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Papers of Sir Charles Lyell

 Fonds
Identifier: Coll-203

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Lyell’s 'Papers' provides a detailed description of several series of archival records, including his correspondence and other documents maintained by him and his team. Purposefully curated to record his work, achievements, and for historical significance, the archive retains Lyell's original organisation where possible, structuring the series accordingly. These papers should be viewed alongside Lyell's publications, notebooks, specimen collection, and offprints, which collectively represent the tools of his trade. A dedicated website https://lyell.ed.ac.uk/ enhances access and research by providing links to online copies of his printed books, digital images of the notebooks, and links to Lyell related material held elsewhere.

Scope and Contents
  1. 10 boxes of correspondence
  2. 2 boxes of miscellaneous papers and lecture notes
  3. 24 boxes of offprints of papers
  4. 294 notebooks

Dates

  • Creation: 1806-1874

Creator

Full Extent

11 metres

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The first tranche is arranged as ten series in the collection (aka Lyell 1-10), and have the reference Coll-203/1-10.
The Offprints follow, as Coll-203/11, and are currently being listed (Summer 2024).
The entire run of Notebooks follows, and comprises five series:
Coll-203/A1 Scientific
Coll-203/A2 Daily and Travel Journals
Coll-203/A3 Manuscript Notebooks [aka Species]
Coll-203/A4 Madeira & Canary Notebooks
Coll-203/A5 Index Notebooks
The second tranche of Lyell's papers follows, and has the reference Coll-203/B1- 21.

Custodial History

The Charles Lyell Collection is the sum of multiple accruals which have coalesced at the University of Edinburgh over a span of almost 100 years. The first of these accruals was a collection of geological specimens, minerals and shells, alongwith what was described at the time as 'The Papers of Sir Charles Lyell', presented in 1927 to the Grant Institute of Geology by Lady Lyell of Kinnordy (see University Court minutes, 14 Nov 1927).The paper records were transferred from the Grant Institute of Geology, to the University Library in 1960 and 1975. The Specimens remained with the Grant Institute, in the Cockburn Geological Museum. Other papers and Lyell's notebooks remained in the custody of the Lyell family at Kinnordy. Thanks to the dedicated support of leading institutions, groups and individuals, the University of Edinburgh led a successful campaign in 2019 to acquire Lyell's 294 notebooks. In 2020, the remaining papers of Sir Charles Lyell were allocated to the University of Edinburgh under the UK Government's 'Acceptance in Lieu of Inheritance Tax' scheme. Smaller groups of records from the original 1927 deposit, that had found their way into academic offices and stores, have also been identified, and have been passed from the School of GeoSciences to the Library. In addition, the University has purchased Lyell related records - these are catalogued separately.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

First tranche
Transfered from the Grant Institute of Geology, 1960 (catalogued, Coll-203/1-10). Accession E60/3
Second tranche
Transfered from the Grant Institute of Geology, 1975 (uncatalogued, Gen.1999). Accession E75/45.
Third tranche
Purchased from Sotheby's, November 2019 (Scientific notebooks of Sir Charles Lyell). Accession SC-Acc-2019-0120.
Fourth tranche
Accepted in lieu of Inheritance Tax by H M Government and allocated to Edinburgh University Library, 2020, received July 2020. Accession SC-Acc-2020-0115.

Processing Information

Fonds level description compiled for NAHSTE project by Andrew Thomson, May 2000. Revised by Pamela McIntyre, September 2023.

Related Names

Subjects

Finding Aid & Administrative Information

Title
Papers of Sir Charles Lyell
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script

External Documents

  • A dedicated website https://lyell.ed.ac.uk/ enhances access and research by providing links to online copies of his printed books, digital images of the notebooks, and links to Lyell related material held elsewhere.

Repository Details

Repository Details

Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository

https://library.ed.ac.uk/heritage-collections
Contact:
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379