A catalogue of the material deposited by the Ruth First Memorial ...

Institute of Commonwealth Studies, University of London viii
SELECTED CORRESPONDENCE FILES
Collections of personal papers often contain large amounts of correspondence, as letters
are items which are more likely than most to be preserved by the creator or collector of
the material. Given also that Ruth First was a frequent writer of letters and had a great
many friends and professional contacts, it is unsurprising that the material listed in this
catalogue includes a large number of files containing letters which she received and
copies of those she sent out. This material undoubtedly forms one of the most interesting
parts of the collection.
The collection includes large amounts of letters related to both First’s personal and
professional activities. As it is probable that her personal correspondence will be of
greater value to the researcher, and since it is distributed throughout the collection, the
list below has been drawn up, highlighting the files which include letters between First
and her family, friends and acquaintances.
Readers should note that access to much of this material requires the permission of
the head of the library at ICS in conjunction with the Chairman of the Ruth First
Memorial Trust. Such files are marked by an asterisk both here and in the main
catalogue.
It is naturally impossible to draw a strict boundary between what constitutes personal and
professional material, so users should consult the catalogue for further details if
necessary. It is also important to note that many files contain correspondence, even when
other documents form the bulk of the file. It has not been possible to separate this
material, indeed it would not have been advisable to do so, as by maintaining the order in
which First arranged the material as far as possible, links between items are maintained,
and the records can be placed in the context of their creation or collection.
The list below gives the references of the relevant files, together with some of the
prominent correspondents who feature in the material. It should be noted that not all
correspondents have been listed, as the large number of items in many of the files has
made this impractical. In some cases the theme of the material has been given rather than
individual names.
The list also gives dates for each file and a figure for the extent, taken from the full
catalogue. Where this extent refers to the file as a whole, and the file consists
predominantly of material which is not personal correspondence, the figure has been
placed in brackets.
Archives and Special Collections – Ruth First Papers