Identity area
Reference code
GB GB1179 TP-TP/1
Title
Notebooks
Date(s)
- 1923-1998 (Creation)
Level of description
Series
Extent and medium
24 volumes
Context area
Name of creator
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The notebooks cover virtually the whole of Pitfield's creative life (there is a gap between June 1927 and February 1932). He treated them as both sketchbooks and commonplace books, carrying the current one with him wherever he went, in a specially designed coat pocket. They contain sketches - both artistic and musical - poems, quotations from his reading, teaching notes and the occasional newspaper cutting. Especially attractive are the many pencil, pen-and-ink or watercolour sketches of places visited. An extraordinary record of a full and creative life, they reflect his ongoing concerns and the sources of his inspiration. Recurring themes include the natural world, architecture, pacifism and vegetarianism. Each book is numbered in a single sequence; those from 1 - 39 were bound in threes and these rebound and additionally numbered 1-13 (so that, for example, number 6 contains books 25-27). This numbering is somewhat confused, as 2, 4 and 5 are missing, but the continuous sequence runs throughout with the exception of books 4-11, which are missing. It appears that Pitfield planned to continue rebinding the notebooks into threes, as books 40-42 are marked inside Vol.14 no.s 1, 2 and 3.