Macdonald sisters: Correspondence and papers of the Baldwin, Kipling, Burne-Jones, Poynter, and Macdonald families

The collection comprises primarily the correspondence of Louisa Baldwin, née Macdonald (mother of Stanley Baldwin, first Earl Baldwin), with her mother and sisters; and correspondence and papers of her grandson Windham, third Earl Baldwin, concerning his group biography of the Macdonald sisters and his interest in his father's cousin Rudyard Kipling. It also includes letters and papers of members of the Kipling, Burne-Jones and Poynter families, into which three of Louisa Baldwin's sisters married; and of Louisa's unmarried sister Edith Macdonald, and their close friend Miss Edith Plowden. The collection forms a pendant to the extensive political archive bequeathed to Cambridge University Library by the first Earl Baldwin in 1947; and to the personal papers of the first Earl and Countess Baldwin, and the papers of the third Earl Baldwin concerning his father, that were generously presented by the present Earl Baldwin in 2004 and 2006.

Unless restrictions apply, the collection is open for consultation by researchers using the Manuscripts Reading Room at Cambridge University Library. For further details on conditions governing access please contact mss@lib.cam.ac.uk. Information about opening hours and obtaining a Cambridge University Library reader's ticket is available from the Library's website (www.lib.cam.ac.uk).

The collection was acquired by the University Library from Lord Baldwin of Bewdley in 2008

A catalogue of the collection can be found on ArchiveSearch.

The Macdonald sisters have been the subject of two group biographies: A.W. Baldwin, 'The Macdonald sisters' (1960); and Judith Flanders, 'A circle of sisters: Alice Kipling, Georgiana Burne-Jones, Agnes Poynter and Louisa Baldwin' (2001).