Papers of Sir Charles Lyell
Scope and Contents
- 10 boxes of correspondence
- 2 boxes of miscellaneous papers and lecture notes
- 24 boxes of offprints of papers
- 294 notebooks
Dates
- Creation: 1820-1874
Creator
Extent
11 metres
Arrangement
The first tranche is arranged as ten series in the collection (aka Lyell 1-10).
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. Additionally, smaller groups of records from the original 1927 deposit, that had found their way into academic offices and stores, have been identified, and have been passed from the School of GeoSciences to the Library.
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.
- Auvergne (France)
- Deposition and Sedimentation
- Earth
- Earth, Origin
- England
- Erosion
- Etna, Mount (Italy)
- Formations (Geology)
- Fossil Hominids
- Geological Time
- Geology
- Geology, Stratigraphic Eocene
- Geology, Stratigraphic Miocene
- Geology, Stratigraphic Pleistocene
- Naturalists
- Palaeontology
- Rock Cycle
- Scotland
- Uniformitarianism
- United States
- Volcanic Fields
Creator
Subject
- Buckland, William, 1784-1856 (English theologian, geologist) (Person)
- Darwin, Charles Robert, 1809-1882 (Naturalist) (Person)
- Geikie, Archibald, Sir, 28 December 1835 – 10 November 1924 (Professor of Geology, University of Edinburgh) (Person)
- Hutton, James, 1726-1797 (Scottish geologist) (Person)
- Lyell, Sir Charles, 1797-1875 (1st Baronet | Scottish geologist) (Person)
- Murchison, Sir Roderick Impey, 1792-1871 (1st Baronet | Scottish geologist) (Person)
- British Association for the Advancement of Science (1831-:) (Organization)
- Geological Society of London (1807-:) (Organization)
- Royal Society (c1645-:) (scientific society) (Organization)
- University of London. King's College London (1829-:) (Organization)
- Title
- Papers of Sir Charles Lyell
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
Repository Details
Part of the University of Edinburgh Library Heritage Collections Repository
Centre for Research Collections
University of Edinburgh Main Library
George Square
Edinburgh EH8 9LJ Scotland
+44(0)131 650 8379
heritagecollections@ed.ac.uk