Hugh O. Arnold, 1877

Attributes Description

The membership forms and early member records collection for the London Library holds every membership form, member list or note for every person that joined the Library since its inception in 1840 prior to its opening in 1841. Information across all forms includes member name and address. Many of these records also contain the name of the Library member who nominated the joiner for membership, but having a nominee was not a requirement in all periods of the Library's history. In some cases, the Librarian fulfilled the nominee role.

There are two discernible styles of membership records with the bulk, from 1874 to present, being a formalised membership form changing only slightly through the years: one for each member filed in alphabetical order within the year of joining. The earlier records are in a more casual note style written down in the order of joining. As a whole the collection details the tremendous breadth of people from all over the country and abroad, and from the ordinary reader to notable literary and public figures that joined the Library.