| Level | Fonds |
| Finding Number (Click this to view full catalogue structure) | DA19 |
| Title | Dr Karl Gutzlaff Collection |
| Extent | 2 manuscript boxes containing 1 volume and 9 files of papers containing 188 items |
| Date | 1827-mid 19th century |
| Description | Papers of, and relating to, Dr Karl (Charles) Friedrich August Gutzlaff (missionary, writer, and interpreter, 1803-1851); collection comprises the papers of Dr Gutzlaff, the papers of Richard Ball, from 1850 Sec of the Chinese Association (later known as the Chinese Evangelisation Society), and photocopies of papers held in the China Inland Mission relating to Dr Gutzlaff.
The papers include correspondence, and research notes relating to Gutzlaff's missionary activity in China in the mid-19th century, most especially the activities of the Chinese Union, otherwise known as the Christian Society for Propagating the Gospel and the Chinese Christian Union, which he founded in 1844, the Chinese Association, founded in England in 1850 to support Gutzlaff's Chinese Union, and the endeavours of fellow European missionaries in China and associated regions. |
| Arrangement | The collection is arranged according to what is thought to be the original provenance of the material: the papers of Dr Karl Gutzlaff, the papers of Richard Ball, and photocopies of papers held in the China Inland Mission relating to Gutzlaff; the item numbering undertaken by George A. Hood has been retained |
| Access Conditions | Access to all registered readers |
| Copyright | Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material. |
| Language | English |
| Finding Aids | A catalogue of this collection is available on the online archive catalogue. Click on the Finding Number to display the summary contents list of the catalogue and to view the full catalogue. A paper copy of this catalogue is also available for consultation at Special Collections. |
| Access Status | Open |
| Physical Description | The papers were deposited in a metal storage case, 45cm x 18.7cm x 26cm; this has been retained |
| Administrative History | Dr Karl (Charles) Frederich August Gutzlaff was born in Pomerania in 1803. He attended Janicke's Mission School in Berlin, 1821-1823, and studied at Berlin University. He then travelled to Holland and joined the Netherlands Missionary Society, 1826-1828. Having spent some time working in the Chinese Diaspora he left the Netherlands Missionary Society to work as an individual missionary in China. In 1844 he established his own 'Chinese Union' at Kwangtung with which he was involved until his death in 1851. Whilst pursuing his missionary work, Gutzlaff was also employed as an official of the British Government, having been appointed in 1834 interpreter for the British Commercial authorities and Chinese Secretary of the Department of Trade. He was also responsible for a programme of Bible translation and printing, rendering Biblical scripture into Chinese and Japanese which he disseminated as part of his missionary work. He also published monographs, and contributed to monthly periodicals. |
| Custodial History | It is not known whether the Ball materials and Gutzlaff's own materials were acquired from the same source, at the same time. The terms of the deposit are also unknown, but both sets of materials were held by Selly Oak Colleges Library in the early 1980s, when they were used by George A. Hood for the purposes of his doctoral research. Initial sorting and numbering was then undertaken by Hood in July 1999. Photocopies of materials relating to Gutzlaff and the Chinese Union in the archive of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship of the China Inland Mission were acquired by Hood during the course of his doctoral research from Dr A. J. Broomhall of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship. Hood presented these to Selly Oak Colleges Library in 1987.
The collection was then transferred to the Orchard Learning Resources Centre which was opened in 1997 following the merger of the Selly Oak Colleges Library and the Westhill College Library. In 2000, the custodianship of all archive collections at the Orchard Learning Resources Centre was transferred to the University of Birmingham.
Cataloguing of the papers was undertaken by the Special Collections department, University of Birmingham, in May 2000, as a result of the University of Birmingham's relationship with Selly Oak Colleges' endowment trust. |
| Originals | Contains photocopies of papers held in the China Inland Mission, now known as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship |
| Related Material | University of Birmingham Special Collections Department holds the official archives of the Church Missionary Society which include material relating to Dr Gutzlaff (GB 0150 CMS). |
| Associated Materials | Associated papers of Gutzlaff may be found in the archives of the China Inland Mission, now known as the Overseas Missionary Fellowship |
| Publication Note | The papers were used by George A. Hood in the composition of his publication 'Mission Accomplished? The English Presbyterian Mission in Lingtung, South China: A Study of the Interplay between Mission Methods and their Historical Context', New York, 1986. They were also used by Jessie B. Lutz and R. Ray Lutz for an article 'Karl Gutzlaff's Approach to Indigenization: The Chinese Union' in Danile H. Bays (ed) 'Christianity in China. From the Eighteenth Century to the Present' (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1999). Copies of both books are available in the University's Main Library and at the Orchard Learning Resources Centre; and a copy of the Lutz article can be found on the Gutzlaff deposit file |