| Abstract |
This article examines the opportunities and challenges that arise in historical research and archival compilation by comparing three different modes of archival preservation: institutional holdings, archival repositories, and private collections. The discussion is structured in three stages. First, in the 1930s, following the establishment of the Customs Reference Library, customs officials who were also historians began arranging and studying the Inspector-General’s archives. Second, in the 1960s, the archival collections of Robert Hart and John Newell Jordan were processed through research projects led by John Fairbank and associated scholarly teams at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, Queen’s University Belfast, and Harvard University. Finally, in the present day, a research team at the University of Bristol, working in collaboration with the descendants of John Newell Jordan, has edited and published his diaries. The findings are as follows. When archives are held by an institution, both compilation and research tend to advance rapidly, but the archives may become effectively monopolized by that institution. When archives are held in public archival repositories, if they have been properly compiled, historical research can progress rapidly; however, if no one undertakes their compilation, the materials can easily fall into neglect. Private collections present two possible situations: if the materials are held by the individual to whom they belonged, compilation can proceed smoothly because that individual is familiar with the documents, but their personal revisions or interpretive interventions may compromise their historical value. If the materials are held by the family, they are less likely to be casually disposed of, but concerns over protecting the ancestor’s reputation can complicate the work of compilation. Even so, compilers should honor their commitments and make every effort to facilitate the release of new archival materials to the scholarly community. |
