CHAPTER 3
PRIMARY SOURCES
CHAPTER 3 ______PRIMARY SOURCES ______
The variety of historical evidence is nearly infinite. M. Bloch, The Historian’s Craft, (Manchester University Press, 1954), p.66.
Rather than just relying on second-hand accounts of events historians consider that it is essential to use material contemporary to the events they are studying - primary material - to reconstruct the past for themselves. Primary sources are fundamental to history, but they are often fragmentary, ambiguous and difficult to analyse and interpret. Identifying, locating, accessing and understanding primary sources is much more complex than dealing with secondary sources. There are many different types of primary sources and diverse opinions exist among historians as to the validity and relative weight to be accorded to each of them. Some branches of history rely heavily on one or two types of source, while others are more eclectic in their approach. Debates arise as a result of different interpretations of the same primary sources, and are fuelled by the discovery of new evidence. Primary sources are open to multiple interpretations; you should not assume that any group of historians will agree about the meaning of historical evidence simply because they have all seen the same manuscripts or looked at the same set of photographs.
This chapter provides an introduction to three important skills relating to the use of primary sources by historians; locating, assessing and linking primary sources. A fourth vital skill, the actual writing of historical accounts based on primary sources, is addressed in Chapter 7 of this book.
LOCATING PRIMARY SOURCES ______
While it is relatively easy to locate and get hold of secondary sources through the use of library catalogues, electronic searches and Inter-Library Loans, there can be many more difficulties involved with primary sources. Some printed primary sources, especially more recent government and EU publications can be easily found in the University of Leicester Library. The Library also houses microfilm collections including copies of The Times, London Street directories and older official publications which may also be of use. In addition many primary sources such as the correspondence of significant individuals is available in printed form or on microfilm. Developments in electronic publishing promise to make more primary sources available on any networked computer but these developments are rather fragmentary at the moment. If, however, you choose a topic which requires the use of primary sources not available on site, you should be prepared to invest some effort in finding your material. The first step is to locate the repository which holds the material you are after. You then need to write, phone or email for more details and arrange a visit, ensuring that you prepare in advance so that you can work efficiently in the limited time you are likely to have available. Increasingly the availability of catalogues and finding aids on the WWW is making this easier, cutting down the time and effort ______25 ______Chapter 3 required for effective preparation. Once you have started to collect your information you need to reflect on how you will use it, and what other sources you still need to consult. It is worth remembering the advice that you should not go to an archive until you have a clear idea why you need to go there. Some archives are run on an informal basis, and you may find yourself working in a damp corner or in the same office as the person in charge. Others have a large staff of trained archivists and are run according to a strict standard procedure. An excellent website for anyone thinking of visiting an archive is ‘Using Archives: A Practical Guide for Researchers’ which is located at [http://www.archives.ca/index.html] - select ‘English’, then ‘publications’ to find the link.
There are a number of different types of repository which contain primary sources. These include record offices, local studies collection, reference libraries, museums and collections of other materials such as sound recordings, films or photographs. The following sections are aimed at giving you a few starting points to find the repository where the information you require is located.
LOCATING WRITTEN SOURCES:
The most extensive guide to documentary archives and their holdings in Britain is the National Register of Archives (NRA). The NRA was set up in 1945 by The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts. The register consists of more than 37,000 unpublished lists and catalogues of manuscript collections. They describe the holdings of local record offices, national and university libraries, specialist repositories, museums and other bodies in the United Kingdom and abroad. They also cover papers held privately by individuals, firms and institutions, and in such cases provide further information about the accessibility of the papers for research. Each list is given a reference number in the NRA numerical sequence and a descriptive title. These details are recorded on a computerised register, along with additional information, such as the location of the papers, enabling users to search the Register in a variety of ways. There are three computerised indexes to the Register, a Personal Index, a Business Index and a Subject Index. These can be searched at [http://www.hmc.gov.uk/nra/nra2.htm]
The NRA, its indexes and an extensive collection of published guides and catalogues can be consulted in the Commission’s search room at Quality House, Quality Court, Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1HP. It is open Monday-Friday 9.30 am-5.00 pm. No written introduction or reader’s ticket is required. Copies of selected NRA lists and indexes are distributed to a network of copyright libraries, national repositories and regional centres of research where they may be consulted. Further details of these are available from the Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts at the above address or Tel. 020 72421198 Email [email protected] The staff at the Commission have also produced a set of information sheets on sources for popular topics of historical research, e.g. women’s history and the history of the labour movement. These are available on the Internet at [http://www.hmc.gov.uk/nra/nra2.htm], select information resources.
A new online resource, Access to Archives (A2), provides access to the catalogues of many record offices simultaneously, but its coverage is not comprehensive.
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The Business Archives Council Business Archives Council, 101 Whitechapel High Street, London, E1 7RE, provides help in tracing the records of industrial and commercial undertakings. It carries out surveys of business archives and offers guidance to companies and institutions on the management of their records. Its counterpart in Scotland, the Business Archives Council of Scotland, is based at Archives & Business Records Centre, University of Glasgow, 77-87 Dumbarton Road, Glasgow G11 6PW. Both organisations have websites which contain further information on their activities.
The major repositories for official documents are the Public Record Office and local record offices. These will be discussed in Chapters 5 and 6 of this book.
