Robert Pring-Mill Archive

Scope and Content

The Pring-Mill bequest has three main areas of focus; Pablo Neruda (including the manuscript of his Canto General), Ernesto Cardenal and Nicaraguan poetry, and Spanish American committed or protest poetry. There are a number of books and political pamphlets relating to the Nicaraguan revolution and general Latin American history and politics. The bequest also includes a range of background works and literary criticism covering Pring-Mill's other areas of interest, from Ramon Llull through to Spansh Golden Age drama and poetry. As well as monographs, the collection comprises some audio-visual and ephemeral material.

Administrative / Biographical History

Robert Pring-Mill (1924-2005) was appointed to a university lectureship in Spanish in 1952. This he held until his retirement in 1988, together with a tutorial fellowship at St. Catherine's College (1965-88) and college lectureships at New College (1956-88) and Exeter College (1963-81). General donations were made to the library throughout his life, as well as the main collection in three parts left to the Taylorian as a bequest.

Arrangement

The majority of the collection comprises single monographs which are catalogued. Three separate classification schemes are in use, reflecting the three parts of the collection:

  • RPM-NER for Nerudiana
  • RPM-NIC for Nicaragua
  • RDF for Spanish American committed poetry, and general items

Please note that the collection is closed access and cannot be browsed.

Access Information

Closed. Researchers wishing to consult the archive are advised to make an appointment. Items can be fetched on request and are confined to the library.

Other Finding Aids

The majority of items are catalogued and can be searched for via SOLO, the University's online catalogue. There is also a handlist of catalogued material. Cataloguing is still in progress.