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"Cranks"

Series consists of letters addressed to Russell which are written in a nonsensical, ridiculous and/or indignant manner. Some crank mail elicited a response from Russell or his secretary, Ralph Schoenman, and may include typescript copies of replies, but most letters were left unanswered. A considerable amount of letters are from Peter Askey; one box (11.82) contains only letters received from him. Many letters were also sent anonymously.

Acquired as part of Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “Every well-known figure must receive crank mail, but Russell seems to have received more than his share. Possibly it was his reputation as a sage that attracted the letters. His staff regularly annotated such mail "crank". … While there may be nothing so dismal as an anonymous crank letter, pseudonymous crank letters can be very entertaining. See, for example, the letters and enclosed "cheques" (ranging from $5000 to $2,000,000,000) from the Virgin Express Alexandra I.”

"Later" Legal and Business Correspondence

Series consists largely of legal correspondence relating to alleged press abuse that Russell experienced in newspapers such as The Economist and Daily Mirror, and other publications; also includes documentation on various lawsuits. As noted in the print finding aid for Archives 2, “Russell felt obliged to check journalistic scurrility when it blackened his name. The Penthouse file contains, in addition to the first issue of the British edition (March 1965), two copies of a pre-publication brochure falsely listing Russell among the future contributors.”

This series also includes business correspondence and financial statements relating to the purchase, sublet, and rental of properties as well as dividends, account summaries, etc. Much of the correspondence is between B.M. Birnberg & Co. and Russell, Ralph Schoenman, or Chris Farley. Includes typescript copies of Russell's outgoing correspondence as well as some typescript copies of incoming correspondence.

'Save Europe Now'

Series consists primarily of letters from Victor Gollancz, chairman of Save Europe Now, which was concerned with post-WWII relief and reconstruction in central Europe; some of the letters are addressed to Lady [Patricia] Russell. Also includes other correspondence, circulars, printed materials, resolutions of meetings, draft statements, copies of open letters to the Prime Minister and Minister of Food, various reports on the treatment of displaced persons in Eastern Europe as well as conditions in Europe generally and in the four zones of Germany, and other items. Acquired as part of Archives 1.

1935 divorce documents - divorce from Dora Russell

Series consists of various legal documents used in the divorce proceedings between Russell and Dora Russell including two Heads of Agreements; affidavits and petitions by Russell and Dora Russell; affidavits from approximately fifteen individuals about Beacon Hill School; statements; draft of Russell's will and a deed poll; deed of gift; earnings record; memorandum; some correspondence and investigative reports; and, as noted in the print finding aid for Archives 2, “’An Inventory of the Furniture and Household Effects at 'Telegraph House', Harting, Petersfield’. This document is interesting for its listing of the books in Telegraph House, among other things.”

90th Birthday mementoes/tribute

Russell's 90th birthday on 18 May 1962 was celebrated the next evening at the Royal Festival Hall in London with a musical tribute. Series consists primarily of birthday letters/cards received by Russell from individuals and organizations all over the world, as well as copies of his replies. As noted in the Archives 2 print finding aid, series also includes letters “written chiefly in response to Ralph Schoenman's requests for tributes to be printed in the tribute booklet, Into the Tenth Decade (1962).” Also found in the series are a program for the musical tribute and a signed scroll presented by British Members of Parliament.

95th Birthday letters

As noted in the Archives 2 print finding aid, "Russell's 95th birthday was on 18 May 1967. There was no public celebration, but some members of the public and friends sent their congratulations to him." Those congratulations are contained in this series of approximately 150 letters.

97th Birthday

Series consists of approximately 50 birthday letters addressed to Russell for his 97th birthday from individuals and organizations around the world who were both known and unknown to him. Many were sent by admirers of Russell. Russell died at age 97, and thus the items in this series mark his last birthday.