READING
Foster, J. and Sheppard, J. British Archives: A Guide to Archive Resources in the United Kingdom, (Macmillan, 1989). Ref: REF 026.942 FOS
Gibson, J.S.W. Record Offices: How to Find Them, (Federation of Family History Societies, 1993). Ref: REF 929.3 GIB
Guy, S. A Guide to Resources for Each County Including Libraries, Record Offices, Societies, Journals and Museums, (University of Exeter Press, 1992). Ref: REF 942 ENG
Olney, R., Manuscript Sources for British History available at [http://ihr.sas.ac.uk/publications/pubnew.asc.html]
Reynard, K. and Reynard, J.M.L. (eds.) The Aslib Directory of Information Sources in the UK, (Aslib, 1992). Ref: REF 026.0002542 ASL
Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts, Record Repositories in Great Britain: A Geographical Directory, (HMSO, 1991). Ref: REF 026.942 ROY
The Internet gateway for archivists and users of archives is ARCHON. It has an alphabetical listing of repositories and links to the homepages of those with websites [http://www.hmc.gov.uk/archon/archon.htm]
LOCATING OTHER TYPES OF ARCHIVES:
There are, of course, repositories which contain important non-documental historical sources. There is no central register of this type of archive, so here you will be introduced to a few major archives of non-written sources. The reading list at the end of this section contains guides which will help you locate other repositories of this nature.
The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Data Archive is the national repository for social science machine-readable data, including many historical data files. The Archive has recently established a History Data Unit, which it encourages researchers to exploit. You can access the ESRC Data Archive catalogue via the
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WWW. For further information write to the ESRC Data Archive, University of Essex, Wivenhoe House, Colchester, Essex, CO4 3SQ.
The National Sound Archive (NSA), opened in 1955 and became a department of the British Library in 1983. It houses a vast collection of discs and tape recordings. It also acquires specialist videos and records television programmes. The NSA’s collection is arranged by subject. In 1998 the NSA moved to the new British Library site at St. Pancras. Further information is available on the BL website at [http://www.bl.uk/].
The National Film and Television Archive contains the world’s most extensive collection of moving images dating from around 1895 to the present, including features and shorts, documentaries, newsreels, television programmes, amateur films and videos. For further information contact the Curator, National Film and Television Archive, 21 Stephen Street, London, W1P 1PL.
The Department of Film at the Imperial War Museum houses over 40 million feet of film, including films sponsored by the service ministries and the Ministry of Information, films obtained from other Allied and enemy sources, plus television compilation and feature films. Enquiries should be addressed to [email protected]. Further information on research resources available at the Imperial War Museum is located at [http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/index.htm].
READING
Ballantyne, J. Researcher’s Guide to British Film and Television Collections, (British Universities Film and Video Council, 1993). Ref: REF 025.170942 RES
McNulty, A. and Troop, H. Directory of British Oral History Collections, (Oral History Society, 1981). Ref: REF 026.9 ORA
Oral History Archive, Leicester Oral History Archive. Ref: Education Library Resource Centre RMSC
Perks, R. Oral History: An Annotated Bibliography, (National Sound Archive, 1990). Ref: REF 907.2016 PER
Roulstone, M. The Bibliography of Museum and Art Gallery Publications and Audio- Visual Aids in Great Britain and Ireland, (Chadwyck-Healey, 1980). Ref: REF 069.016 BIB
Taylor, M.F. (ed.) ESRC Data Archive Catalogue, (Chadwyck-Healey, 1986). Ref: REF 300.16 ESR
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DIFFERENT TYPES OF PRIMARY SOURCE ______
While there will always be disagreement about interpretation of evidence and different approaches to using it, there is general agreement among historians that it is important to consider the context in which records were produced, and to be aware that any collection of material is the result of a decision in the past to record it. Far from being an impartial and objective recording of the past, primary sources necessarily incorporate in their existence a particular viewpoint, of which the historian needs to be aware. An extreme example of how the present can shape the record of the past can be seen in the way that Russian history was radically revised under Stalin, in order to enlarge the reputation of both the Communist Party and of Stalin at the expense of Trotsky.
Try to remember the cliché ‘history is written by the winners’, when approaching your primary sources. They are, after all, the ones most likely to have had access to the means of creating and preserving the records of their achievements. This is a point frequently made, for example, by historians of women, the working classes and ethnic minorities. Such historians point out that the historic absence of these groups from structures of social, economic and political power has also resulted in their under- representation in the historical record. This fact was reflected in the title of Sheila Rowbotham’s book on women’s history, Hidden From History. The traces of women, the working classes and ethnic minorities are less obvious and more difficult to follow if historians confine themselves to standard documentary sources. Therefore, it is historians of these groups who have tended to pioneer new approaches, such as oral history.
The following reading list suggests books which look at the bias of the historical record and ways in which it can be overcome to uncover the history of suppressed and minority groups.
READING
Hufton, O., Zemon Davies, N., Humphreys, S., John, A.V. & Gordon, L. ‘What is Women’s History’, in Gardiner, J. (ed.) What is History Today?, ( Macmillan, 1989). Ref: 920.1 WHA
Moser, C.A. ‘Statistics About Immigrants: Objectives, Sources, Methods and Problems’, Social Trends, Vol. 3, 1972, pp. 20-30. Ref: OFF PUBS UK/CES S397
Rowbotham, S. Hidden From History: 300 Years of Oppression and the Fight Against It, (Pluto Press, 1977). Ref: 305.42 ROW
Scott, J. ‘Women’s History’, in Burke, P. (ed.) New Perspectives on Historical Writing, (Polity Press, 1993). Ref: 920.7 NEW
Sharpe, J. ‘History From Below’ in Burke, P. (ed.) New Perspectives on Historical Writing, (Polity Press, 1993). Ref: 920.7 NEW
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Tonkin, E., McDonald, M. & Chapman, M. History and Ethnicity, (Routledge, 1989). Ref: 369.19 HIS
This chapter will now look briefly at some of the many types of primary sources, offering an assessment of their scope and uses, as well as their strengths and weaknesses. Two publications which provide important background information on using different types of sources which significantly supplement the details given below are:
Brivati, B, Buxton, J and Seldon, A. (eds.), The Contemporary History Handbook (Manchester University Press, 1996). Ref: 920.7 CON
Catterall, P. and Jones, H. (eds.), Understanding Documents and Sources, (Heinemann, 1994). Ref: 920.7 UND
RECORDS CREATED BY CENTRAL GOVERNMENT ______
An enormous collection of central government documents have been preserved, especially covering the history of the last three hundred years. These records are usually kept in the Public Record Office. In addition there are many different types of government records including Hansard parliamentary debates, government reports and investigations, legal records and international treaties. They provide source material for all aspects of social and economic history, as well as the history of politics and diplomacy. A considerable amount of the source material created by central government is available in the University of Leicester Library in published form, or on microcard or microfilm.
