Papers of the Youths' Eclectic Association

Printed materials generated by the Youths' Eclectic Association. Comprising printed booklets relating to the organisation's annual dinners including menu details, list of toasts, musical programme and details of the organisation's executive; and printed booklets relating to the organisation's calendar of events including meetings, lectures, debates, discussions and competitions.

Internal evidence indicates that the Youths' Eclectic Association (YEA) was instituted in 1857 at the drapery firm Hitchcock, Williams and Company, St Paul's Churchyard, London. The syllabus for 1925-1926 lists Frederick G. Williams, Howard Williams, George H. Williams and Leslie Williams, Patrons; E. Gosling, President; Hugh B. Williams, John Forbes, W. Edmunds, H. Relph, D. Reynolds, W. G. Thompson, A. E. Welch, Vice-Presidents; W. B. Schofield, Secretary; R. Coles, Assistant Secretary; I. G. Jones, E. W. Padgett, W. H. Pike, G. F. Roe, Committee; E. L. Webb, Secretary Chess and Darts; E. H. Foot, Secretary Table Tennis; W. B Schofield, A. L. Tizard, Librarians.

A number of meetings appear to have been held each year, open to members and honorary members. Meetings included lectures, discussions, debates, competitions and spelling bees. Chess, draughts and table tennis tournaments were also held.

It has not been possible to discover any further information about this association.

Sources: records of the Youths' Eclectic Association (YEA)

Open, access to all registered researchers.

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Papers arranged and described by Mark Eccleston, September 2016, in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description (ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; and in-house cataloguing guidelines.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible in identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material.

Items transferred from the Museum of London, July 2016. Source of acquisition prior to this date is unknown.