Folklore Society Collection

Topic(s)

Folklore, magic, the occult, literature

Extent

Ca. 19,000 items

Scope and content

The Folklore Society (FLS) Library is one of the largest collections on the subject of folklore in the world. It comprises of ca. 15,000 books, 5,000 pamphlets, and 100 periodicals. The material dates from the late sixteenth to the present day, with a particular focus on the nineteenth and the early twentieth century. Although primarily containing English language material, the collection is international in scope, with Germany and France especially well represented.

All branches of folklore throughout the world feature in the collection, including calendar customs, religion and the supernatural, ballads, and ritual drama. In addition, there is some background material in archaeology and anthropology.

The FLS archive is also held on deposit at UCL.

History

The FLS Library was deposited at UCL in 1911.

Finding aids and published descriptions

A comprehensive list of the pre-1850 and rare material held at UCL Special Collections is available from the FLS website.

Access

Ca. 12,000 post-1850 items are held at UCL Libraries’ remote store. Around two-thirds of this part of the collection is catalogued. The ca. 7,250 pre-1850 and rare items are held at Special Collections. Only part of this material is catalogued. To browse the records for the rare items, conduct a search for FLSRARE, without spaces, on Explore.

For more information on accessing the collection, see the FLS website.