The most important thing to remember is that these governmental sources must be understood in terms of their function in the policy-making process. When considering extracts from parliamentary debates, for example, the reader ought to be aware of the intentions behind the parliamentary exchanges. Politicians are not necessarily looking to convey factual information. Instead they may be trying to discredit their opponents or disguise embarrassing policy difficulties and reversals. A between-the-lines reading of the debates surrounding the Suez crisis, for example, shows that important factors are often avoided. The intentions behind government reports and investigations also have to be considered when using them as a source. Policy formulation by government usually involves protracted attempts to reconcile competing interests, so a case may be overstated in order to win over opinion.
More information on the records created by central government and the Public Record Office is given in Chapter 5.
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STRENGTHS: v Scope and Coverage The government records available in the Public Record Office date from 1086 to the present day. They provide a rich source for the study of many different aspects of British history.
WEAKNESSES:
X Bias of Government All of the sources produced by central government are affected by the bias of government. Major objectives of government are to persuade that their actions and intentions are correct, and to avoid scandal and criticism. These aims will, of course, be reflected in the documents produced by government.
X Information Withheld Governments are often selective about which documents they are ready to produce. At the Public Record Office it is extremely difficult to reconstruct the history of intelligence work, atomic weapons development and propaganda. In the study of government records there will always be evidence ‘missing’.
X Restricted Access The most recent governmental records will still be confined under the thirty, or for certain records the fifty, year restricted access rule.
READING
Baker, J.H. Legal Records and the Historian: Papers Presented to the Cambridge Royal Historical Society, (Royal Historical Society, 1978). Ref: 340.072 LEG
Cox, N. ‘Public Records’ in Seldon, A. (ed.) Contemporary History: Practice and Method, (Blackwell, 1988). Ref: 920.1 CON
LOCAL RECORDS ______
Archives in local record offices can provide rich sources for study in local and social history. There are over 160 local record offices in Britain. The content of local record offices do vary from one to another, but there are certain types of records that are held in most of them.
Some records are placed in local record offices on a statutory basis, for example the records of local authorities. The most common local authority records to have survived are minutes of the council’s committees and sub-committees. Minutes of meetings vary greatly, some are exhaustive and some are extremely brief. Rate books are another type of local record that often survive in great quantities. They are
______31 ______Chapter 3 invaluable for the study of ownership and occupancy of the property and urban growth. Local court and legal records are also found in local record offices.
However, local record offices also keep non-governmental records, like parish registers, local school records, private papers and newspapers. The records of many Anglican parishes have been preserved, along with the records of some non- conformist churches. These will include the register of baptisms, marriages and burials. These registers are a crucial source of information for the study of periods before 1837, when civil registration of births, marriages and deaths was introduced. They can be used to study social structure, occupations and literacy. The records of local clubs, societies and businesses also often find their way into local record offices and provide a useful source in the study of the history of the local area. Family, personal papers and private estate records usually comprise a large proportion of the holdings of a local record office. Such material usually relates to the upper levels of society. Unfortunately, the papers of working class people rarely find their way into record offices. Local newspaper archives are another source often held at local record offices. These can provide invaluable information about local events and the public’s reaction to them.
STRENGTHS: v Availability and Accessibility Local record offices are open on a daily basis during the week. Anyone is allowed a reader’s card if they have proof of identification. The archives of a local record office are usually well organised and staff are on hand to help find relevant sources.
WEAKNESSES:
X Limitations of Old Records The researcher must be aware that there are inaccuracies in these records. Often, if they are hand-written they may also be very difficult to read. When using old records it is also important to keep in mind the purpose for which they were originally created which was not, of course, as an aid to historical research.
READING
Richardson, J. The Local Historian’s Encyclopaedia, (Historical Publications, 1986). Ref: 942.003 RIC
Stephens, W.B. Sources for English Local History, (Phillimore, 1994). Ref: H942.01 STE
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BUSINESS RECORDS ______
Business records are a rich source of material not only on the history of individual enterprises but also on subjects such as labour relations, women’s history, local history, the history of advertising and technological change. Corporate archives are an important source of information for social as well as economic historians. The earliest business records date from the 14th century and were created by guilds and livery companies. The bulk of material, however, is 19th and 20th century and relates to joint stock companies who were legally required to keep records and report to shareholders. The particular circumstances of different industries significantly affected the propensity of firms to retain records, for example brewers and distillers tend to have kept particularly detailed records for tax and excise reasons and their archives frequently include brewing recipes.
Some business records are still held by the firms which created them in designated archives and then access is at the discretion of the company concerned. Other business records have been deposited in local record offices, museums and several centres have adopted policies of collecting archives relating to particular industries, for example, Reading University houses the archives of many publishing firms, while Warwick University Modern Records Centre collects material on the motor industry. Records can usually be divided into five types, although many archives only contain a few of them: 1. Corporate Records - the core records of the business including lists of shareholders, articles of association, directors minutes, etc. 2. Accounting Records - the financial affairs of the firm. 3. Production and Marketing Records. 4. Personnel Records. 5. Property and Investment Records.
STRENGTHS: v Provides Sources for Other Types of History Many records were kept for commercial purposes which would not otherwise have been preserved, for example, records of insurance company customers are an invaluable source for social historians interested in material culture.
WEAKNESSES:
X Problems of Access Access can sometimes be a problem, especially for more recent records.
X Selectivity of the Records Kept You need to be aware of why certain records were kept; the records which have been retained do not always give the full story. Accounting records, especially, were often designed to conceal rather than reveal. Successful businesses have usually kept more records than failed enterprises.
