The British Astronomical Association (BAA) was formed in 1890. Over that time the BAA has developed, and is proud of, an international reputation for the quality of its observational work, much of which is of great scientific value. Within the sections of the BAA, described elsewhere on this website, there are many archives relevant to each of the sections.
Since 1890 there have been meetings of the BAA Council and more recently the BAA Trustees, with minutes recorded for members to see if they so wished. And also since 1890 members have donated/bequeathed many things which have included their observational record books, photos, slides etc etc as well as many artifacts. The minutes and much of the bequeathed or donated material comprise the official archives of the BAA are housed in storage facilities in Bedford and Woolwich Arsenal in London.
Shown here are examples of what can be found in the archives.
The page on the left is from one of the Notebooks of Major Percy Molesworth. It shows a drawing of the Lunar Crater, Ptolemy. To the right is a page showing the Moonrise as a watercolour by R L T Clarkson from one of his notebooks.
Richard McKim, co-archivist, has prepared an extensive catalogue of what can be found in the official archives.
The catalogue pdf file is found below and can be downloaded. It is searchable using the facilities on your computer .
BAA-ARCHIVES-CATALOGUE-2024-May
At the end of 2022, the Board of Trustees agreed to fund the development of an archive website which is intended to showcase, over time, as much of the archives that have been stored as possible in digital form. All members can access the material by clicking on the link below, which goes to the archive site.
Members can then request a login by emailing the archivists at archivist@britastro.org
The email sent will contain a username and password with much information on how to use the archive site.
There is a search facility that works in the same way as the search facility on this main BAA site. Members are free to download archive material but should comply with the following statement which is also on the home page of the archive site.
“These archives have been placed online for the sole purpose of private, non-commercial use. Images may be downloaded for the purpose of private study, and may further be used in any article or paper in a serial publication provided that the caption acknowledges that they are the copyright of the BAA.
For publication in book form of any image, or of anything other than short quotations from written or printed material, permission should be sought by contacting the archivist. By downloading any material from this website you are agreeing to abide by these terms and conditions.”
Max Communications house much of the more significant archives and they also have been charged with scanning the material which can be found on the archive site. Other material has been, is and will be added as time goes on.