The three custodial phases through which each of the archival collections of
‘old company records’ discussed in this thesis have passed, have all occurred over a period of more than 300 years, that is, since the seventeenth century. The ‘old company records’ discussed are: the VOC Archives (now in the National Archives of The Netherlands, The Hague); the EIC Archives (now in the British Library, London);
the RAC Archives (now in The National Archives, London, U.K.); and the HBC Archives (now in the Archives of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada). The unique aspect of these collections is that they provide a compact illustration of custodial phases compared with the very large volume of government records now contained in the repositories mentioned above. These ‘old company records’ are “ finite” collections of records that have discernable phases in their custodial history, however, each
collection has not had the same record-keeping treatment over their history.
Comparison of the similarities and differences in record-keeping practices, particularly the archival practices applied in the third custodial phase, yields data that can be used to evaluate the influence these cases have had on the development of arrangement and archival description. Examining the practice of successive custodians of each
collection will provide insights into the ways changing practice has influenced the development of archival theory.
VOC Archives: When Heeres commenced his work in 1877, the VOC Archives were not a discrete collection, but an accumulation of records from the Ministry of
Colonies that included the VOC Archives, then being in their third custodial phase.
Colenbrander had continued the archival duties after Heeres, which Meilink-Roelofsz was to complete in 1963, the VOC Archives finally becoming a discrete collection.
The physical location of the VOC Archives throughout its entire third custodial phase was a purpose-built archival repository, therefore, the significant arrangement and description typifying the third custodial phase took more than ninety-six years to complete.
EIC Archives: When Danvers started the work in 1884, the EIC Archives were a discrete collection, being in their second custodial phase. Foster continued Danvers’
work until 1923; however the work was not continued after Foster retired. The
physical location of the EIC Archives was not in a purpose built repository until 1967.
In 1982, when the EIC Archives moved into their third custodial phase they were part of the accumulation of India Office Records, the significant arrangement and
description of the EIC Archives having happened in the second custodial phase over a forty-year period. The significant activity occurring in the second custodial phase shows this transfer phase can be a period of intensive archival activity, rather than the inevitable period of neglect observed by Jenkinson.
RAC Archives: When Jenkinson carried out his work in the 1910s, the RAC Archives were not a discrete collection but part of the records of the Treasury to which the ‘old company records’ of the RAC had passed in their second custodial phase. By this time the RAC Archives had been in their third custodial phase for over fifty years.
Later in the twentieth century, archivists at the Public Record Office would
re-evaluate Jenkinson’ s description of the RAC Archives and describe them separately as the Royal African Company records57. However the retention of the shelf mark of the RAC Archives continued to demonstrate their link to the Treasury, thereby retaining evidence of custodial and arrangement history, and with this aspect of professional arrangement and description contributing to documenting the RAC Archives’
custodial history. Nevertheless, the significant, foundational arrangement and description of the RAC Archives happened over a five-year period, fifty years into their third custodial phase.
Two points can be drawn from Jenkinson’ s work on the RAC Archives during his first decade as an archivist. The first point is that the RAC Archives provided Jenkinson with an actual example for his observation that archives pass through an inevitable period of neglect, the RAC Archives demonstrated the point through not having received any archival attention for almost ninety years. This ninety years of neglect was comprised of the forty years of their transfer phase and the initial fifty years of their third custodial phase. The second point is that Jenkinson had this experience with the RAC Archives in the first decade of his career, this period being very influential in his later writings when he concluded the transfer phase to be an
inevitable period of neglect for archives. However, as pointed out in the researcher’ s
earlier discussion on the EIC Archives, neglect in the second custodial phase is not inevitable. At least that was not Danvers’ experience until he was forced to turn his attention to current India Office records, rather than the inactive old company records. Although situations in the second custodial phase may conspire to cause neglect, the conclusion can be drawn that it is not inevitable. Nevertheless,
Jenkinson’ s influential writing alerted the profession to the potential for neglect in the second custodial phase and the need to be prepared to counteract it.
HBC Archives: When Leveson Gower carried out his work in the 1930s, the HBC Archives were a discrete collection. Like the EIC Archives, the HBC Archives were in their second custodial phase, but unlike the EIC’ s cessation of operations in 1858, the HBC only reduced its operations in 1870, being still an active company.
Jenkinson had inspected the HBC Archives in 1932, providing guidance on the preparation of an inventory for the records. Although the HBC old company records suffered neglect in the early part of their second custodial phase, the significant arrangement and description of its archives happened over a seven-year period, sixty years into their second custodial phase.
Summary: Jenkinson hypothesised that the second custodial phase would inevitably be a period of neglect. The custodial histories of both the VOC Archives and the RAC Archives support his hypothesis. For these two collections, the significant activities of archaeological archivology, with its resultant arrangement and description, took place in the third custodial phase after long periods of neglect in their second custodial phases.
However, the cases of the EIC and HBC Archives caution that the second custodial phase, or transfer phase can be a period of intensive archival activity rather than an inevitable period of neglect as observed by Jenkinson. For these two collections, the significant archaeological archivology and arrangement and description activity both occurred in the second custodial phase.
Traces of earlier arrangement history such as the shelf mark of the RAC Archives, which provides evidence of their link to the Treasury, can provide important clues for
57 TNA: PRO T 70 Company of Royal Adventurers of England Trading with Africa and successors:
Records. 1660-1833. 1,696 volumes. Open access. Not Public Records [accessed 19 Dec 2007:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/catalogue (formerly PROCAT)]
archaeological archivology. These traces form part of the record of the RAC Archives’ custodial history.
Therefore, analysing the record-keeping activities carried out in either the first, second or third custodial phases allows the observation of the subtle differences in the
activities over time, and discourse on how the record-keeping activities have been influenced by the custodial phase in which the records are situated. The importance of passing on information about the records through documentation, not only of the records themselves, but also of the processes applied to them, allows future archivists and users of the records to be able to understand the content and context of the records better.