The Athenaeum was a highly influential periodical published between 1828 and 1931, focussing on literature and the arts.
City Library houses an important collection of the periodical on behalf of the New Statesman in which the editor has handwritten reviewer's names and other details next to many of the articles.
In recent years several projects were undertaken to create an online archive of the Athenaeum, including a searchable index of contributing authors. More information can be found here on the Athenaeum project website (although please be aware that these pages are currently unsupported and may contain errors/incomplete data).
Applications for access to the Athenaeum collection should be made via our online contact form:
Upon application please state your full name and address, institutional affiliation and department where applicable, together with details of the nature of your research and the volumes you wish to access.
Scans and photocopies of the editions of the Athenaeum held in City's special collections will be made available only to requestors interested specifically in the annotations made by the magazine's editors. Non-annotated copies are available via the British Library.
UK requestors in academic institutions may request a photocopy of an annotated article through their home library's Inter-Library Loan service.
Copying facilities are not available to visitors, but visitors can make their own copies using their own devices (cameras, phones and tablets). Flash should not be used when taking photographs. If wishing to include an image in a publication, City Archive should be acknowledged: 'Reproduced with permission of City Archive', with the details of the item in the image. If in doubt how copies may be used or shared, please contact us for guidance.