Author Archives: Hannah Lowery

About Hannah Lowery

Archivist and Manager University of Bristol Special Collections.

Sixty years since Lady C – The ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ Trial and the Penguin Book Archive

The Lady Chatterley trial ended sixty years ago today, when the twelve jurors, three women and nine men, unanimously returned a verdict of ‘not guilty’. Hannah Lowery, Archivist, outlines relevant holdings in the Penguin Archive at University of Bristol Library, Special Collections.

Point of sale poster printed after the trial. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM2919/7.

Point of sale poster printed after the trial. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM2919/7.

Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence (1885-1930) had been privately published in Italy and France in the 1920s. In 1960 Penguin published a set of books by D.H. Lawrence to mark thirty years since his death, including the first full and unexpurgated version of the notorious novel to be made widely available in the UK. The publisher was then prosecuted under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 and the watershed trial was held at the Old Bailey (Central Criminal Court) in London from 20 October to 2 November 1960, Sir Lawrence Byrne presiding.

In October 2019, the University of Bristol received Mr Justice Byrne’s marked copy of the Penguin edition of Lady Chatterley’s Lover, as well as four handwritten pages of notes by Dorothy Lady Byrne and a hand sewn cloth bag, all of which Mr Justice Byrne had taken into court each day. This momentous book and associated items were acquired following a crowd funding appeal, with help from PEN England, Penguin Books, Friends of the National Libraries (FNL), the Penguin Collectors Society, and many kind individuals.

It is catalogued at DM2936.

Mr Justice Byrne’s copy of the Penguin edition of 'Lady Chatterley’s Lover', notes, and bag. Photograph by Jamie Carstairs. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM2936.

Mr Justice Byrne’s copy of the Penguin edition of ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’, notes, and bag. Photograph by Jamie Carstairs. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM2936.

Special Collections has held on deposit since the 1960s, extensive archives relating to the history of Penguin Books. Allen Lane and his brothers John and Richard lived in Bristol, setting up the company in 1935. As well as archives still belonging to Penguin Books (such as editorial files), the collection here has been a catalyst for additional gifts to the University, for which we are immensely grateful.  Some of these have a distinctly ‘Lady Chatterley’ theme:

The papers of Michael Rubinstein, the lawyer who defended Penguin at the obscenity trial, are in DM1679.

DM1294 consists of items collected in 1985 to celebrate fifty years of Penguin Books, including papers relating to the trial, such as the court summons, a telegram from August 1960 calling Allen Lane back from Spain for the impending trial, and tickets for courtroom seats.

Court summons, dated 19 August 1960. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM1294/3/4/1/2.

Court summons, dated 19 August 1960. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM1294/3/4/1/2.

Telegram from W.E. Williams and Hans Schmoller to Sir Allen Lane in Malaga, Spain, n.d. [August 1960]. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM1294/3/4/1/1.

Telegram from W.E. Williams and Hans Schmoller to Sir Allen Lane in Malaga, Spain, n.d. [August 1960]. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM1294/3/4/1/1.

DM1819: Allen Lane’s filing cabinets contain additional materials relating to the trial.

Boxes 1, 12, 13, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 33-37

DM1843: Eunice Frost materials relating to the trial.

Boxes 1, 27, 34, 53, 62, 68, 72, 73

DM2097/1 and DM2129/1: Proof copies of Lady Chatterley’s Lover.

Proof copy of 'Lady Chatterley’s Lover'. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM2129/1/1.

Proof copy of ‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’. University of Bristol Library Special Collections ref: DM2129/1/1.

DM2725/4/12: Papers belonging to Hans and Tanya Schmoller relating to the Lady Chatterley Trial.

A search of the online archive catalogue includes 106 entries relating to Lady Chatterley.

Also in Special Collections are:

Copies of D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, in many different editions, with a range of cover designs.

C.H. Rolph editor, The trial of Lady Chatterley: Regina v. Penguin Books Limited, Penguin Special (S192), 1961 (transcript of the trial).

Montgomery Hyde (ed.), The Lady Chatterley’s Lover Trial (The Bodley Head Ltd., 1990).

D.H. Lawrence, Lady Chatterley’s Lover, with notes by Steve Hare, Penguin Books, 2010, including copies of materials held in the Penguin Archive in Bristol.

And a wealth of other materials.

