Flimsy Inventory Cards

From the 1920s onwards a card was made out for each newly acquired object, or group of objects, as soon as it arrived at the Museum and had been assigned an 'A' or accession number.

The information on the cards was collated from that given in sales catalogues and, although it varies in detail, it generally includes the following: :accession and/or registration numbers; classification; brief description; provenance; place and date of acquisition; price paid; location reference.In some instances they are annotated with information about the disposal of the object.

Several copies of each slip were made. Some were sent out with objects when the collection was dispersed. For example, a duplicate set of cards which was formerly kept at the Enfield store was transferred to the Museum of Mankind, and the Science Museum also holds a set.

The material listed here consists of the cards kept in the WHMM and transferred to the archive after its closure and the disposal and transfer of its contents. They include a 'master' set of slips in 'A' number order [CM/Inv/A]. There are also two subject sequences of unknown origin, amongst which there may have been some confusion and interfiling at some stage[ CM/Inv/B and C]. These have been listed as they now stand.

A set of slips compiled at the time of the dispersal of the Museum objects and arranged by name of receiving institution is listed separately [TR/Inv].

The slips were originally stored in a series of metal card index cabinets, but have been removed from these and sub-divided into small acid-free cardboard index boxes for conservation and ease of handling. In the list which follows these boxes are the unit of production and description.

For guidance on how to locate the records relating to a specific object or collection, see the leaflet Museum objects: accession and transfer records.