Year: 1983
Type: article
Abstract: In the English-speaking archival community, Sir Hilary Jenkinson and Theodore R. Schellenberg (1903Schellenberg ( -1970) ) stand as the giants of their profession who sought to establish firm archival principles and techniques.As archivists continue to debate theories and practices today, it is worth pausing to compare the ideas of Jenkinson and Schellenberg on the nature of archives, the principles of provenance and its relation to arrangement and description, appraisal and selection, and the education of the archivist.Although it is well known that each was an outspoken critic of the other's ideas, the purpose here is not to judge their ideas, but rather to analyze their respective approaches to archives, identify their differences and similarities, and emphasize the consistency and continuity ofthought that is evident in all their writings.T o understand their ideas, it is important to appreciate the context in which Jenkinson and Schellenberg began their careers for, as Hugh Taylor has noted, "Above all, they wrote from their own very different archival traditions and this should always be taken into account."'While both men took full advantage of the archival knowledge that had been accumulated in their own and other countries, it was through writing in response to their particular environments that their work achieved distinction.Sir Hilary Jenkinson's illustrious career as an archivist spanned half a century and culminated in his term as Deputy Keeper, or chief administrative officer, of the Public Record Office (PRO) from 1947 to 1954.2After studying the ancient classics at Pembroke College, Cambridge, he joined the staff of the P R O in 1906 at a time when basic archival principles were still very much in their formative stages.(The influential Dutch manual by Muller, Feith, and Fruin had only appeared a few years * I would like to thank Terry Eastwood and Terry Cook for their advice and encouragement during the preparation of this article.
Source: Archivaria
Author: Stapleton, Richard
Language: English
Subfield: Conservation
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W1549005084