| Collection | GB 0231 University of Aberdeen, Special Collections |
| Level | Fonds |
| Ref No | MS 2664 |
| Title | Communist Party, Socialist, and Trades Union Literature |
| Date | c.1886 - 1997 |
| Extent | 22 boxes |
| Creator Name | James Milne, Secretary of Aberdeen Trades Council (1948 - 1969) (compiler 1)
William Leslie, of Aberdeen (fl 1968) (compiler 2)
James Clunie, MP (fl 1950) (compiler 3)
Aberdeen Trades Council (1868 -) (compiler 4)
Aberdeen Communist Party (1987) (compiler 5) |
| Administrative History | James Milne and William Leslie, both of Aberdeen, were involved with Aberdeen Trades Council during the 1960s, James Milne serving as secretary in the period 1948 - 1969. James Clunie was elected Labour MP for Dunfermline in 1950. |
| Custodial History | This collection of printed papers came to the University from five different sources, the first three during the period Feb - Sept 1968. The first deposit of periodicals and pamphlets was made by James Milne, Secretary of Aberdeen Trades Council, in Feb 1968. Throughout 1967 and 1968, Aberdeen Trades Council was instrumental in facilitating the deposit of a large volume of local trades union records in the University. Communist Party literature, which had been collected by the Trades Council over a period of many years, was deposited as part of this process. William Leslie, of Aberdeen, deposited his own, smaller collection of literature in June 1968; and in Sept, c. 100 items collected by James Clunie, MP, were deposited via the Mitchell Library, Glasgow (these items are duplicates of those already held by the Mitchell Library). The fourth deposit of periodicals, pamphlets and other printed material was made by Aberdeen Trades Council, and the literature collected by the Aberdeen Communist Party was deposited in the University in Feb 1987 by Simon McLean-Steel, an Aberdeen University student, on behalf of the Party. The five collections have been accessioned as one deposit, but the integrity of each is maintained in the arrangement of the records. |
| Description | This collection contains periodicals, pamphlets, leaflets and other printed papers, mainly issued by, or relating to the Communist Party and other related organisations, c.1886 - 1997. Periodicals represented in the collection include The Communist International, 1929 - 1939; The Communist Review, 1921 - 1992; Discussion, 1936; Labour, 1939 - 1945; The Labour Monthly; 1926 - 1965; The Left Review, 1935; The Plebs, 1925, 1959; and University Forward, 1942. The pamphlets cover a wide range of topics, from general commentary re. Communist philosophy and Socialism towards more specific matters of interest, such as the British Movement against War and Fascism, Imperialism, Scottish nationalism, working conditions, Trade Unions, and the Labour Party. There is also good coverage of international issues, in particular, commentary on the Socialist regimes in Korea, the Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland and other East European countries, and the Spanish Civil War. The literature collected by Aberdeen Trades Council includes material issued by or relating to various trade union congresses and councils in Scotland and Soviet Russia. The literature collected by Aberdeen Communist Party includes congress resolutions and reports of the Communist Party of Great Britain and annual conference material for the Labour Party. |
| Accruals | Possible |
| Arrangement | The integrity of the five individual collections has been maintained. Periodicals are arranged alphabetically by title; pamphlets and other papers are arranged by author or subject. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Access Conditions | The records are available subject to the signed acceptance of the Department's access conditions. |
| Copyright | Subject to the condition of the original, copies may be supplied for private research use only on receipt of a signed undertaking to comply with current copyright legislation. Permission to make any published use of material from the collection must be sought in advance from the University Archivist and, where appropriate, from the copyright owner. Where possible, assistance will be given in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Language | English |
| Physical Description | No physical conditions affecting use of collection. |
| Related Material | MS 2270: Records of Aberdeen Trades Council, 1876 - 1955
MS 2663: Records of Aberdeen City Labour party, 1947 - 1959
MS 2640 - 2700; MS 2879; MS 2880; MS 2984: Deposits of nineteenth and twentieth century records concerning Trade Union branches in Aberdeen and north-east Scotland. |