Joseph Chamberlain Collection

JC

Joseph Chamberlain Collection

1819-late 20th century

Official and personal papers of the Rt. Hon. Joseph Chamberlain (1836-1914); the official papers comprise material relating to Joseph Chamberlain's involvement in the family screw-making business in Birmingham [Nettlefold and Chamberlain], his activity in Birmingham municipal affairs [his Councillorship for St Paul's Ward, and his mayoralty], his election to Parliament for West Birmingham, and his service in public office as President of the Board of Trade, 1880-1885, President of the Local Government Board, 1886, Chairman of the Washington Fishery Conference, 1887-1888, and Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1895-1903; these papers include material relating to current domestic political matters and foreign affairs [the Russian/Turkish War, Irish Home Rule, the Liberal Party and the Liberal Unionist Alliance, General Elections of 1874-1906, the Boer War, and the campaign for tariff reform]; the personal papers include correspondence between Joseph Chamberlain and his third wife Mary [nee Endicott, later Carnegie] and various personal associates, papers relating to his three marriages [including deeds and other documents relating to the settlement on the marriage of Joseph Chamberlain and Florence Kenrick], his teaching records from the Church of the Messiah and Birmingham Heath and Smethwick Working Men's Club [1863-1865], personal notebooks, and papers relating to his seventieth birthday celebrations, and his death [will, deeds and other documents relating to the settlement of the estate of Joseph Chamberlain, and press cuttings relating to his funeral]; the collection also includes the correspondence of Mary Chamberlain [nee Endicott, later Carnegie, third wife of Joseph Chamberlain], most especially correspondence from Joseph Chamberlain, dating from the announcement of their engagement until the final months before his death [1888-1914]; in addition there is material relating to the composition of the biography of Joseph Chamberlain; this includes the correspondence of Austen Chamberlain [son of Joseph Chamberlain] and James Louis Garvin [biographer of Joseph Chamberlain] relating to the early period of the book's development, preparatory notes, transcripts of correspondence between Joseph Chamberlain and political, family and personal associates, and material acquired for the purposes of research [this includes the papers of E. A. Sonnenshein relating to the history of Birmingham University, 1900-1950]

Most of the collection has been micropublished by Primary Source Media in six separate units on a total of 137 microfilm reels and some, or all, of these units have been purchased by other research libraries in this country and elsewhere. Facilities are available in Cadbury Research Library for researchers to make paper copies of individual items from these microfilms for their own private research purposes. Alternatively, digitized copies of the microfilms can be viewed online under 'Archives Unbound' at http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb. Members of the University of Birmingham may access the digital copies free of charge at http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itweb/bham_uk?db=GDSC

Additional microfiche copies of material relating to the Jameson Raid, 1895-1897; and South Africa, 1893-1899; are also available.

The collection contains photocopies of original items from the Laurier Papers, the Aberdeen Papers, the Denison Papers, the R. W. Scott Papers, the Galt Papers and the Tupper Papers, all held in the Canadian National Archives, and photocopies of items held in the University of Texas Library, Austin, USA

There are two alternative systems of arrangement for the Joseph Chamberlain papers, though the contents of the collection remains the same across both systems

One follows the system established by Joseph Chamberlain's biographers, James Louis Garvin and Julian Amery, who used the papers before they were deposited with the University of Birmingham. This arrangement divides the papers into sections [JC1-JC27]. Additional deposits of papers from the family [JC28] and from the estate of Lord Amery [JC29-JC37] were added later

This arrangement is as follows:

JC1 Papers on Joseph Chamberlain's youth and early family life
JC2 Board of Trade papers: 1880-1885
JC3 Washington Fisheries Conference: 1887-1888
JC4 Presscuttings: pre 1898; Memorial notices: 1914
JC5 General correspondence, A-Z: pre-1899
JC6 Domestic politics
JC7 Foreign affairs: pre 1899
JC8/1-2 Diaries and materials relating to the 'Life of Joseph Chamberlain' by Garvin and Amery
JC8/3-10 Irish politics: correspondence and papers
JC9 Imperial affairs
JC10 South African War: antecedents and first year
JC11 General correspondence, A-Z: 1900-1902
JC12 Birmingham University correspondence; other miscellaneous matters
JC13 South Africa: 1900-1902
JC14 Colonial affairs (other than South Africa): 1900-1902
JC15 Canada: photocopies of papers in the Canadian National Archives
JC16 Miscellaneous notebooks; correspondence with Sir M. Hicks Beach; copies of correspondence with Queen Victoria and King Edward VII
JC17 Colonial correspondence: 1901-1902
JC18/1-10 Colonial and foreign correspondence and documents: 1903
JC18/11-15 South Africa documents: 1903
JC18/16-20 Domestic politics: 1903
JC19 Colonial papers and miscellaneous correspondence: 1904
JC20 Colonial papers and miscellaneous correspondence: 1905
JC21 Miscellaneous correspondence: 1906
JC22 Miscellaneous correspondence: 1907-1914
JC23 Presscuttings, 1913-1914; copies and extracts of Mary Chamberlain's papers; papers relating to Joseph Chamberlain's death; miscellaneous printed articles about Joseph Chamberlain
JC24 Centenary of Joseph Chamberlain's birth; materials relating to Garvin's Life of Joseph Chamberlain'
JC25 Printed items relating to individuals associated with Joseph Chamberlain
JC26 Early letters
JC27 Photocopies of materials in the University of Texas Library relating to Garvin and the Chamberlain family

JC28A Correspondence from Joseph Chamberlain to Mary Chamberlain
JC28B Correspondence from Mary Chamberlain to Joseph Chamberlain

JC29 Colonial Office papers and correspondence
JC30 Political correspondence
JC31 Political notebooks
JC32 Personal material of and relating to Joseph Chamberlain
JC33 Official printed materials
JC34 Presscuttings, scrap albums, political cartoons and photographs
JC35 Birmingham University

Neville Chamberlain Collection [NC];

Artificial collections of letters and other documents of Joseph, Austen and Neville Chamberlain [JCLAdd, ACLAdd, NCLAdd]

Also note that there is material relating to Joseph Chamberlain in the University Archive including an archival audio tape of an extract of a speech.

The Special Collections Department holds a number of related collections:

Chamberlain Family Collection [C];

Austen Chamberlain Collection [AC];

Beatrice, Ida, Hilda and Ethel Chamberlain Collection [BC]

approx. 21.87 linear metres

Access to all registered researchers

A formal agreement relating to the gift of the papers of Joseph Chamberlain and his son, Austen Chamberlain to the University of Birmingham was drawn up with the Chamberlain Family and Chamberlain Trustees in 1959. Both collections were presented to the University of Birmingham at a public ceremony on 18 October 1960, chaired by the University's Vice-Chancellor, Sir Robert Aitken.

approx 24, 364 items, comprising approx 665 files and vols, stored in approx 196 boxes and fascicules

Joseph Chamberlain was born in 1836; he was educated at University College School, and at the age of sixteen moved from London to Birmingham to join his uncle's screw manufacturing business, Nettlefold and Chamberlain; he became a member of the Birmingham Education Society, the National Education League, and was chairman of the Birmingham School Board [1868-1873]; he was a member of Birmingham Town Council [1872-1880], being Councillor for St Paul's Ward and Mayor [1873-1876]; he was MP for West Birmingham [1876-1914]; President of the Board of Trade [1880-1885]; President of the Local Government Board [1886]; Secretary of State for the Colonies, 1895-1903]; Chancellor of the University of Birmingham [1901-1914]; and Lord Rector of Glasgow University; he died on 2nd July 1914.