Special Collections > Local Studies > eBook Scrapbooks

Click on a link to open the index; a new browser page will open; close it to return here
The indexes are displayed as an "eBook". Click here for background to the Scrapbooks.

You must have Flash player ® enabled to use these e-books.

Alternatively, you can view them in PDF format.

The scrapbooks and their provenance

The albums, twenty-eight in number and commonly described as scrapbooks or cuttings books, form part of the Local History Collections of the Library.

They were compiled by members of the Institute principally as collections of contemporary newspaper cuttings, ephemera and graphic material to provide a detailed record of public events, customs, matters of local interest and biographical information on prominent townspeople.

As such the albums today offer detailed insights into virtually every aspect of life in Guildford from the late nineteenth century up to the 1930s, a period when the Guildford Institute was in its heyday and was important to the life of the town. The albums have been highly regarded by both members of the Institute and visiting researchers as a rich source of historical information and for a wealth of illustrations of events and people.

A small number of albums were compiled as surveys of the topography, antiquities and built heritage of Guildford and some neighbouring villages. Photographs and prints of these subjects provide a valuable record of the appearance of the town at the time and feature many buildings which no longer exist.

The Guildford Institute was founded in 1834 as a Mechanics Institute. During the Victorian period it grew in prominence as an educational, cultural and social club and as a Working Men’s Institution providing the town with its only facilities for adult education and technical training, a reference and lending library and a small museum. From the outset the Institute accumulated books, scientific and technical equipment, natural history specimens, historical artefacts and local history material.

The albums were compiled from the 1890s onwards. Senior officers themselves undertook the on-going work of gathering and arranging material, pasting it into the albums and annotating and indexing items. The names of distinguished members are associated with this work. Edward Charles Ellis was elected Life Member in 1884 and served as Honorary Secretary into the early 1900s (see Albums A, F R and V). Frank Lasham, Chairman and later President, was at the forefront of many spheres of life in Guildford up to his death in 1925 (see Album L). Finally, Frederick Hammond Elsley’s energy, professionalism and wide ranging interests made a considerable impact on the Institute’s collections during his long tenure as Librarian from 1896 and 1944 (see Album M).

Work on the albums continued up to the late 1930s when the outbreak of war disrupted the Institute’s activities and the lively, active support of a hitherto large membership.

The Guildford Institute suffered a period of decline following the Second World War by which time the establishment of national and local institutions had diminished the significance of its original functions.

The Institute was reinvigorated by its partnership with the University of Surrey in 1981. A refurbishment of the Ward Street premises, educational initiatives, lectures, exhibitions and social activities brought new life to the organisation. Under the Librarianship of Patricia Chapman, from 1978 to 1995, the Library was overhauled.

During this period the Library Sub-Committee oversaw cataloguing and computerisation of the book collection, repairs and rebinding and the introduction of conservation measures. The Local History Collections were reorganised and the albums of cuttings, ephemera, prints and photographs were rebound; a few of the eight un-indexed albums were indexed by Rhys Davies, a Library volunteer.

In 2001 the Librarian, Clare Miles, sought to bring the albums to a wider audience and to make access to the information they contained more convenient. A second objective was the preservation of the fragile albums whereby excessive handling through casual consultations should be avoided. The original manuscript indexes were difficult to read and some were in a poor state. It was clear that printed indexes were essential for the best use and care of the albums. The generous assistance of two Library volunteers assured that these objectives would be met.

Roger Nicholas, a local historian and former Administrator of the Institute, compiled a detailed catalogue of the albums and made identifications and listings of many photographs and other contents. Dr Rosa K Pawsey advanced this project making typescripts of all the original manuscript indexes and compiling indexes for the remaining un-indexed albums. Between 2002 and 2006 her painstaking editorial work, typing and indexing were accomplished allowing for the publication of this research aid for use by Institute staff and members and researchers in Guildford, Surrey and elsewhere.

The Albums of Cuttings, Ephemera, Prints and Photographs form the most valuable element of the Institute’s Local Studies Collections. They can be consulted by appointment with the Administrator and Library staff who can make available other items from the extensive holdings of books, pamphlets, drawings, paintings, prints and photographs and other albums of special subject interest. Researchers can additionally apply to the Surrey History Centre in Woking to study the nineteenth and twentieth century history of the Guildford Institute in an archive of minute books and records which is deposited there.

The published history by Russell Chamberlin, Survival – The Rise, Fall and Rise of the Guildford Institute of the University of Surrey, 1996, gives an account of the Library and its collections and brings to life the institutional environment in which this remarkable collection of albums was formed.

For further information, please contact Reception at the Guildford Institute. Call 01483 562142, or email library@guildford-institute.org.uk