IDENTITY STATEMENT
Reference code(s): GB 0103 ORWELL (T)
Held at: University College London
Title: Orwell Papers: photographs
Date(s): 1893-1984
Level of description: sub-fonds
Extent: c200 photographs
Name of creator(s): Various
CONTEXT
Administrative/Biographical history:
George Orwell: born Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, Bengal, India, 25 June 1903; educated at Eton, 1917-1921; served in Burma in the Indian Imperial Police, 1922-1928; lived for several years in poverty, as a dish-washer in Paris, France, and as a tramp in England, 1928-1931; school teacher at the Hawthorns, Middlesex, 1932-1933; part-time assistant in a Hampstead bookshop, London, 1934-1935; wrote books and novels, 1933-1949; married Eileen Maud O'Shaughnessy (died 1945), 1936; reviewer of novels for the New English Weekly, until 1940; visited areas of mass unemployment in Lancashire and Yorkshire, 1936; wounded in Spain fighting for the Republicans, 1937; member of the Home Guard during World War Two; worked for the British Broadcasting Corporation Eastern Service, 1940-1943; Literary Editor of Tribune, 1943-1945; war correspondent for the Observer, 1945; regular contributor to the Manchester Evening News, 1943-1946; suffered from tuberculosis, often in hospital, 1947-1950; married Sonia Mary Brownell, 1949; died, 21 January 1950. Publications: Down and out in Paris and London (Victor Gollancz, London, 1933); Burmese days (Harper & Brothers, New York, 1934); The road to Wigan pier (Victor Gollancz, London, 1937); Homage to Catalonia (Secker & Warburg, London, 1938); Coming up for air (Victor Gollancz, London, 1939); The lion and the unicorn (Secker & Warburg, London, 1941); Animal farm (Secker & Warburg, London, 1945); Critical essays (Secker & Warburg, London, 1946); The English people (Collins, London, 1947); Nineteen eighty-four (Secker & Warburg, London, 1949); Shooting an elephant, and other essays (Secker & Warburg, London, 1950).
CONTENT
Scope and content/abstract:
Photographs by various photographers, 1893-1984 and undated, relating to George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair), comprising a mixture of original prints, and prints copied from various sources. The bulk of the collection consists of photographs of Orwell himself, 1903-1945, at home and at work, including some at the Hawthorns (Hayes) and at the BBC. The collection also includes photographs of his family, including his parents, Ida and Richard, and their home in Southwold, his sisters, Marjorie and Avril, his first wife Eileen, their son Richard, and his second wife Sonia; friends and acquaintances; his homes, including Canonbury, Notting Hill Gate, Wallington and Jura; places he visited, including Burma, Spain and Morocco; his signatures; his grave; and a commemorative plaque at Hayes.
ACCESS AND USE
Language/scripts of material: English (where applicable).
System of arrangement:
The photographs are arranged in the following sections: 'Classics Collection', comprising the best-known photographs of Orwell (Ref: 1); photographs of Orwell arranged in approximately chronological order (Ref: 2); photographs of people related to or associated with Orwell (Ref: 3); things and places associated with Orwell (Ref: 4); photographs relating to Orwell's burial (Ref: 5); miscellaneous photographs, including unidentified subjects (Ref: 6).
Conditions governing access:
Open.
Conditions governing reproduction:
Various individuals hold the copyright to the photographs: details are available at University College London Special Collections.
Physical characteristics:
Finding aids:
Files containing copies of the photographs, including reference codes and details including (where known) date, location and photographer.
ARCHIVAL INFORMATION
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information:
Accruals:
Archival history:
Immediate source of acquisition:
Various. The photographs comprise an artificial collection created at University College London Special Collections.
ALLIED MATERIALS
Existence and location of originals:
The copy prints are duplicated from various sources.
Existence and location of copies:
Various picture agencies hold copies of Orwell photographs.
Related material:
University College London Special Collections holds details of some photographs of Orwell held elsewhere.
Publication note:
DESCRIPTION NOTES
Note:
Archivist's note: Compiled by Rachel Kemsley as part of the RSLP AIM25 project.
Date(s) of descriptions: Nov 2001