History Collection Guide
Scope of the collection
The Topography section of the Library, located on Level 1 of the Back Stacks, covers travel books and works on the local history, geography, archaeology, architecture, economics, society and culture of particular nations or areas. Included in the collections are a great number of travellers’ impressions of different regions throughout the world, dating from the 16th century onwards, with a separate section on travellers’ impressions of England (T. Foreign Impressions of England).
Founded in 1841, the Library’s collection has grown each year and we hold titles from the late 18th century onwards on the open shelves. As a result, our collection reflects the evolution and changes in thinking in a particular subject and does mean that you may come across titles which contain ideas and vocabulary that would be considered abhorrent today. The collection continues to grow with some 5,000 new titles being added each year. As we develop the collection, we seek to ensure that the controversial topics of today are represented from all sides of a debate.
While purely historical books are generally shelved in the History stacks (Levels 2, 3 and 4), books on local history are included in the Topography section. Books on English local history, for example, are shelved in the T. England section, which is sub-divided in alphabetical order by place (eg T. England, Bath or T. England, Worcestershire); there are also more general sub-divisions, such as T. England, Roads. T. England (Gen.), which comes at the beginning of the T. England sequence, covers the topography of England as a whole. Books on London, however, have their own section: T. London (i.e. not included with T. England, but located independently in its alphabetical position under ‘L’). There is a set of Pevsner’s architectural guides shelved in the various county shelfmarks as well as another set for reference only in the Stoppard Room.
The Topography section includes books in all major European languages.
Understanding shelfmarks
The Library’s collection is divided into broad subject areas (e.g. History, Literature, and Topography) and then into smaller areas, arranged alphabetically. Within each subject category, books are arranged alphabetically by their author’s surname or, in the case of edited collections or books with multiple authors, by their title. Check the Catalogue record for the ‘shelved under’ information.
In order to make the most effective use of space, the collection is also shelved by size. Check the end of shelfmarks for the notations 4to. (Quarto), small folio, folio, and folio extra large, which may indicate a different place to look for the books.
Above is an example of a book record from the Catalogue. Here you can see that the book is shelved under the author’s name and that it is available (i.e. on the shelf) at in the Topography section (T.), in the sub-section for England (Gen.) and then shelved under the author Macfarlane.
Labels on the edges of the shelves will guide you through the section. Some shelfmarks are large, such as T. France, and are subdivided further by letters marking the authors’ surnames (or titles in the case of edited collections).
Books may be requested and put aside ready for collection, but we would always encourage members to browse the shelves and discover books serendipitously. Items from the Library’s Special Collections cannot be borrowed but may be consulted in the Library under supervised conditions, given 72 hours’ notice.
Books and eBooks
The Library’s collection includes both academic eBooks and other fiction and non-fiction eBooks available through the Libby platform. All academic eBooks will appear in your search results in the Library Catalogue. Those available through Libby are also in our Catalogue but can also be searched separately through the Libby platform, which you also need in order to access these titles.
Books on individual places, travel and exploration
All books in the Topography section have a shelfmark beginning with T. There are over 230 sub-divisions within the Topography section, arranged strictly in alphabetical order from T. Abyssinia to T. Zululand. The shelfmarking system, substantially unrevised since its inception a century ago, retains many place-names current at that time. Sub-divisions include continents and regions (e.g. T. America, South), nation states (e.g. T. France), and smaller areas within nation states or covering land in several nation states (e.g. T. Kurdistan or T. Danubian Provinces). Books covering the Indian sub-continent, for example, will therefore be found at T. India, T. Beluchistan, T. Cashmere and T. Asia (Gen.).
Three cities have their own shelfmarks, located in their alphabetical positions (i.e. not within England, France, or Italy): T. London; T. Paris; and T. Rome.
There is a separate shelfmark for works on major voyages (historical and modern): T. Voyages; but works on travel and exploration of particular places will be found under the appropriate country or region sub-division, as above.
The main alphabetical sequence of Topography shelfmarks begins in the Back Stacks in the front part of Level 1 and covers T. Abyssinia to T. England, Dewsbury; the remainder of the sequence (T. England, Digswell to T. Zululand) is shelved in the rear section of Level 1. There are two separate sequences for oversize books: larger format books have the designation ‘4to.’ (quarto) in their shelfmark, and very large books have the word ‘folio’; these are shelved in the front part of level 1.
