and the Political Economy Club had had a strictly limited membership.

Economics only became a subject for which universities awarded degrees late in the nineteenth century.

Chairs of Economics were only slowly created through the nineteenth century and firms or government departments did not appoint men specifically as economic advisers.

10.

D.P. O'Brien , The correspondence of Lord Overstone 3 vols. (Cambridge 1972 ). The papers themselves are now held by London University Library.

11.

The results have been announced for publication in the summer of I975 by Messrs. Macmillan and will appear under the title Economists' papers 1750-1950.