Overview of PRM Pitt-Rivers papers

A full catalogue of the Pitt-Rivers manuscripts, pamphlets and books held at the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford manuscript collections can be found here. Anthony Pitt-Rivers (the General's great grand-son) recently donated 3 albums of photographs, pictures and plans of his work as Inspector of Ancient Monuments and 2 albums about his own excavations on his estates, for details of these please search the photographic catalogues here for 2012.79. [the collection's accession number].

Here are transcriptions of some of the correspondence held in the Pitt-Rivers papers at the Pitt Rivers Museum. Not all of the letters have been transcribed. A full listing is available here. The decision about which letters were ‘worth’ transcribing was taken by the transcriber (Alison Petch) alone based upon her research into Pitt-Rivers’ life and career and also her catalogue of the Pitt-Rivers papers and therefore reflects (to some degree) her personal bias. All notes about aspects of the letters were also prepared by the transcriber. Note that unlike the catalogue order (or the order they were kept in by Pitt-Rivers), these transcriptions are listed together in on-going communication order so that a conversation about a site or set of sites can be followed. The relevant sites are shown below as titles in bold

Transcriptions and notes were prepared between November 2014 and February 2015 as part of a project funded by the Delafield Fund.

Some letters from Box 1, Pitt Rivers papers, Pitt Rivers Museum

Some letters from Box 2, Pitt Rivers papers, Pitt Rivers Museum

Some letters from Box 3, Pitt Rivers papers, Pitt Rivers Museum:

Box 3/1 General correspondence relating to Pitt-Rivers's service as Inspector of Ancient Monuments

Box 3/2 and 3/3 Aberlemno Stones and Dorchester Amphitheatre

Box 3/4/3 and 3/4/4 Drafts of a talk by Pitt-Rivers about Rifle Shooting (previously unknown, dating from 1859-1870, most probably nearer 1859)

Some other transcriptions 

Alison Petch, February 2015.