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READING
Orbell, J. A Guide to Tracing the History of a Business, (Business Archives Council, 1987). Ref: 338.707041 ORB
Coleman, D.C. ‘The Uses and Abuses of Business History’, Business History, Vol. 29, 1987, pp. 141-156. Ref: PER 900 B9907
Armstrong, J. ‘An Introduction to Archival Research in Business History’, Business History, Vol. 33, 1991, pp. 7-34. Ref: PER 900 B9907
See also [http://www.hmc.gov.uk/business/busarchives.htm]
STATISTICS ______
Few historians can avoid the use of numbers and numerical concepts. Statistics are a valuable source. Numbers figure prominently in military history, demographic and other aspects of social history and, of course, economic history.
There are many types of historical statistics. Prior to the end of the 19th century only a few national statistical data sets existed which were collected for their own sake. Most were by-products of taxation or military preparedness, and are therefore likely to be inaccurate as it was often beneficial to people to evade these types of registers. However, in the 20th century, the number of official publications of both national and local governments and international organisations like the United Nations have increased. These studies include statistics concerning the population, the workforce, industries and their production, trade, finances, education, crime, invention, land ownership and numerous other subjects. Some associations connected with major industries and services also produce aggregate historical data. Another possible historical source is created by individual firms who often produce some kind of statistical material in their business records. Finally, and perhaps most usefully, collections of historical data are now available for a number of countries.
STRENGTHS: v Hard Evidence When suitable statistics are available and used properly, they can make a very strong case for an argument. Figures can also provide very good summary and background information. v Comparison of Data Statistics can be easily manipulated so that various sets of figures can be compared to each other and the relationship between them can be analysed. When using statistics strong visual aids, in the form of graphs and charts, can also be created.
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WEAKNESSES:
X Errors in Collection Virtually all statistical data are subject to errors in collection and presentation. In some cases there may be deliberate misrepresentation or falsification of results. The likelihood of any error has to be weighed with its possible effect on any conclusions. However, a lot can be done with imperfect data, a rough approximation is often adequate and if not techniques can be used to assess and control the likelihood of error.
X Misleading Data Statistics have to be used with caution. Changes in definition or breadth of coverage are not always obvious in statistical sources. The statistics themselves can often be misleading, for example when percentages are used the actual size of the sample should also be noted.
READING
Floud, R. An Introduction to Quantitative Methods for Historians, (Methuen, 1979). Ref: 920.1 APP
Hudson, P. History by Numbers: an introduction to quantitative techniques (Arnold, 2000).
McCloskey, D.N. Econometric History, (Macmillan Education, 1987). Ref: D20.9 MAC
C. Feinstein and Mark Thomas, Making History Count: A Primer in Quantitative Methods for Historians (2002)
ORAL SOURCES ______
Oral evidence is obtained from the mouths of living people as opposed to inanimate sources. There are two main types of oral sources; personal reminiscence and oral tradition. Personal reminiscence is oral evidence which consists of an informant discussing their life experiences. This type of oral source is especially advocated by Paul Thompson and the oral history movement. Oral tradition is oral testimony passed down through the generations. This is often the main source when studying the history of non-literate societies. Jan Vansina is the most distinguished exponent of oral history in Africa.
Oral sources have not been accepted by some historians. According to A.J.P. Taylor, they consist merely of “Old men drooling about their past” (Prins, 1993, p.114). They have been most readily accepted by social historians who use oral data to give voice to those who are invisible in the documentary evidence. Oral sources do not frequently stand alone because of their perceived unreliability. Personal testimonies are used to expand on and illuminate aspects not covered by documentary evidence.
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Even in the case of oral tradition external sources are sought as correlation, for example archaeological evidence, eclipses of the sun or moon or major natural disasters.
The availability of oral sources is gradually expanding. One important archive is the Elizabeth Roberts Collection held at Lancaster University. Some local initiatives have been undertaken, for example by the East Midlands Oral History Archive, which is part of the University of Leicester and is based at the Marc Fitch Historical Institute in Salisbury Road.
STRENGTHS: v Increased Coverage Oral evidence can help to expand on areas not covered by documentary sources, for example social attitudes and behaviour. It also allows access to communities and people not included in documents, for example non-literate societies and the lower classes. v Increased Access Written records are limited in access when compared to oral sources. All researchers have the possibility to collect their own oral evidence by interviewing individuals about their past.
WEAKNESSES:
X Limited Availability The availability of oral sources remains confined to a small number of research initiatives. However, the possible scope of oral evidence is much larger. There is a huge untapped reservoir of oral sources held in the memories of countless people.
X Bias Caused Through Interviews When personal memories are uncovered during the course of an interview, the interviewers themselves may affect the outcome. The interviewees may try to tell the interviewer what they think she/he wants to hear. Also the construction and selection of the questions can distort the evidence produced by an interview.
X Bias Caused By Time As for documentary sources, what is preserved and then given as oral evidence is the result of a selective process. However, oral sources are not contemporary, and unlike other historical sources they suffer from the added bias of the selectivity of memory and hindsight.
READING
Prins, G. ‘Oral History’ in Burke, P. (ed.) New Perspectives on Historical Writing, (Polity Press, 1993). Ref: 920.7 NEW
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Seldon, A. and Pappworth, J. By Word of Mouth, (Methuen, 1983). Ref: 920.7 SEL
Thompson, P.R. The Voice of the Past: Oral History, (Oxford University Press, 1988). Ref: 920.7 THO
Vansina, J. Oral Tradition as History, (James Currey, 1985). Ref: 920.7 VAN
Humphries, S. The handbook of oral history : recording life stories, (Inter-Action, 1984). Ref: 920.7 HUM
Tonkin, E. Narrating our pasts : the social construction of oral history (Cambridge University Press, 1998). Ref: 920.7 TON
Howarth, K Oral history : a handbook (Sutton, 1998) Ref: 920.7 HOW
VISUAL SOURCES ______
A variety of types of visual evidence can be used as historical sources.
