The materials covered in this guide were reproduced from repositories in the United Kingdom and consist of transcripts, photostats, microfilm, and digitized content. The documents primarily relate to United States history, with some materials relating directly to Caribbean history.

To help users navigate the collection, this guide updates various existing descriptions of reproductions of archival materials from the United Kingdom and Ireland, and incorporates new and expanded descriptions of existing holdings while also integrating digital resources.

The majority of the documents reproduced are from the Colonial and Revolutionary eras, although notably there is a particular focus on relations between the United States and Great Britain in the post-independence era. In some cases large swaths of a particular series or collection were reproduced, and in other cases only a few select items were copied.

The greatest percentage of documents described here was reproduced from the originals at the Public Record Office (now known as the The National Archives), especially from the Colonial Office and Foreign Office series. Significant portions of the overall collection were also copied from the British Museum (since moved to the British Library).

While many of these materials have since been digitized or otherwise reproduced, there is value in some of the Library’s smaller collections of reproductions, and in some cases these collections are being described for the first time beyond skeletal records in the Library of Congress online catalog and at the originating institutions. They include records and papers held by corporations, societies, local archives and in private collections.

The overall collection is of relevance not only to those interested in the history of politics and international relations but also to scholars of the history of science, labor, and military tactics. In some cases, the materials hold a significant genealogical component.

Researchers are strongly encouraged to look at the digital resources beyond those provided in this guide. An ever-growing body of digitized archival material from the United Kingdom is available in digital format.

This space is far too small for the authors of this guide to acknowledge all those involved in the Foreign Copying Program, as well as the librarians and archivists in Great Britain and Ireland whose original description we relied heavily upon in order to create this guide. We would like to acknowledge in particular former Manuscript Division staff members Ruth Anna Fisher and Grace Gardner Griffin whose tireless efforts form the basis of this guide.