At a meeting of the Council of Royal Anthropological Institute in London on 24 October 1922, an application by twelve fellows of the Institute to found a local branch in Edinburgh was accepted. The inaugural meeting of the Edinburgh and Lothians Branch of the Royal Anthropological Institute was held in the Royal Scottish Geographical Society Meeting Rooms, Synod Hall, Castle Terrace, Edinburgh on 6 February 1923. The key members included Lord Abercomby, Sir P Hamilton-Grierson and Sir Everard im Thurn. The Local Branch organised a number of lectures on anthropology. In 1933 the Local Branch held its final lecture and the Branch terminated.
Overlapping the last few years of the Local Branch, a group of individuals, some existing members of the Local Branch, formed a Scottish Anthropological Society. The individuals met on 15 June 1932 at the Royal Scottish Museum again on the 18 June to decide on the aim of the Society which was to further the study of anthropology generally but with special emphasis on the anthropology of Scotland.
The provisional council met on 8 November and set up various committees to deal with: an anthropometric survey of Scotland; folklore dialect; comparative religion; general ethnology; and propaganda. The Society arranged talks on a variety of topics including: Finland; Scottish dialects and some methods of analysing and recording their pronunciation; the Leningrad Exhibition of Iranian Art, 1935 and its ethnographical aspect; Scottish placenames; May civilisation of Yucatan; a moslem community in Britain; and nursery rhymes. The society also produced a journal named
In 1936 the Society changed its name to The Scottish Anthropology and Folklore Society. In the late 1950s the membership of the Society began to dwindle and it was wound up in 1960.
Minutes books of the Edinburgh and Lothian Local Branch of the Royal Anthropological Society, The Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society and The Standing Committee of Anthropological Teaching. Various papers relating to the winding up of the Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society.
Access should be unrestricted but please check in advance of any consultation.
Bulk of material acquired 1960, Accession E.1960.29. Material relating to the dissolution of the Society acquired 1962, Accession E.1962.57.
Minutes of meetings of the Institute held at the Royal Scottish Museum , Annual Reports, newspaper clippings regarding the Institute and lecture programmes.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 01/11/2010 11:54:52
Minutes of Annual General Meetings including details of new members and loss of existing members, lectures given, election of Office Bearers and Committee, and Financial Statements. The termination of the Institute is brought on by the Royal Anthropological Institute reducing its funding from £10 per member to £5 which the members of the local branch decide is too little to carry on with their duties. The branch ceased to exist after the last lecture in March 1933
Enclosure - Edinburgh & The Lothians Local Branch of the Royal Anthropological Institute Constitution and Rules
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Correspondence with Royal Anthropological Institute on the establishment of an Edinburgh & Lothians branch. Minutes of meetings. Newspaper clippings regarding the Society, members and lectures given. Lecture Programmes of all lectures organised by the Society, generally held at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, Synod Hall, Castle Terrace, Edinburgh.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 02/11/2010 12:39:50
Minutes of meetings of the Society including updates from various Committees reporting to the Society. Includes Annual Report Minutes and Financial Statements. Also details of election of Council and Office-Bearers, new members and changes in the structure of the Society. Newspaper clippings regarding the Society, members and lectures given. Details of donations made to the Society.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 02/11/2010 12:41:51
Begins with the establishment of the Society in June 1932. Agreed to set up committees to deal with a) anthropological survey of Scotland b) folk-lore c) dialect d) comparative religion e) general ethnology f) propaganda. The society looked to integrate with kindred learned and scientific societies and any societies where an alliance was formed would become honorary members of the Society. The Society co-operated with the Ethnic Research Society, the Folk Lore Society, The Royal Celtic Society and it set up various committees to deal with particular areas such as establishment of a Scottish Folk Museum, the Northern European Archive.
The Society were gifted pamphlets, papers and some books from the library of Sir Everard im Thurn. Lady im Thurn also gifted some articles of furniture and water-colour drawings. An annual memorial lecture for Sir Everard im Thurn was instituted. The Society set up an Im Thurn Fund to fund publications and an Annual Memorial Lecture.
The establishment of a Department of Anthropology in the joint control of the Free Church College and the Society was approved in 1934 and a Committee was set up to deal with it. The remit of the remit of the Standing Committee in Anthropological Teaching is noted.
In August 1934 the Society received a letter from the Irish Folklore Society regarding John Francis Campbell's unpublished manuscripts and requesting the Society's help in publishing three volumes of the translated manuscripts. At the time, the manuscripts had already been translated by Mr J G Mckay and two of the three volumes were ready for publication. The Society sent out letters to various organisations to promote the need for the publication of the manuscripts called The Campbell of Islay MSS Committee was set up to deal with it. Prof MacLean, Walton and Rose and Mr Gair were given the task of editing the manuscripts.
