Personal Papers and other Collections
As well as material generated from the original Mass Observation research and the current work of the archive we also have other collections which relate closely to the historical period and themes of Mass Observation.
Personal Papers
Many of the personal papers are diaries, letters, scrapbooks and albums of various kinds. They are typically written by individuals who were recording their thoughts and activities for themselves, family and friends.
These have been kept because of the historical and social value they represent.
Examples of Personal Collections
The Stella Cricket Collection
Made up of 43 diaries written by Stella Circket between 1964 and 2004. Circket was a practicing artist and had a strong interest in creative writing and poetry. Her diaries detail her struggle with depression and her experiences of psychotherapy treatment. Catalogue record here.
The Joyce Spurr Collection
The Joyce Spurr collection contains photo albums, letters and ephemera collected by Joyce Spurr during her time serving as part of the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) as a Wireless Operator. Her letters describe detailed description of her trips around Alexandria and the surrounding areas. Catalogue record here.
The Ilse Junkersdorf/Helen Moss
This collection is made up of a collection of letters sent between the two women, following Moss responding to an appeal for food parcels. The women exchanged letters for over a decade. Catalogue record here.
Other Collections
The Mass Observation Archive also includes over 50 collections of related papers. These are documents that have been created outside of the first Mass Observation project (1937-1950s) and of the current Mass Observation Project.
Example Collections
National Lesbian and Gay Survey
In 1986, Kenneth Barrow, inspired by his membership of the writing panel for Mass Observation, launched a Mass Observation-style project to collect autobiographical reports from gay men and women. The Survey’s aim was archival: to gather material which would enable researchers of the future to understand what it meant to live as a homosexual in the late-twentieth and early-twenty-first centuries. Catalogue record here.
One Day for Life
The 4,000 prints shortlisted for the competition have been organised into main subject themes (77 boxes). Approximately 100,000 photographs, almost all in colour and most measuring 6 by 4 inches, and the negatives of the 4000 short-listed photographs. Catalogue record here.