This significant manuscript archive offers an intimate look into the intellectual and field research of Edward Westermarck, the pioneering sociologist and co-founder of the London School of Economics (LSE) sociology department. The collection spans his most productive period, bridging his monumental study on the history of marriage with his seminal fieldwork in North Africa.

A centerpiece of this collection is a rare letterhead slip from the British Vice-Consul in Mogador, Morocco (R. L. N. Johnston). The handwritten text refers to Shereef Abdessalam el-Bakkali, Westermarck’s legendary Moroccan research assistant and constant companion for over 25 years. This document provides a vital physical link to Westermarck’s seminal fieldwork in North Africa and is a significant piece of anthropological history.

The archive further includes personal, hand-corrected proof sheets from the Swedish edition of his landmark work on the history of marriage. These pages show Westermarck’s aggressive editing process as he refined his theories on evolutionary instincts and social development. Additionally, the lot contains a working research slip featuring his handwritten references to Charles Darwin, Herbert Spencer, and E.B. Tylor.

Completing the archive are original academic syllabi and lecture schedules from 1910–1911, mapping out his teachings on magic, totemism, and human sacrifice. One particular item includes a raw drafting note on moral character with a personal scheduling memo to a fellow professor on the reverse side.

This archive was acquired as part of a single, unified collection of scholarly manuscripts and correspondence belonging to a distinguished professor and world-renowned scholar of social philosophy. This curated collection served as the primary research archive for several definitive works on 19th and 20th-century intellectual history. The physical evidence—including "ghosting" and acid-transfer marks on these manuscripts that match the dimensions of other items in the archive (such as a 1897 Edwin Sidney Hartland postcard)—confirms that these documents have been preserved together as a cohesive research set for many decades.

The photographs represent the item as accurately as possible; minor variations in tone may occur due to lighting, scanning, and screen differences—please review all images carefully, as they form part of the description.