Michael Sadler Archive
Details
Type of record: Archive
Title: Michael Sadler Archive
Classmark: MS 1314
Creator(s): Sadler, Sir Michael (1861-1943)()
Date(s): 1848-c.1997
Language: English
Size and medium:
Persistent link: https://explore.library.leeds.ac.uk/special-collections-explore/6866
Description
The archive consists of the following:
- original MS and TS papers by Sadler (1887-1943),
- correspondence (1870-1941)
- books or documents held by Sadler (1854-1943)
- published works by Sadler (1885-1941)
- news cuttings regarding Sadler and his work and also collected by him regarding specific subjects (1885-1980)
- ‘Sadleriana’ (1944-1995)
- copies of other original works by Sadler held in other repositories (originals dated 1877-1938).
The papers are arranged in the following series, in date order within each series and with cross-references to the different parts of the collection:
- Papers by Sadler [PA] – these are the original versions of texts by Sadler, in MS and TS form. Where this material also appears in the PU series (published works), cross-references are provided to assist with comparisons of the text in its differing versions. Copies of original material held at other repositories are listed in section 7.
- Correspondence – the series description contains only a brief summary of the material included in this section, and refers users to the Library’s on-line Letters database for further information. Note: where it appears that the correspondence relates to other items in the collection, e.g. a letter refers to an article/publication or an event for which there are notes or the text of a speech, the present handlist includes a reference to the corresponding letter in the database.
- Books or documents held by Sadler [OWN] – this series contains material that was not written by Sadler but was owned by him.
- Published works by Sadler [PU] – these are books, articles, speeches and other works by Sadler that were printed during his lifetime.
- News cuttings [NC] - a) cuttings regarding Sadler and his work, and b) cuttings collected by him regarding specific subjects. These have been
arranged in broad subject groupings in order to make them accessible to users.
- Sadleriana [SD] – this series contains material that was not written by Sadler but refers to his life, work and death. It is divided into two sections, differentiated by provenance:
a. Higginson – material collected by J H Higginson and donated to Special Collections
b. Others - material collected by a variety of donors including the University of Leeds and its staff
- Copies of original works by Sadler [PHO] – photocopies of articles and other works by Sadler held in other repositories.
Additional correspondence added to collection in October 2017. See MS 1314/COR
Biography or history
The educationalist Sir Michael Sadler (1861-1943) was successively Secretary of the Oxford University Extension Delegacy, 1885-95; Director of the Office of Special Enquiries and Reports (Board of Education), 1895-1903; part-time professor of the history and administration of education at Manchester University, 1903-11; Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, 1911-23; and Master of University College, Oxford, 1923-34. See the biographies by Michael Sadleir 'Michael Ernest Sadler (Sir Michael Sadler, K.C.S.I.),1861-1943: a memoir by his son', 1949, and by Lynda Grier 'Achievement in education: the work of Michael Ernest Sadler, 1885-1935' (1952).
Provenance
The greater part of the material was created and held by Michael E Sadler until his death. This material was then passed on to his heirs, principally his son Michael Sadleir. Some of the educational material was then passed on to Dr J H Higginson of the University of Leeds in the late 1940s / early 1950s, while other material was later deposited with the Bodleian Library, Oxford. See “Related Units of Description” for information on the location of the rest of Sadler’s papers.
The material was given to Special Collections by Dr Higginson in a series of deposits from the 1970s to the 1990s. Further material was given by him to Professor Jack Sislian, who in turn deposited some of that further material with both the Bodleian Library in 1986 and this repository. Further material was presented by Mr E A Kirkby in December 1972, and it is presumed that this material was also, at some time, in the possession of Dr Higginson, his predecessor as Warden of Sadler Hall.
Further Sadler-related material was also deposited with Special Collections during the interim periods, both from outside donors and the University’s own archives (including relevant records of Richard Offor, former University Librarian); this was integrated into the overall collection in various stages.
System of arrangement
System of Arrangement
It is clear that Sadler or his secretaries arranged his papers in some organised way and the following quotation from J H Higginson shows that the organising principle was by subject:
‘Scattered over my desk here in Sadler Hall […] are the contents of his file on education in the United States. They comprise a miscellany of speeches in typescript; summaries made at the turn of the century on the notepaper of the old board of education library in Cannon Row, London; unpublished lectures and memoranda galore; jottings in exercise books for lecture series (for example, that superscribed University of Manchester – Lectures on American education – Wednesday evenings January-March 1904); personal correspondence ranging from that with William Torrey Harris and Nicholas Murray Butler to that with I L Kandel and Chancellor Brown of New York University; newspaper cuttings spanning the Atlantic from the Philadelphia press accounts of his first impact on an American audience to the Manchester Guardian’s generous reportage of one of his lecture series; and there are a few, too few, more permanently printed documents such as the three Sachs lectures delivered in 1930
before the faculty and students of Teachers’ College, Columbia University’ (“Michael Sadler’s American File”, Teachers College Record, Vol. 59, No 2, November 1957).
It has proved impossible to reconstitute this original order from the material received by Leeds University Special Collections in this series of accessions. However, through cross references it is hoped that some idea of the connections of the various parts may be perceived by users. The retrievable unit for this collection is file level.
The papers are arranged in the following series, in date order within each series and with cross-references to the different parts of the collection:
Access and usage
Access
Access to this material is unrestricted.
On our website
Profile: Sir Michael Sadler (1861-1943)
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leeds, 1911-1923. A progressive educationalist, Michael Sadler believed strongly that a rich cultural knowledge greatly enhanced a student's learning. He introduced a wider curriculum and facilitated more interaction between the University and the community. Sadler donated artworks and papers to the University in 1923.