Ancestral papers

Series consists of material relating to Russell’s parents, Lord and Lady Amberley (John Russell and Kate Stanley), and their parents. The material is primarily correspondence but also includes journals, photographs, scrapbooks, newsclippings and other items.

The series is further arranged as follows:

<b>Lord Amberley’s (John Russell's) parents</b>
111 Lord John Russell, 1st Earl
112 Lady Frances Anna Maria Russell

<b>Lady Amberley's (Kate Stanley’s) parents</b>
121 Lord Edward John Stanley of Alderley
122 Lady Henrietta Maria Stanley

<b>The Amberleys</b>
131 Lord Amberley (John Russell)
132 Lady Amberley (Kate Stanley)
133 Frank Russell (eldest son)
134 Correspondence with friends
135 Political correspondence
136 American correspondence
137 Amberley deaths
141 Journals

<b>Photographs, Clippings, and printed material</b>

Artwork: paintings, drawings, caricatures, sculptures and other material

Series consists of original artwork (paintings, drawings, caricatures, sculptures and other material) owned by Russell and his family, as well as items—including copies--acquired from other sources. While Russell is the subject of most of the artwork, some items focus on other individuals as well as various events or places. Includes items acquired as part of Russell Archives 1 and 2, as well as more recent acquisitions (Russell Archives 3).

BRPF: Branch offices

Series consists largely of correspondence with BRPF's international branches and also contains specific files pertaining to conference preparation, drafts of bulletins, and correspondence with branch directors and advisers. Includes typescript copies of Russell's and his staff's outgoing correspondence.

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “There are ... files dealing specifically with conferences sponsored, the Foundation’s directors and advisers, its executive officers (Christopher Farley and Ralph Schoenman), and efforts to win the Nobel Peace Prize for Russell. In one file (London School of Economics meeting, 1965) there is a reading text in Edith Russell’s hand of Russell’s speech entitled “The Labour Party’s Foreign Policy”. In another there is the Foundation Bulletin, vol. 1, no. 1 (February 1960), with various pre-publication versions. The contents of the files are listed [in the print finding aid] on the basis of the first appearance of a given correspondent in a given file."

BRPF: British Council for Peace in Vietnam

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “The BCPV campaigned more for a negotiated settlement in the Vietnam War than for outright victory on behalf of the National Liberation Front. A chief correspondent for the BCPV was Fenner, Lord Brockway, who, with Russell, had opposed the First World War. He and Russell had some sharp disagreements over policy.” The finding aid also lists the names Amicia M. Young, Dick Nettleton, and Barbara Haq.

Includes circulars inviting involvement in the council, event adverts, a bulletin, and correspondence between Russell and other BRPF members regarding the possible collaboration of the BRPF and the BCPV. The correspondence also contains disagreements on topics such as the International War Crimes Tribunal and policy for opposition of the Vietnam War. Letters from Russell and his staff are typescript copies.

BRPF: British-Vietnam Committee

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “This Committee's interest in the Vietnam War predated Russell's, and it appears from the first letters that Russell was stimulated into making his first public statement on the question by the Committee's Bulletin. The correspondence was regularly with the Committee's Honorary Secretary, Hilda Vernon.”

Includes essays, leaflets, circulars, bulletins and correspondence relating to the Vietnam War. Letters from Russell and his staff are typescript copies.

BRPF: Civil rights

Series consists of correspondence relating to political prisoners and Soviet Jews, as well as an array of other printed materials such as reports, case files, Russell's statements and typescript copies of his articles, etc. There are a number of files dedicated to the USA (e.g., the Kennedy Assassination), and a file relating to the Morton Sobell case. Letters from Russell and his staff are typescript copies.

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “This grouping of files overlaps somewhat with [series] 330 in that it contains papers dealing with both Soviet Jews (who wished to leave the USSR) and Soviet political prisoners. Many of the latter were also Jewish. These files, and especially those dealing with the United States, contain many statements by Russell and even typescripts of articles as early as “Using Beelzebub to Cast Out Satan”, published in the Manchester Guardian on 30 October 1951. There is also considerable printed material."