Films provide a rich source for the study of modern history, which is often underestimated. During the 20th century film became the first universal mass medium to propagate information. Mass attendance at the cinema and then mass viewing of television has allowed film to become the most useful propaganda tool. This demands the attention of historians. All films, whether newsreels, documentaries, feature films or television, are a constructed medium. Therefore, film should not be considered an as objective record of the past, but as a film-maker’s reconstruction of it. The key to the examination of film as a historical source is the intention of the film maker and the message intended.
Photographs are another valuable historical source. Since the 1880s in Britain a wide range of people have been taking photographs, recording a wide span of human activity. So, they can help to document the history of society. However, there are a number of reasons that require an historian to be cautious when using photographic evidence. The camera is not neutral in recording the past. Reality is distorted by the photographer who has contemporary ideas of what to photograph and how to do it. Also, people are usually photographed as they wish to be remembered or take photographs of subjects they want to recall. This means that only out of the ordinary occasions are usually recorded, not everyday occurrences. All these influences mean that a photograph holds clues to the values and inhibitions of the past, as well as displaying a picture of a particular subject. So, the photograph does not offer a clear view of the past, but it remains a very useful historical source.
Advertisements are made for a number of mediums, including television, radio, magazines and roadside billboards. They are a valuable historical source because they are intended to persuade their audience, and can therefore provide important clues to society in the period in which they were launched. They also offer valuable evidence about the history of business and commercialism.
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Cartoons can perform a similar task to the editorial. In fact a single visual image can often be more effective than several lines of text. The cartoon is the personal view of the cartoonist, showing what she/he considers people will find important. Readers have to interpret the cartoons themselves. Even when a caption is included the cartoon cannot make its point by argument. Cartoons give us a view of people’s reaction to events, but this view is implied and leaves a lot of scope for misunderstanding. The historian studying cartoons is even more open to misinterpretation, because the symbolic images used by the cartoonist and the humour or irony involved may have become very dated. British historians have a rich field of political cartoonists from which to draw, including Partridge, Strube, Low, Vicky and Zec. However, it has to be remembered that cartoons are difficult sources to use correctly and they must be treated with caution.
Classic art, (paintings, sculptures, etchings, etc.), is a valuable source in certain aspects of social and cultural history. However, these sources are often misused and are easily misinterpreted. Great care has to be taken when examining them. A vital part of the procedure is establishing the date and then putting the work of art into context. Many of the ideas and values of the period may be reflected in the artist’s work. Art can be especially useful when studying periods which involved a great movement of ideas, for example the Reformation and the Renaissance.
Maps provide a useful geographical tool in the study of history. The links between geography and history are strong, as a historical event takes place in space as well as time. Historians who do not use map evidence isolate themselves from a valuable source of information. For example, tracing the cartographic history of Africa as drawn by Europeans opens an important perspective of the history of the continent and European perceptions about it. Britain is a country especially rich in cartography and historians can consult a wide range of maps covering the whole of the country, dating from the 16th century onwards. As with any historical source, maps need to be used critically. Answers to questions including why and how the maps were produced and when the area was actually surveyed need to be established before they can be utilised effectively.
STRENGTHS: v Interest and Scope Visual sources often hold the attention of the reader more securely than documentary material. They add interest and variety to an historical study.
WEAKNESSES:
X Influence of the Artist All of these visual sources are seen through the interpretation of the artist. This must be remembered, especially when using documentary films and photographs. What you see may well have been forged by the film maker or photographer.
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X Difficulties of Interpretation The intended meaning of visual sources is usually not implicit, therefore they are open to misinterpretation when they are used as an historical source.
READING
* Films Curran, J. and Porter, P. (eds.) British Cinema History, (Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1983). Ref: 791.430942 BRI
Sorlin, P. The Film in History: Restaging the Past, (Blackwell, 1980). Ref: 791.437 SOR
* Photography Harrison, B. ‘Photography’ in Contemporary History Handbook
Scharf, A. Art and Photography, (Penguin, 1974). Ref: 709.4 SCH
* Advertisements Vries, L de. Victorian Advertisements, (Murray, 1968). Ref: 741.6 VRI
Williamson, J. Decoding Advertisements: Ideology and Meaning in Advertising, (Boyars, 1978). Ref: 369.31 WIL
* Cartoons George, M.D. Hogarth to Cruikshank: Social Change in Graphic Satire (Penguin, 1967). Ref: 709.42 GEO
Harrison, R.P. The Cartoon: Communication to the Quick (Sage, c.1981). Ref: 741.5 HAR
* Classic Art Burke, P. The Italian Renaissance: Culture and Society in Italy (Polity Press, 1987). Ref: 945.2 BUR
Scribner, R.W. For the Sake of the Simple Folk: Popular Propaganda for the German Reformation, (Cambridge University Press, 1981). Ref: 943.03 SCR
* Maps Lynam, E. The Mapmaker’s Art: Essays on the History of Maps (Batchworth Press, 1953). Ref: 910.8 LYN
LITERATURE ______
Works of fiction and poetry can be used as historical sources. You may already have examined them in this way as part of short assignments for some of your courses.
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You should, however, be aware of the importance of careful analysis before using the material they offer in your historical accounts.
Novels and plays are works of fiction whose primary concern is to entertain. The setting of the novel or play may be deliberately historical as in the historical novel, or it may be historical in the sense that the author has chosen to position the setting of the novel in the past, or it may be historical because the time at which the author was writing is now in the past. These different definitions of historical novels and plays raise questions about whether they are primary or secondary sources. This depends on how they are put to use by historians. For example, Walter Scott’s historical romances are not considered to be secondary sources for they tell us little about the 12th century, but they are primary evidence for the culture of the late 18th and early 19th centuries in which he was immersed. As secondary sources even historically authentic fiction must be used extremely carefully. However, when used as primary sources novels and plays can be very valuable. Through the viewpoint of the author, they can tell us a great deal about the time in which they were written. Dickens for instance gives us a view of Victorian attitudes to the work-house in Oliver Twist. Similarly, Jane Austen’s novels can reveal the preoccupations of middle-class Hampshire society. Novels and plays can also project the values of their own time onto the past, for example, Shakespeare’s historical plays show how Elizabethan England perceived, or liked to perceive, its past.
