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Records of the Editorial/Translations Department, 1830 - 1996

 Sub-Fonds
Reference Code: GBR/0374/BFBS/BSA/E3

Scope and Contents

The records of the Department survive with few breaks from 1830 to the 1980s, and it inherited earlier papers. Most of them are either arranged or indexed by language, making it easy to follow the progress of Bible translation in a specific language. There is correspondence, both incoming and outgoing, miscellaneous papers concerning particular languages and controversies, and various registers and compilations. The most useful compilations are an early History of Translations by T.P. Platt (1827-9), extracts from the Annual Reports 1804-1898, pasted up by language, and extracts from the Editorial/Translations SC 1900-1965, also pasted up by language. There are also papers documenting the work of the Library and Archives. Decisions on translation matters were taken by the Editorial/Translations SC (see C17).

Dates

  • Creation: 1830 - 1996

Conditions Governing Access

From the Fonds:

Material less than 50 years old is not available to the public.

Biographical / Historical

The supervision of the Society’s versions of the Bible was delegated initially to the General Purposes SC, special ad hoc Sub-committees, or individual editors. The need for a more permanent arrangement became apparent in the course of the Apocrypha Controversy of 1825/6, when some of the Society's versions came in for sustained criticism. In March 1830 William Greenfield was appointed as the first Superintendent of the Translating and Editing Department. He was to edit editions of the Scriptures himself, superintend editions in foreign languages, correspond with translators, revisers, and editors, and ensure the accuracy of the editions and their compliance with the Rules of the Society. An Editorial SC was appointed in March 1830 to supervise the work of the Department, which also took over the duties of the Library SC. In 1831 the post of Librarian was merged with that of Editorial Superintendent. The title was changed to Secretary for Translations in 1945.

Extent

263 archive box(es) (263 boxes.)

102 volume(s)

3 file(s)

1 bundle(s) (1 packet)

Originator(s)

Editorial/Translations Department

Finding aid date

2002-01-03 15:06:34+00:00

Repository Details

Part of the Cambridge University Library Repository

Contact:
Cambridge University Library
West Road
Cambridge CB3 9DR United Kingdom