J B Priestley Collection

The J. B. Priestley Collection at Senate House Library has been formed in 2005 at the instigation of Mr. Thomas Priestley, the author's son, and the J. B. Priestley Society . Based on a generous donation of over 80 printed works by and about J. B. Priestley (1894-1984) given by the J B Priestley Archive at the University of Bradford and by individual members of the J B Priestley Society, the Society and Senate House Library are working jointly to create a collection of first and other distinctive editions for consultation by scholars.

The whole range of J. B. Priestley's work from novels and plays to biography, history and criticism is to be found in the collection. Present in the collection are examples of his famous novels such as The Good Companions and Angel Pavement as are editions of the plays such as An Inspector Calls. There is an interesting golden jubilee edition of An English Journey with photographs from the period, the book was first published in 1934 without illustrations. A history of the Edwardians , a biography of Dickens and many examples of his journalism from major periodicals such as The New Statesman are included. International interest in J.B. Priestley is evidenced by foreign editions of his works such as a Brazilian edition of Lost Empires: Parceiros da ilusao.

For a listing of the collection check here.

The works in the Collection are complemented by Senate House Library's holdings, fine first and private press editions of Priestley's works in the Sterling Library and a range of works throughout the rest of the Library. In the Sterling Library there is an example of the kind of work Priestley did during the Second World War, British Women go to War from 1943 with colour photographs of war work being done by women.

The J. B. Priestley Collection, which is expected to grow over time, is also being developed in liaison with Special Collections at the University of Bradford which holds the J B Priestley Archive of published works, typescripts, film scripts, artworks and other memorabilia. Further information about J B Priestley's life and works is available from the official website. See also the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.

shl.specialcollections@london.ac.uk 020 7862 8470