Guide to the Peter Stansky Papers

Daniel Hartwig

Stanford University Library Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford, California

October 2010

Note

This encoded finding aid is compliant with Stanford EAD Best Practice Guidelines, Version 1.0.

Overview

Call Number: SC0190

Creator: Stansky, Peter, 1932-

Title: Peter Stansky papers

Dates: 1960-1987

Physical Description: 6 Linear feet

Summary: The papers consist of three different sections, each representing a distinct academic activity: Stansky's committee involvement, publishing activities, and his library correspondence. The committee records include minutes and correspondence with various members of the Academic Senate, the Drama Department, the English Department, the Land and Building Committee, and the Foreign Campus Sub-Committee which was centered in Clivedon, England; the latter committee is also represented by class lists and syllabi. Stansky's publishing activities constitute the second major portion of the collection and include drafts of articles and books, including ENGLAND SINCE 1867 and ON NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR, as well as correspondence with his publishers, including Harcourt and Garland. The third part of the collection consists of his correspondence relating to the Stanford University Libraries from 1968 to 1980. An addition made in 2003 consists of two scrapbooks on Stansky's career, 1960-69.

Language(s): In English.

Repository: Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives

Stanford University Libraries

557 Escondido Mall

Stanford, CA 94305-6064

Email: speccollref@stanford.edu

Phone: (650) 725-1022

URL: http://www-sul.stanford.edu/depts/spc/spc.html

Administrative Information

Provenance

Gift of Peter Stansky, 1983-2003.

Information about Access

This collection is open for research.

Ownership & Copyright

All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. See: http://library.stanford.edu/depts/spc/pubserv/permissions.html.

Restrictions also apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.

Cite As

Peter Stansky Papers (SC0190). Department of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.

Biographical/Historical Sketch

Peter Stansky, born in New York in 1931, has had a long and distinguished career in the field of history. He received his first BA in History from Yale, and a few years later received his second BA in History from King’s College, Cambridge. Assuming he would eventually go into the practice of Law, he sent out but then withdrew applications to Harvard Law School, eventually earning his Ph.D. in History from Harvard. He taught at Harvard until 1968, when he joined the Stanford faculty. In 1974 Stansky became the holder of the endowed Frances and Charles Field Chair in History, and has been the chairman of Stanford's History Department for at least two terms.

Stanksy’s scholarly interests have been quite diverse during his time at Stanford University. He has authored or co-authored numerous books on British social and literary topics, such as The Unknown Orwell, The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell: The Transformation, Ambitions and Strategies, and numerous other books on subjects including Winston Churchill, Victorian society, William Morris, and William Gladstone. Along with scholarly publications, Stansky has served on many Stanford committees and has been actively involved with the Stanford University Library collection development.

Description of the Collection

The Peter Stansky Papers consists of three different sections, each representing a distinct academic activity Peter Stansky was involved with: his committee involvement, his publishing activities, and his library correspondence.

His committee work ranged from Academic Senate, the Drama Department, the English Department, the Land and Building Committee, and the Foreign Campus Sub-Committee which was centered in Clivedon, England. The content of this section is predominantly minutes and correspondence with various committee members. The last of these committees, the Foreign Campus Sub-Committee, contains both the minutes of the meetings (boxes 2 and 3) and class lists and syllabi (box 4).

Peter Stansky’s publishing activities constitute the second major portion of this collection. Along with the actual material dealing with the compilation of the text or book, this section also includes correspondence with the various publishers, such as Harcourt and Garland. The last two boxes of this collection (boxes 10 and 11) contain file cards with notes on his various publications.

Finally, Peter Stansky was involved with Stanford’s library development, and included in his papers are his correspondence with the Stanford University Libraries from 1968-1980 (box 9).

An addition made in 2003 consists of two scrapbooks on Stansky's career, 1960-69.

Access Terms

Stanford University--Administration.

Stanford University--Faculty.

Stanford University. Dept. of History.

Stanford University. Libraries.

Stanford University. Overseas Study Program.

Stanford University. Senate of the Academic Council.

Stansky, Peter, 1932-

England--Intellectual life--Study and teaching.

Great Britain--Politics and government--Study and teaching.

Collection Contents

Original accession

Box 1, Folder 1