Poems can also be used as an historical source. Like novels and plays they reveal, through the eyes of the poet, information about the period in which they were written. An example that springs to mind is the poetry of Wilfred Owen, written while serving in the First World War. Through his poetry the reader is given an insight into the horrors of war. However, caution is needed when using poems as an historical source. It must be remembered that some poems are very private and this means that they are difficult to interpret.
Ballads are a popular form of poetry, which are more like folk songs. They often existed for a long time without being written down and so could therefore also be considered as oral evidence. They were made up and sung at social events or at work. They often followed tunes or styles which were typical of a particular region. When studying periods prior to the 20th century such ballads provide a rare direct view of ordinary working people’s attitudes and lives.
STRENGTHS: v Interest and Scope Using these literary sources adds depth and general interest to a study of a period and can widen the scope of the available evidence. Popular literature will reveal something about the values of society as well as portraying the viewpoint of the author. Reading the literature of a period can help you get a feel for the mood of the times.
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WEAKNESSES:
X Need for Corroboration All of these literary sources have to be treated with caution. After all, they are usually the work of just one person. They have to be corroborated with other sources to check the extent to which they are reliable and typical.
X Bias of the Writer In the case of novels, plays and poetry the background and viewpoint of the author or poet has to be considered (this is harder to do with ballads because the writer is often not known and if the ballad was not written down for a long time various changes may have been made to the ballad as it was passed along). All authors will present the facts in a way which reflects their own opinions.
READING
Cohen, R. and Krieger, M. Literature and History (University of California, 1974). Ref: 820.9 COH
Kermode, F. History and Value (Clarendon Press, 1988). Ref: 820.99 KER
Kermode, F. Poetry, Narrative, History (Blackwell, 1990). Ref: 809.1 KER
LaCapra, D. History, Politics and the Novel (Cornell University Press, 1987). Ref: 809.3 LAC
NEWSPAPERS AND THE PRESS ______
Newspapers, magazines and technical and vocational periodicals provide a wealth of resources for research in all branches of history. They also cover an extended time span- London’s first daily newspaper appeared in 1702, and newsbooks appeared even earlier. It was in the 19th century, however, that newspapers established a central role in national affairs, while the number and variety of magazines grew rapidly during the 20th century as production costs fell and the potential revenue from advertising grew. Newspapers are important to historians because they report on a such wide range of subjects from politics and international relations to finance, fashion, sport, education and crime, as well as printing letters from readers, advertisements and cartoons. They provide instant accounts which can help catch the ‘spirit of the times’, and are often far more entertaining to read than official reports or committee minutes. Because they were published regularly they can also provide a guide to events as they happened rather than the fragmentary accounts in other sources. Magazines cover a wide range of general and specialist interests, while technical and vocational periodicals offer considerable insights into an industry or profession which may well not be available elsewhere.
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It is important you adopt the same critical approach to using the press for historical research as you would employ for any other source. This means that you will need to find out about the history of the publication that you are using and the audience for which it was intended if you are to use it effectively as a source of material. An extensive secondary literature already exists which will help you when dealing with the national press, but for local publications and the technical press, you may well have to do this work for yourself.
The Times is available on microfilm in the University of Leicester Library and on-line. The Library also has less extensive collections of other publications on microfilm or in hard copy. The Economist and Punch, for example, can be found in the stacks in the basement. The Record Office for Leicestershire, Leicester and Rutland (see chapter 6) is the best place to find local publications. The British Library’s Newspaper Library at Colindale in north London (address: Colindale Avenue, London, NW9 5HE, internet: http://www.bl.uk/collections/newspapers.html) has acquired a certain notoriety among historians, but it houses the most extensive collection of press material. Major academic libraries such as the British Library of Political and Economic Science (LSE) and the Bodleian Library, Oxford, also have extensive collections. Since newspapers are not usually available on interlibrary loan, you should be prepared to travel to consult any that are not available here, but which you consider to be essential to your research.
STRENGTHS: v Wide Range of Coverage Newspapers and magazines contain a wealth of information of interest to all types of historian, not only in the articles, but in advertisements, entertainment’s listings, letters pages and cartoons. Technical and vocational periodicals often contain information which is impossible to find from other sources. Indeed, the sheer volume of information can be daunting to the historian. v Regular Publication Unlike many other types of sources newspapers are easily datable and were published regularly over set intervals. This makes it easy for historians to cross-reference them with other sources, and to follow the chronological unfolding of events. v Popular Appeal Since newspapers and magazines relied on sales to stay in business, they needed to appeal to contemporary audiences. Their contents can thus tell us much about contemporary priorities, attitudes and debates. On the other hand, these considerations may have led to extensive coverage of stories which seem trivial with the benefit of hindsight.
WEAKNESSES:
X Reflection or Manipulation? Historians disagree over whether the press reflected contemporary attitudes, or shaped them.
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X Volume of Material and Accessibility It is often very time consuming to gather information, because only specific items are sought. Old newspapers are very fragile, and are often accessible only on microfilm, which is even more time-consuming to use than hard copy. The availability of indexes is patchy. Because newspapers and magazines were published for instant consumption rather than posterity, academic libraries tend only to have fragmentary holdings of ‘popular’ material such as women’s magazines. Technical and vocational periodicals are also often poorly represented. The availability of material on CD- ROM and the internet is starting to reduce this difficulty considerably.
