Series 23 - Writings: 'Les Femmes Savantes' to 'Hommage rendu à Ernest Renan par un étudiant des religions comparées'

1 box

A small collection of letters and journals concerning the origins of fire and letters from Bronisław Malinowski found in the papers of Brenda and Charles Seligman and thought to clearly belong to J. G. Frazer was presented to Trinity College Library by the British Library of Political and Economic Science, London School of Economics and Political Science, 1 Mar. 1979. A letter in the Frazer accession file notes that two sets of xerox copies were made, one for the donor of the Seligman papers at the LSE, and the other for the LSE library.

FRAZ/23 is the second of eight boxes of papers relating to J. G. Frazer's writings, arranged according to the date of the publication or creation of the works, dating from 1884 to 1938 (FRAZ/22-27).

FRAZ/23 consists of one box of papers relating to J. G. Frazer's books, speeches, and articles written primarily from 1903 to 1921, arranged in chronological order of appearance (except for the last item, possibly added later). There are five manuscript drafts of articles and speeches in Frazer's hand, and one unsigned manuscript draft of 'Fire making in the Trobriand Islands' by Bronisław Malinowski (Item 28). Other papers relating to Frazer's 'Myths on the Origin of Fire' (Items 26-42) include two letters from Malinowski concerning a myth from the village of Moligilagi; a letter from Miles Burkitt about the first appearance of fire, mentioning evidence of fire at Piltdown; two more letters about fire in prehistory from Marcellin Boule and Aimé Rutot, as well as a letter from Herbert Ian Hogbin enclosing a folktale about Pa'eva and Ke Ahi, gods of the sea and fire. An entire copy of 'The Papuan Villager', Vol. 1, No. 1, printed in Port Moresby in February 1929 and designed for the people of Papua, contains an article headed 'The Fire and the Dog'.