Minute Book of the Standing Committee in Anthropological Teaching can be found at Coll-262/3.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 02/11/2010 12:45:01
The book begins with various press cutting of letters to The Scotsman relating to a recent article by Lord Salvesen regarding the Scandinavian Influence in Scotland. During the period of this minute book two new organisations were set up and the Society played a part in both - The Scottish Archive for Ethnological, Folkloristic and Linguistic studies and The Institute of Anthropology, Edinburgh. The Scottish Archive took over the responsibility for the Campbell MSS Committee and the Anthropological Survey of Scotland. The Society contributed to the new periodical "The Journal of the International Association of Ethnological Studies (Volksunde) in North, Central and Western Europe" which later changed its name to "Folk" and organised the first congress the Association in Edinburgh in 1937. The minutes document reports from a variety of Committees on the progress of their projects. These include the Campbell MSS Committee, the Linguistic Survey Committee, the Folk Museum Committee, and the Congress Committee.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 02/11/2010 12:48:46
The book carries on with newspaper clippings of interest and minutes of meetings of the Society. The Society received news from the International Association for European Ethnology and Folklore that the "Folk" journal has been discontinued and the Association has adopted "Folklir", published by Gustav-Adolf Academy as a replacement. The minutes detail correspondence with other societies such as the Lithuanian Folklore Society, the Anthropological Society of Mexico and the Nigerian Field Society. The future of the Institute of Anthropology was decided at a joint meeting with the Standing Committee on Anthropological Teaching and the Secretary of the Society. The Society agreed to continue with the teaching of anthropology but in a modified form. The Society had been holding meetings at the Free Church College where the Institute of Anthropology was based and it was decided that the Society would hold its meetings at the Royal Scottish Geographical Society's room at Synod Hall. In April 1938 the Campbell MSS Committee reported that delays over the manuscripts has been resolved and that they were now in the hands of the publishers. Delays were mainly due to disagreements between the Editors and the Translator. In May 1939 it was agreed that the control of the manuscripts was to be returned to the Society from the Scottish Archive. In February 1940 the first volume of the manuscripts were published under the name "More West Highland Tales". Translated by John G Mackay and Edited by Prof W J Watson, the Rev. Prof Donald Maclean and Prof H J Rose. Printers - Oliver & Boyd. In March 1942 Mr J G Mackay, translator of the manuscripts, dies. In October 1939 the Society announce that their lectures are suspended until further notice due to the outbreak of the war. There are no minutes of meetings between May 1939 and May 1945. In 1945 the future of the Society is discussed and it was decided to approach the Royal Scottish Geographical Society to arrange an affiliation and an agreement is put in place between the two societies concerning rooms, lectures, library, membership and publications. Two Study Circles were established in 1946/7 to deal with Scottish Folklore and Applied Anthropology. The Society became involved with the introduction of the Folklore Institute of Scotland along with many other societies. In June 1948 the Society held a Folk Music and Folk Dance Festival in Edinburgh and a film is made of it. The book ends with the creation of a Glasgow branch of the Society.
Minute Book of the Standing Committee in Anthropological Teaching can be found at Coll-262/3.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 02/11/2010 12:52:05
The book carries on with newspaper clippings of interest and minutes of meetings of the Society. The creation of a Glasgow branch of the Society is abandoned due to little interest. The publication of Volume II of the Campbell MSS was initiated in April 1949 but by 1950 had progressed no further due to lack of funds. The Carnegie Trust suggested that they might provide support but there are no further discussions. Prof Jackson joined the Campbell MSS Committee in place of Prof Rose. After reviewing the second volume Prof Jackson noted that it needed substantial work and suggested that it was given to the School or Scottish Studies to undertake the editing and publication. The second volume was published in 1960 through funding from the McCaig Trust and Carnegie Trust. The Society's Study Circles were discontinued at the end of 1949 and replaced with discussions on a variety of anthropological and folklore subjects. In 1950 the Society issued letters regarding its publication fund which had too little money to produce the publication of the Society's "Proceedings". After donations from members and a grant from the Carnegie Trust the publication carries on. However, membership continued to dwindle and in 1959 the Carnegie Trust stopped its grant and the Society could not afford to produce their publication, therefore ending the Society. The winding up of the Society took place after the completion of the publication of Volume II of More West Highland Tales. A letter from Alexander Fenton as Acting Hon Secretary noted that the remaining assets of the Society (with some exceptions) were to be given to the School of Scottish Studies on the understanding that they continued to hold an Im Thurn Memorial Lecture as long as the funds permitted. The oil portrait of Sir Everard im Thurn was to be offered to the Royal Geographical Society and if declined, the National Portrait Gallery. Im Thurn papers were to be given to the Royal Anthropological Institute, London.
Enclosure - Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society Constitution (1946)
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The Minutes relate to the formation of an Institute of Anthropology and a new university department of Anthropology within the Free Church College. A donation from Mr G R Gair of £1,000 helped to fund the set up. Some members of the Committee were also members of the Scottish Anthropological Society and it was agreed that the Society could rent one of the rooms of the Free Church College for an annual donation. The minutes discuss correspondence with other institutes offering co-operation and the advertisement of the new Institute to universities and learned societies. In 1936 a course of Anthropology was set up at St Andrews University. Throughout the minutes there are many discussions about the criteria for the Certificate and Diploma in the course. In February 1939 it was proposed by the Council of the Scottish Anthropological and Folklore Society that the Institute is brought to an end at the end of the academic year 1938-39.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 02/11/2010 12:54:32
Documents relating to the winding up of the Scottish Anthropological Society, specifically in relation to the Campbell MSS and Im Thurn Memorial Fund.
Catalogued by Alison Fernie, MSc Information Management and Preservation student, University of Glasgow, 08/11/2010 16:04:43