READING
Brown, L., Victorian News and Newspapers (Clarendon Press, 1985). Ref: 072 BRO
Linton, D., The Twentieth Century Newspaper Press in Britain: an annotated bibliography (Mansall, 1994). Ref: REF O72.016 LIN
Tinkler, P., Constructing Girlhood: popular magazines for girls growing up in England, 1920-1950 (Taylor & Francis, 1995). Ref: 305.420942 TIN
PERSONAL DOCUMENTS ______
A variety of different sources are included in this category, all of which portray a personal account of events and happenings.
Autobiographies and memoirs, are personal chronicles of the past. The distinction between the two has been eroding in recent years, but strictly speaking an autobiography is the story of a life and a memoir recounts a particular event from the author’s standpoint. Many people of great political and social standing, as well as a lesser number of otherwise unsung individuals, publish autobiographies and memoirs. These accounts can provide valuable insights into events and figures of the past. However, they have to be used with care as they portray a retrospective and subjective view. It is hard to detect if events have been remembered incorrectly, though this is always a possibility. It is also always important to check the intentions of the author. Some autobiographies, like that of David Niven, are intended to amuse rather than to provide an accurate picture of events. Other authors may aim at exaggerating the importance of their own roles. It also has to be remembered that ghost writers and researchers are sometimes used to write autobiographies, which means that they are not strictly autobiographical accounts.
Diaries have been kept by many people, both famous and obscure, over the last 200 years. They provide a rich source for historians, giving personal accounts of events and happenings. The diarist provides private feelings and comments, which would not be included in official records, and effectively fills in gaps left by these records. Diaries can be written over a long length of time and therefore provide an historian with a consistent thread running over a number of years. The motives behind diary
______43 ______Chapter 3 writing have to be analysed when using its content as an historical source. Some may be compiled with the view to self-aggrandisement or as a means of settling old scores.
Letters are another important historical source. Written at the time of events they often provide crucial and exclusive information. To evaluate the material included in a letter, the purpose of writing and the circumstances in which it was written need to be known. It is also important to know to whom the letter was addressed and what audience the writer had in mind. Unfortunately, with the development of the phone and improved transport communications the need for letter writing has declined, and future historians are unlikely to have access to such extensive collections of this type of material.
STRENGTHS: v Personal Insights All of these personal sources provide valuable insights into personalities, helping historians understand the people they are studying. They provide clues to why people acted as they did, made the decisions they made and how they were affected by events. v Valuable Sources for Cultural History All of these types of documents, and especially diaries and letters are important sources for the study of culture and society. Cultural values and perceptions can often be extracted from the contents of these personal accounts.
WEAKNESSES:
X Bias of authors It has to be remembered that all of these types of personal documents portray the views of their authors which are prone to bias. In addition, in the case of autobiographies and memoirs, the source is affected further by the passing of time between the occurrence of events and when the account was written. This has to put doubts on the accuracy of the recollection of events and whether hindsight has altered the author’s perceptions.
X Under-Represented Sections of Society Until the beginning of this century and the general spread of literacy, autobiographies, memoirs, diaries and letters tended to be written by the leading figures of society, not only those who could write but those who could afford paper and the time to write down their thoughts. Other sections of society were greatly under-represented by this type of historical source. However, the letter and diaries of some twentieth-century ‘unknown’ figures have become valuable historical sources. For instance, letters from soldiers to home in the First World War have been used to discover what they felt and experienced.
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READING
Bourke, J., Working Class Cultures in Britain, 1890-1960: Gender, Class and Ethnicity (Routledge, 1994). Includes an extensive bibliography of working-class autobiographies. Ref: 942.0057 BOU
Golby, J. and Smith, P., ‘Autobiographies, Letters and Diaries’ in Drake, M. and Finnegan, R. Sources and Methods: A Handbook, Vol. 4, (Open University, 1994), pp.103-108. Ref: 942.0062 SOU
Jones, G. W., ‘The Value of Recent Biographies, Autobiographies and Diaries’, Parliamentary Affairs, Vol. 34, 1981. Ref: PER 320 P 1720
SOURCES FOR EARLY MODERN SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC HISTORY ______
Early Modern sources differ in many respects from later sources. Naturally, fewer records have survived from the early modern period than from more recent centuries. Also they were written in different circumstances and for different reasons than many later sources. The three main sources of data for the early modern period are public or government records, church records and private accounts.
Before the 18th century few governments collected data other than for fiscal or legal reasons. The fiscal government records were usually related to three sorts of issues; taxes, tariffs and custom duties, and expenditures. Tax records vary from government to government, but as a rule, before the late 1700s, taxes are not income taxes but sales taxes (a percentage of the price of goods) or capital levies (a percentage of the assessed capital owned by an individual). Tariffs have the advantage of being collected at well defined points, so good records remain. They provide data which can be used to build a price series for different goods. Expenditure data is less frequently available as audits were uncommon before the 1800s. The people who held power usually spent as they chose. Legal government records usually covered court proceedings, for example the records of the three Equity Courts, Chancery, Exchequer and Star Chamber or Assizes.
Local governments and authorities often kept records of a varying nature to those of central government. These include ward records, hospital records, will and probate records, Constables’ presentments and accounts and the records of Manor courts.
The Church wrote extensively and the clergy were easily the most literate section of society into the 1600s. Some clergy were sloppy at keeping records, but others produced quality registers which provide valuable historical data. Church records are good sources of information on prices for specific commodities, for example, food, clothing for charitable purposes, wages for employees and rent. Parish registers of baptisms, marriages and deaths were usually kept by the clergy and are important sources for the demographic history of the early modern period.
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Private accounts are usually in the form of business and estate records or private diaries. These sources have to be examined carefully for various reasons. Names were not standardised and often the same agent may be referred to under a number of different titles. In the case of private diaries, which were common among educated merchants and intellectuals, it has to be remembered that they were written with an eye to posterity. In a time when personal honour and reputation were very important there is a tendency to be selective with the truth.
These sources for the early modern period are to be found in scattered locations. The Public Record Office holds many of them, but many others have been preserved by individual or private institutions.
