Thomas Thistlewood Papers (1748–1786)
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The Thomas Thistlewood Papers (1748 – 1796) are a unique perspective into occurrences of the social, political, economic and meteorological history of 18th century Jamaica.
Thomas Thistlewood Esq., an Englishman, worked as a cattle pen overseer in St. Elizabeth, Jamaica and later became a property owner in Westmoreland, Jamaica for over thirty years. His commonplace journals are considered a unique record of day-to-day life on a working plantation in the British West Indies. The journals provide insight into the customs of the enslaved, their horticultural practices on their small plots – their produce were sold among themselves or to wealthy buyers such as Thistlewood. His meticulous records of botanical practices and medical observations are a drastic contrast to his acts of gender-based violence against enslaved females.
His meteorological observations were cited several times daily and were so detailed they were accepted for inclusion in the 1774 Edward Long publication, History of Jamaica published. The weather reports are the most detailed coming out of Jamaica for the period and showed Thistlewood’s observations on rainfall, wind, temperature readings at sunrise, noon and sunset.
The overarching value of the Thomas Thistlewood Papers manifest in the potential to unearth meaningful details and stimulate impacting research, particularly in the realm of climate change
Risks encountered
Environmental issues
| Identified risks | Level of risk |
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Moisture | None |
Temperature | None |
Light (visible light, ultraviolet radiation, etc.) | None |
Dust | None |
Pollution | None |
Pests (rodents, animals, insects, etc.) | None |
Microorganisms (bacteria, mould, etc.) | None |
Management or organizational issues
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Lack of maintenance, including cleaning | None |
Inadequate building | None |
Building with structural damage | None |
Lack of an adequate warehouse | None |
Lack of boxes and/or archive materials | None |
Lack of human resources | None |
Lack of security measures | None |
Insufficient budget to operate | None |
Natural disaster risks
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Fires | None |
Rains | None |
Mudslides or landslides | None |
Floods | None |
Hurricanes, cyclones, storms | None |
Earthquakes | None |
Tsunamis | None |
Volcanic eruptions | None |
Temperature increase | None |
Political and/or social risks
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Armed conflicts | None |
Illegal trafficking of documents | None |
Thefts or robberies | None |
Vandalism | None |
Threatening socio-cultural environment | None |
Lack of support/public policies | None |
Environment (location) issues
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Material/storage units | None |
Furniture | None |
Room or warehouse | None |
Building | None |
Site or neighbourhood | None |
Area or region, beyond the neighbourhood | None |
Indicators
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Management Plan | Yes |
The materials are stewarded in accordance with the Yale University Library’s preservation and conservation policies and best practices. The Beinecke Library’s collections fall under the care of the centralized Preservation and Conservation Department, which has staff experts in preventive conservation, rare book, paper, and photograph conservation. Treatment is carried out in accordance with the American Institute for Conservation’s Code and Guidelines for Ethical Practice. The materials are stored in a climate-controlled shelving area of the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. The environmental conditions (temperature and relative humidity) are actively controlled via the building’s mechanical systems. Fluctuations conform to accepted ranges for seasonal setpoints. Conditions are monitored through building automation systems and the Preservation and Conservation Department’s monitoring program using PeM dataloggers and E-Climate Notebook analysis software (Image Permanence Institute). There is a collections emergency plan in place to address possible events like water leaks or flooding. This plan includes a collections priorities matrix in the event of catastrophic events. These materials will be classified as a high priority for recovery. An item-level baseline condition assessment will be conducted within the nexttwo years to document the current state of the materials. The condition assessment data will be maintained in the conservation documentation files. This assessment will provide a way to monitor the condition of the materials as they are used and accessed so that any potential risk from use can be evaluated and mitigated with treatment if needed. The assessment will include the media and the degree of any chemical deterioration, especially where iron gall may have been used. The materials are currently housed in archival folders and manuscript boxes. The current housing strategy will also be assessed, and improvements (custom-sized individual wrappers or boxes) made as needed for individual paper-bound diaries and journals. | |
Response Protocol | Yes |
There is a collections emergency plan in place to address possible events like water leaks or flooding. This plan includes a collections priorities matrix in the event of catastrophic events. These materials will be classified as a high priority for recovery | |
Documentary heritage digitization | Yes, completely |
The digitized images are available through Yale Library’s Digital Collections interface: Collection Title: Thomas Thistlewood papers (OSB MSS 176) / Repository: Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library - Yale University Library Search Results | |
Documentary heritage availability on the internet | No |