The holdings of the Division of Archives and Research Collections reflect a broad spectrum of Canadian popular culture ranging from the records of Canadian publishers and advertisers to the personal papers of internationally recognized authors and musicians. Included are writers
Louise Bennett-Coverley,
Pierre Berton,
Austin Clarke,
Marian Engel,
Basil H. Johnston and
Farley Mowat and singer-songwriters
Bruce Cockburn,
Ian Thomas and
Jackie Washington. A sample of
Alice Munro's handwriting, whose letters appears in the fonds of publishers
Macmillan Canada and
McClelland & Stewart, appeared on a commemorative stamp released by
Canada Post in 2015. Personal papers and research collections of non-Canadian figures are equally well represented by holdings pertaining to
Samuel Beckett,
Vera Brittain,
Thomas Carlyle and
Sir George Catlin. The Division of Archives and Research Collection also holds the only surviving manuscript of
Anthony Burgess'
A Clockwork Orange. The manuscript, along with several of Burgess' early works, was acquired by McMaster as a result of Ready's persistence and eventual friendship with the author. McMaster's copy is of particular interest because it includes the
final chapter that was omitted by American publishers of the work. The manuscript contains an annotation in Burgess' hand that reads "Should we end here?", indicating that he questioned its inclusion. Other items held by the Archives include
sheet music from the First World War, historical postcards, and a
figure skating collection consisting of books, programs, photographs and postcards.
The Bertrand Russell Archives McMaster University is home to the Bertrand Russell Archives. Manuscripts, correspondence, newspaper clippings and other textual records, in addition to photographs and audio visual resources, make up the more than 140 meters of material held by the Archives. Russell's personal library and furniture from his home in
Penrhyndeudraeth,
Wales are also housed at McMaster. Russell's letters, totalling approximately 50,000, provide insight about his personal and political dealings addressing topics such as his love life, his thoughts on teaching and pacifism, and his experiences in prison.
Joseph Conrad,
T.S. Eliot,
Nikita Khrushchev,
Lady Constance Malleson,
Ho Chi Minh,
Jean-Paul Sartre,
Ludwig Wittgenstein and
Dorothy Maud Wrinch are among Russell's numerous correspondents. Russell's personal papers were purchased in 1968 for $520,000, with the first transfer of records consisting of 11 filing cabinets and 15 metal trunks. At the time, it was the most money spent on the personal papers of one person, topping what was paid for the personal papers of
Leon Trotsky and
W. B. Yeats. That a Canadian university was able to secure Russell's papers has been linked to his disapproval of the United States' role in Vietnam. There was, however, interest from American universities, most notably the
University of Texas, which dried up after an erroneous report in
Newsweek indicated that Russell intended to use the funds to support war efforts in North Vietnam. Selling his papers was, in actuality, a means to support the work of the
Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation. ==References==