STRENGTHS: v Valuable Information Data on the Early Modern period is more scarce than for modern times. However, it is often surprising just how much information Early Modern sources can provide if used properly and to their fullest extent.
WEAKNESSES:
X Difficulties in Interpretation The main difficulty with all early modern records is the writing and abbreviations, which are often specific to each country and region, or even each writer. Anyone beginning to deal with these records has to be prepared to spend a great amount of time becoming familiar with each source.
X Evasion of Surveys Most government records were connected with fiscal activity and for this reason have to be treated with caution. Under reporting is likely as people will often try to evade paying taxes. For the same reason many Church records should be used with care. The Church collected tithes and many people would have tried to avoid paying these as well.
READING
Cockburn, J. S., ‘Early Modern Assize Records as Historical Evidence’, Journal of the Society of Archivists, Vol. 5, 1975. Ref: STACK PER 020 S5330
Origo, I., The Merchant of Prato: Francesco di Marco Datini (Jonathon Cape, 1957). (An example of a private diary written during the early modern period.) Ref: 945.2 DAT/ORI
Owen, D., The Records of the Established Church in England Excluding Parochial Records (British Records Association, 1970). Ref: 942.002 OWE
Sharpe, J. A., Crime in Early Modern England, 1550-1750 (Longman, 1984). Specifically Chapter 1. Ref: 340.072 LEG
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LINKING SOURCES ______
It is important for an historian to use a range of sources which bring together a variety of perspectives, in order to develop a comprehensive picture of the events under investigation. Primary evidence from a wide range of sources needs to be assessed and compared; official records with private correspondence, or social surveys to oral testimonies. Primary data also has to be related to secondary sources. This linking of sources in itself is an art which you will need to master. By looking in the footnotes of books and articles you can often see how the writer has linked various types of sources and drawn on their different strengths and weaknesses in constructing an historical account.
The next two diagrams show the sources that could be used to compile a history of two different subjects. The first depicts the sources for a history of the South-Asian ethnic communities in Leicester. The second suggests sources which could be used to write a history of women in the early modern period.
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FAMILY/INDIVIDUAL BUSINESS
• Census data • Trade Directories • Registrar General Records (births, • Commercial Lists deaths, marriages) (debtors, customers, • Electoral Registers passenger lists, etc.) • Diaries, Autobiographies, Letters • Oral Testimonies
SECONDARY SOURCES PROPERTY/HOUSE SOURCES FOR • Relevant Books, e.g. THE HISTORY • City Directories Marett, V. • Rate Books Immigrants Settling OF SOUTH- ASIAN ETHNIC in the City • Relevant Journals, e.g. MINORITIES IN New Community LEICESTER
LOCAL INSTITUTIONAL/ ASSOCIATIONS (INTER-)NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL/ASSOCIATIONS
• Leicester Council for • Community Relations Community Relations Commission • City of Leicester Council • Commission for Racial Records Equality • Local Voluntary Agencies • Department of Employment • Local Newspapers and • British Refugee Council Journals, e.g. The • Home Office Leicester Mercury • Parliamentary Papers • Local South-Asian Ethnic • Charities and organisations, Organisations e.g. Uganda Resettlement Board • National Newspapers • National South-Asian Ethnic Organisations
* Please note that all the types of sources can be linked. There is no significance in the order in which they are shown.
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LOCAL INSTITUTIONS/ SECONDARY SOURCES ORGANISATIONS
• Municipal/ County/ • Relevant Books, e.g. Kermode, J. & Borough Records Walker, G. Women, Crime and • Court Records Courts in Early Modern Britain • Legal Records • Relevant Journals, e.g. The Economic • Local Clergy Records History Review
PROPERTY/HOUSE BUSINESS SOURCES FOR THE • Taxation HISTORY OF • Estate Records records • Company • Wills WOMEN IN THE Records • Accounts/ EARLY MODERN • Deeds Inventories PERIOD • Taxation/ Tariff records
FAMILY/ INDIVIDUAL NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS/ ORGANISATIONS
• Parish Registers • Court Records • Diaries, Autobiographies, Memoirs, • Acts and Ordinances & Letters • Royal Proclamations • Treatises, Discourses & Chronicles • Yearbooks • Novels, Plays, Poetry & Ballads • Church Records
* Please note that all the types of sources can be linked. There is no significance in the order in which they are shown.
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______ASSIGNMENT 2______
CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF A KEY ARTICLE
The aim of this exercise is to write a critique of an article and the sources used by its author to construct an argument. The article chosen must relate to the dissertation theme that you have in mind. You will be considering the extent to which an effective argument has been developed using the sources. Thinking about this will help you to understand how historians link together different sources. You will probably find it useful to read the section on ‘footnotes’ in chapter 7 before you embark on this assignment. When making your analysis bear in mind:- • structure of the article • the author’s definition of the problem/debate/theme • identification of other historians’ arguments • identifying the author’s arguments and conclusions • volume and type of evidence employed • use of footnotes - what type of information do they contain, what function do they perform?
Write a report on your article which considers these points, paying special attention to how the various sources have been put together to produce the narrative and argument and the different weight which has been attributed to each of the various sources.
Your full report should be between 750 and 1,000 words You should hand in two copies to the Department Office in the usual way, before 12 noon on 7 March 2003.
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CONCLUSION ______
This chapter has introduced you to the steps you need to take to locate primary sources, to the strengths and weaknesses of some of the most commonly used types, and has emphasised the importance of linking a range of sources to produce historical accounts. Dealing effectively with primary sources is a skill which can best be acquired through practical experience, and the tremendous diversity of available material means that this chapter must be regarded merely as a brief introduction. This course will offer you the opportunity to learn more about specific types of sources. This will help you with your dissertation, which must be based on the use of primary sources. It will also help you with assignment 4, which requires you to comment on one of the primary sources you propose to use in your research.
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