Correspondence, notes and drafts relating to his writings and career; a small amount of clinical and research notes relating to work with the British Psycho-analytical Society.
The material forms a relatively complete guide to the development of Bowlby's thought, the vast bulk consisting of notes, texts of lectures, drafts, correspondence with colleagues and unpublished papers. There are also small, but interesting, amounts of clinical records, research notes, papers relevant to Bowlby's involvement with the British Psycho-analytical Society, his wartime work with the War Office Selection Boards, and personal and professional correspondence.
Most of the papers were kept in labelled files. Around half of those stored at his home were in a series of well organised filing cabinets, although further material from an oak chest, a wall cupboard and other locations presented a less coherent picture. As far as possible, the original order of the filed papers has been maintained. Original file titles are indicated (by single inverted commas) throughout the list. The main categories in the list have also been derived from runs of material from the filing cabinets (notes; colleagues and other authors; texts of lectures; overseas lecture tours; drafts; reprints) kept, as far as possible, in their original sequence, with additional material amalgamated where appropriate. Further groups of material (biographical; correspondence; clinical practice; research; teaching) are, to a greater extent, the result of an imposed order, being the combination of material from various locations, sorted mainly according to phases of Bowlby's career.
Following the completion of the 1995 catalogue, a substantial amount of additional material (amounting to about one-third as much again) was received in several accessions from family members. As a result the earlier stages of Bowlby's life, education and career, in particular, are now much more fully documented. The papers of his wife, Ursula, provide valuable background on his family life and marriage as well as aspects of his career (for example, her \"Travel files\" document several of his professional visits abroad), and there is also material relating to her own writings on childrearing, including drafts commented on by Bowlby, of her manuscript on the subject and contributions by her to Nursery World. There are some papers, including her journals, and correspondence with her husband Sir Anthony Bowlby, of Bowlby's mother (Maria Bridget, \"May\") Lady Bowlby, nee Mostyn, and of his elder sisters, Winifred and Marion, who had careers as professional musicians and also served in the Women's Land Army in World War II.
In most cases this material has been incorporated into the existing list either as new files or with the creation of new sections and subsections. A few stray items, however, have been added to existing files, e.g. a number of single letters and other personalia were added to PP/BOW/A.6/1 Evan Durbin. With the receipt of significant quantities of Ursula's letters to Bowlby from the period of their courtship and throughout their marriage, a new subsection of correspondence has been created and the existing small groups of her letters formerly in B.2/3 and B.2/5 incorporated into this much fuller sequence.
Some additional Sir Anthony Bowlby material received with these accessions has been incorporated into GC/181.
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