These folders cover exclusively the digital files archived by Peter Harper.
Articles written by PSH
This section contains final and draft versions of published papers, mostly on historical aspects of medical genetics; the few publications on non-historical topics are under a separate heading, as are articles still at draft stage. Book reviews, again mostly on historical topics, are also placed in this file, as is a series of article written for the 'Perspectives' section of the journal Human Genetics, edited by PSH - some written by PSH, some by others.
Books written by PSH
This section covers books written after 2002, both final versions and drafts, as well as associated material. Most books relate to the history of medical genetics, but two non-historical books are included, Practical Genetic Counselling (the 2010 7th and final edition) and Myotonic Dystrophy, the Facts. There is also the electronic version of an autobiographical memoir, 'Some fragments from my life', and a draft play on the destruction of Russian genetics. The section contains a list of books written by Harper (15 in total) and a reference list of papers on the history of genetics. Copies of the actual books are placed in the Human Genetics Historical Library in Cardiff.
Genetics in various countries
The main items concern material on genetics in Russia, including contemporary notes from a visit by Harper, as well as historical material. Russia is also the subject of an extensive paper file, still in use, as is the subject of medical genetics in France.
Cytogenetics
These files consist mainly of images from various sources, used for Harper's book 'First Years of Human Chromosomes' and for his paper on the discovery of the human chromosome number in Lund.
Genetic diseases
This file contains images on the disorders Huntington's disease and myotonic dystrophy.
Eugenics
These files do not represent any specific studies related to eugenics, but various material encountered during other work, in particular involvement with the China 'eugenics law' and items involving Nazi Germany in relation to Huntington's disease. See also the chapters on eugenics in the books 'Huntington's Disease' and 'A Short History of Medical Genetics'.
Finance
This section contains practical details relating to the Wellcome Trust grant and other financial aspects of the work.
Genetics and Insurance
During the 1990s Harper was extensively involved with the debate over the use of genetic test information in life and health insurance.
Genetics and Medicine Historical Network
The main item in this section is the series of 15 newsletters issued by the Network between 2003 and 2011, which illustrate the progress and evolution of the initiative. Much information on the Network can also be found under other items in the archive and in the email correspondence.
Human Genetics Historical Library
This proved to be one of the most successful and extensive aspects of the Genetics and Medicine Historical Network initiative, with the book collection comprising well over 3000 volumes by 2012. The archive records the various listings, the minutes of meetings of the steering group set up to oversee it, and the development of curation of the collection as part of Cardiff University Special Collections and Archives. Much of this activity is also recorded on the genmedhist.eshg.org website.
Images
This section contains images from a variety of sources, in particular books, which have not yet been adequately titled or sorted.
Recorded Interviews
Archived here are details of the series of recorded interviews with geneticists carried out by Harper between 2003 and 2011. All stages are documented, from the original sound files, through successive transcripts, to the final edited version appearing on the genmedhist.eshg.org website for most interviews.
Lectures and presentations
This section contains the Powerpoint slides of a variety of invited presentations and student lectures, almost all on various aspects of the history of medical genetics. None are accompanied by any written text, this being rarely used by Harper in any of his lectures.
People
The section contains notes, documents and images relating to a range of workers in medical and more general genetics, most but not all contemporary, and overlapping with those listed under recorded interviews'. There is also an extensive series of paper files on these and other individuals. The material has been used in the various books and articles written by Harper.
Records sets
This section contains only a list of potentially important records sets of individual workers and of Societies and Institutions involved with genetics. The list was compiled mainly for a presentation to Wellcome Trust and for their genetics history initiative. More information on this topic can be found on the genmedhist.eshg.org website. The initiative linked closely with the work of the former National Cataloguing Unit for the Archives of Contemporary Scientists (NCUACS), Bath University, and its senior archivist Dr Timothy Powell.
Societies involved with human genetics
Although a more extensive paper file exists on this topic, the only item here is the series of scanned pages from the original minute-book of the UK Genetical Society showing original members and officers.
Wellcome Trust
Wellcome Trust has been the principal funder of most of the activities covered by this archive. Documented here are a series of formal grant applications (not all successful), reports to the Trust and minutes of the Advisory Group set up to monitor the principal project grant. The 'scientific sections' of the grant applications contain considerable information on the proposed and in progress aspects of different elements of the work.
International workshops
This series of five workshops (the fifth still to be held in 2012) was developed to fulfil one of the primary aims of the initiative, which was to bring together historians and archivists with geneticists and thus to foster closer links and collaborations. The archive details both the contents and the progress made.
The first workshop, held in Birmingham UK in 2003, was a single day meeting, attached, like the others, to the annual meeting of the European Society of Medical Genetics and funded by Wellcome Trust. The second, in 2005, was held in Mendel’s Abbey St. Thomas, Brno, Czech Republic, the third in Barcelona and the fourth in Gothenburg. Taken as a whole, this section of the archive gives a rather complete picture of the programmes, abstracts and participants.