Papers of Carlos Paton Blacker to be digitised

As part of our programme to create a Wellcome Digital Library, we are pleased to announce that we will be digitising the papers of Carlos Paton Blacker. This will include the surprise addition to his papers received in March. The collection will be digitised in full and made freely available online, subject to Data Protection and privacy issues as set out in our access policy. These images will enable readers to access large amounts of archive material remotely from anywhere in the world.

Blacker’s papers reflect his long and active career in psychiatry (including as psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital and as an Adviser to the Ministry of Health), and his activities with a number of organisations interested in population and birth control, including the Birth Control Investigation Committee, the Population Investigation Committee, the International Planned Parenthood Federation, and the Simon Population Trust. Blacker was also Secretary to the Eugenics Society between 1931-1961. His activities as Secretary are documented in his own papers as well as in the papers of the Eugenics Society, which are also being digitised. Through the Wellcome Digital Library Blacker’s correspondence and papers in these separate collections will be digitally united.

The collection will be digitised between 23rd July 2012 and 5th November 2012. In order to develop this world-class digital resource access to the collection will be affected. Please see the archives digitisation schedule for full details. We regret that we are unable to make any exceptions to allow individual readers access to material, and encourage readers to contact the Archives and Manuscripts team beforehand at arch+mss@wellcome.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0)20 7611 8899 to ensure that material will be available for consultation.

The creation of the Wellcome Digital Library is due to be completed later this year. Other Library collections included in this phase of the project are the substantial Francis Crick archive, the papers of Fred Sanger, Arthur Ernest Mourant, Sir Peter Medawar, the Medical Research Council Blood Group Unit, and Honor Fell.

Image: C. P. Blacker receiving the Galton Medal from C. G. Darwin, in 1957 (SA/EUG/O.17)

Author: Toni Hardy