Guide Books
The Library’s main collection of guide books is shelved in the gallery above the Circulation Desk in the Issue Hall. There is a wealth of material of historical interest, dating from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including a collection of Baedeker guides and Murray’s handbooks. In addition, there is a series of guides to each state and many cities in the USA, shelved at T. America (Gen.) Guide Books in the main Topography section; and a collection of pamphlet guides to National Trust properties, shelved at R.R. Guide Books in the Writers’ Room.
Archaeology
The Topography section includes a great deal of material of archaeological interest. Books about archaeology and excavation in general, or about the theory of archaeology, can be found in T. Archaeology (Gen.). Books on archaeology in a particular country can be found in the Topography sub-division for that country (eg T. Turkey). There are a number of exceptions to this general rule. Books on archaeology in Europe as a whole are found in T. Archaeology (Gen.). Books on the archaeology of the Germanic peoples are shelved at T. Teutonic Archaeology. Books on archaeology in Egypt and Assyria are shelved in the History stacks (Levels 2, 3 and 4) at H. Egypt (Ancient) and at H. Assyria & Babylon. Books on the archaeology of the Slavic peoples can also be found in the History stacks, at H. Slavs.
Reference and general works
A range of topographical reference works are kept for consultation in the Library’s main Reading Room on the 1st Floor. Gazetteers to all parts of the world can also be found in the Reading Room, at the shelfmark R.R. Dicts., Geography, Gazetteers &c. The shelfmarks R.R. Dicts., Antiquities and R.R. Dicts., Classical include a rich collection of reference works on archaeology, the ancient world and classical civilisations.
Books on cartography and the history of maps and map-making are shelved in the Science & Misc. section at the shelfmark: S. Maps (and S. Maps, 4to. and S. Maps, folio for oversize books).
Books on the subject of topography, as opposed to topographical books, can be found in the Bibliography section (on the 5th Floor), under the shelfmarks: Bibliog., Topography &c. (Gen) and Bibliog., Topography, England &c. Included here are also bibliographies of individual countries and bibliographies of writings on travel and exploration.
Journals, eJournals and online resources
The Library holds many periodical titles and publications from Societies that complement the topography collection. Many of these titles are either no longer subscribed or are defunct but the Library retains back issues in its collection. Some titles may be online only or kept off-site. Please check the Library Catalogue for details of holdings. Titles include: Anatolian Studies; Architectural History; Archivio Storico Italiano; China Quarterly; Europe: revue mensuelle; Europe-Asia Studies; Geographical Magazine; Hakluyt Society Publications; Imago Mundi; Irish Geography; Journal of Latin American Studies; Middle Eastern Studies; Modern Asian Studies; National Geographic Magazine; Population Studies; Royal Geographical Society’s Geographical Journal; and Urban History.
Holdings of periodicals in the field of archaeology are particularly extensive. Many of these titles are either no longer subscribed or are defunct but the Library retains back issues in its collection. Some titles may be online only or kept off-site. Please check the Library Catalogue for details of holdings. Titles include:
American Journal of Archaeology; Archaeologia Cambrensis; Cahiers Archéologiques; Current Archaeology; Egyptian Archaeology; Industrial Archaeology Review; International Journal of Nautical Archaeology; Journal of Egyptian Archaeology; Journal of Hellenic Studies; Journal of Roman Studies; Levant; London Archaeologist; Medieval Archaeology; Oxford Journal of Archaeology; Public Archaeology; Revue Archéologique; Société Française d’Archéologie Bulletin; and World Archaeology.
Current and recent back issues of currently-subscribed print periodicals are available for consultation in the Reading Room. Access to eJournals via JSTOR can be achieved through the Library Catalogue.
The Library has also retained its holdings of a number of relevant non-current periodical titles. These include: Alpine Journal; Annales d’Histoire Economique et Sociale; Asian Review; Balkan Review; Civlisations; and Geographisches Jahrbuch. Details of the holdings and shelfmarks for volumes of these periodicals can be found on the Library Catalogue.
The Library subscribes to a number of databases that may contain information of topographical interest including European views of the Americas; 1493 to 1750, British history online, Country Life archive, Early English books online, and The John Johnson collection.