Bissett Collection
Some 1,500 left-wing pamphlets ranging in date from the late 19th century to the late 20th century, as collected by Glasgow schoolteacher James Bissett.
Their authors include:
- Tolstoi
- Marx
- Trotsky
- Lenin
- Kropotkin
- Keir Hardie
- Gustave Hervé
- Annie Besant
- Guy Aldred
- J.D. Bernal
The subject coverage is extremely wide, embracing topics such as:
- Bolshevism
- the Fabians
- the Independent Labour Party
- the Spanish Civil War
- women’s rights
- trade unions
- unemployment
The collection includes an almost complete set of Left Book Club editions and a number of scarce local imprints, e.g. publications of the Bakunin Press and the Strickland Press in Glasgow.
The collection was purchased for Glasgow University Library from Bissett in 1981 with a grant from the Local Museums Purchase Fund.
How to find material from the Bissett Collection
- To access a list of records for the pamphlet collection, see Sp Coll Bissett; alternatively, locate items using the rare books search.
- To access a list of Left Book Club editions, see Sp Coll L.B.C.; alternatively, locate items using the rare books search.
- Several items from the Bissett Collection are featured in the Red Clydeside online exhibition from the Glasgow Digital Library.
Quick Links
Teaching resources for Slavonic studies - Bissett
Title-page of 'Gaitskell or Socialism?' (Sp Coll Bissett 1273)