Research Collections

Thinking of Offering Archive Material?

The Paul Mellon Centre actively collects archive material relating to the study of British art and architectural history and is happy to hear from individuals or institutions that have material they would like to offer.

If you are thinking of offering an archive to the Centre, please follow the two simple steps detailed below:

Initial information required for assessing potential acquisitions

  1. Name of individual/institution/body offering the archive (ie. the offerer)?
  1. Name of the legal owner of the material if different from above?
  1. Relationship between the offerer and the creator?
  1. Where is the archive currently located? (please provide full postal address)
  1. Contact details of offerer? (phone and email)
  1. How much material is there? (e.g. 10 boxes; 1 filing cabinet etc.)
  1. Please provide a very brief biography/history of the individual/institution/body who created the archive?
  1. What is the material about? (e.g. ‘Concerning every aspect of Blogg’s life & career but including, in particular, material relating to xxx publication’)
  1. Why/in what capacity was the archive created? (e.g. The papers were created & compiled by Joe Bloggs during his life-long research/interest in 18thc British Art; The papers relate exclusively to the book xxxx; The papers relate to the whole of the individual’s life and include, in particular, material relating to his tenure as Director of the XX Gallery)
  1. What type of material is contained within the archive? (e.g. correspondence; research notes; photographs/images; slides; plans; electronic files; videos/recordings; published material; other – please specify)
  1. Does any of the material consist of photocopies? If so, how much? (e.g. photocopies of original letters held at Sussex County Records Office; photocopies of published material, e.g. journal articles, books, etc.)

Please send a basic list of material, if possible.