Sir Laurence Byrne (17 September 1896 – 1 November 1965) presided over the Old Bailey case, and his wife Dorothy (Dorothy Frances Tickell, born 1894, married 1928) was also present, taking notes on court notepaper, and marking up passages in the book, so it could easily be referred to. Byrne’s obituary can be found in ‘The Times’ of 2 November 1965, where he is described as ‘an outstanding advocate’.  An article by Barbara Rich sheds more light on Dorothy Byrne. Details can also be found about Dorothy Byrne in Penguin Collectors Society publications.

Do get in touch if you would like to find out more about Lady Chatterley related materials in the Penguin Book Archive at the University of Bristol Library Special Collections.

'Lady Chatterley’s Lover' – the first two paragraphs. University of Bristol Library Special Collections.

‘Lady Chatterley’s Lover’ – the first two paragraphs. University of Bristol Library Special Collections.

Link

Covid-19 Collecting and the University of Bristol Community

Like me, you might well be sick of the phrase that we are living through interesting times, though it could be argued that living through a Covid-19 lockdown and trying to work/study from home, is ‘interesting’.

As this is the case, and as we like to collect contemporary materials which may go into a future archive relating to the coronavirus and how it has affected the University of Bristol Community, we are proposing a collection of Covid-19 related materials.

We are well aware that this is a stressful and sensitive situation for all, and that many of you are more busy than usual; trying to adapt to new situations; working to care for people and develop strategies to combat the pandemic; and suffering losses of loved ones. However we would appeal to you all as part of your busy day to consider what is happening around you, and if you think it could be relevant to how people in the future will study how we coped with the Covid-19 pandemic, do please get in touch with us.

We should receive archives of committees and the like due to our current collecting of archives of the University of Bristol, but there are many other strands that will be of interest.

-Webpages and SharePoint sites: The University Coronavirus web pages and share point sites for students and staff

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/students/coronavirus/current-students/

https://uob.sharepoint.com/sites/coronavirus

The work with the Community to help, support, and discover

The work of the Uncover team

We have created our own SharePoint site so people can upload material and submit it to us. This is new to us, so let us know if there are any problems with it.  It is now available here: https://uob.sharepoint.com/teams/grp-Covid-19-collecting

-Press and media: Our academics and students are busy engaging with many forms of media, (we are aware of the public relations web pages and thank them for being supportive)

-Social Media: Blogs, twitter, Instagram, twitter, facebook, yammer. All of which may show a more informal side of what is happening

-Emails: From colleagues/managers/schools to students/staff/individuals giving support and laying down new regimes/suggestions

-Talks and interviews: Such as staff addresses and talks from individual academics.

-Photographs: Images of your working at home desk/study area. Your new co-colleague pets and family. Rainbows, teddy bears in the windows of houses around you. Signs in shop/business/domestic windows. Graffitied messages of support

-Objects: When we go back to campus keep the signs put up to record that a building/library was closed. Did you sew a face mask? Did someone you know create PPE using school 3D-printers or sew scrubs? Did you get involved in volunteering in the community in many different ways? If you don’t want to give up the actual object we would be happy to have a photograph.

 

-Writing: Some people are writing diaries, finding solace in poetry, reading more (or less). The Brigstow Institute has supported diary projects, Mass Observation is collecting diaries on 12 May, and we would love to see your work (but only if you are happy to share).

https://www.bristol.ac.uk/brigstow/projects/re-imagining-diary/

http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/12th-may

Our Request

We are going to concentrate on the University as a community, be that student, staff, or alumni. We are interested in your story, whatever faculty you are based in (not just the arts) and whatever your job title or course of study.

We are conscious that there is a lot of collecting already going on. For instance the MShed in Bristol is collecting; as are multiple archives, libraries, museums, and organisations.  Collections may be physical or digital, or a mixture of the two.  The Wellcome Trust is also giving some good guidelines about the ethics of current collecting, which we are very anxious to follow.  So if you would like to talk to us that is brilliant, but if you have already offered your materials to another organisation that is equally fine (we are a bit late in asking).

We also realise how busy everyone is and though we seem to be entering the next stage of the pandemic after 7 weeks of lockdown, we would rather that you save something and get in touch in the future, when you have time to process what you are living through.  As I write this on 11 May 2020, the Government and University authorities, and the wider community are talking about what the next stage will be for us all to cope with what we are experiencing.  It is a rapidly changing situation, and we would love to record this as it is happening.

Do get in touch with us at

grp-Covid-19-collecting@groups.bristol.ac.uk or special-collections@bristol.ac.uk

We would love to hear from you, and thank you for your time.

Special Collections Web Page: https://www.bristol.ac.uk/library/special-collections/

Hannah Lowery on behalf of the Special Collections Team

11 May 2020

(images all Hannah Lowery)