BRPF: Financial correspondence relating to politics

Series consists of correspondence acknowledging financial gifts from donors and some correspondence with individuals approached to sponsor the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. Also includes some business correspondence relating to the BRPF's activities, e.g., rates of payment for telephone service. Letters from Russell and his staff are typescript copies.

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “The BRPF was financed partly through donations and partly through Russell’s own resources. The former were very important to the BRPF, as they were a demonstration of popular support for the Foundation’s work. Such correspondence begins, however, in 1962, when Russell’s political work first received the financial support of others interested in it. The [series] also includes business correspondence on topics such as Russell’s frequently interrupted telephone service."

BRPF: General correspondence

Series consists of petitions for political prisoners, requests for Russell to contribute writings to various kinds of publications, and inquiries about his philosophical writings, among other topics; replies (typescript copies) are from Russell, Edith Russell, or his staff. Also includes correspondence with individuals approached for the purpose sponsoring and/or becoming a member of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. The series was acquired as part of Archives 1.

BRPF: General political correspondence

Series consists of correspondence with individuals known and unknown to Russell as well as with various campaigns with aims similar to those of the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. Correspondents include Cyrus Eaton, an American businessman and philanthropist who was a sponsor of the Pugwash Conferences, as well as organizations such as the Committee on Science and Freedom, the British Peace Committee, the British "Who Killed Kennedy?" Committee, etc. Also accompanying some letters are printed materials, such as news clippings, flyers, circular letters, off prints, newsletters, etc. Letters from Russell and his staff are typescript copies.

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “The chief criteria used in forming this [series] were the independence of the correspondents from governmental bodies, and their independence from the specific campaign organizations with which Russell was involved. Russell’s messages to demonstrations are often included in the contents."

BRPF: Miscellaneous politics

Series consists of correspondence relating to a variety of global events, affairs, and campaigns. Letters from Russell and his staff are typescript copies.

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “This [series] contains a variety of specific files that do not fit well into any other political classification. The files [range] from the Cuban Missile Crisis to correspondence in the India file from 1970. Some files concern specific campaigns such as the South East Asia Appeal or the Committee of 100. The first file reveals an unsuccessful attempt at fund-raising through the offer of the use of Bertrand and Edith Russell’s names on commercial products."

BRPF: Political prisoners

Series consists of correspondence with heads of state and foreign governments, with individuals concerned about certain political prisoners, and letters to editors. The correspondence reveals Russell's staunch advocacy for political prisoners across the world. Letters from Russell and his staff are typescript copies.

The series was acquired with Archives 2, the print finding aid for which states: “This [series] reflects the concern of Russell and the Peace Foundation to free political prisoners, whatever their nationality. Of necessity many of the negotiations with foreign governments had to be conducted with the strictest secrecy. The frequent successes could not be publicized, but the background to each can be ascertained in these files. The files are catalogued [in the print finding aid] on the basis of the first appearance of a given correspondent in a given file. It is only in these files that we learn of Russell’s connections with certain organizations—e.g., his honorary presidency of the Spanish Workers Defence Committee. Public statements and messages are also to be found here."

BRPF: Printed material

This small series consists of a collection printed materials and Russell's handwritten notes relating to the Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation and the Atlantic Peace Foundation. Includes:

A typed list of "Advisers" and "Scientific Advisers" to the BRPF. A typed copy of an announcement of Russell’s intention to speak at a meeting in Manchester on 28 April 1965. Notes on "Policy of the Foundation" in Russell’s hand. A brochure on the BRPF Statement by Russell on launching of BRPF; 1 printed copy A brochure detailing the work of the APF; includes a ‘covenant form’; 3 printed copies.
*A booklet outlining the work of the BRPF, marked "confidential"

The series was acquired as part of Archives 1.

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