Cluster 1: Newspaper cuttings (RF/1/4).

Ruth First’s scrapbooks of newspaper cuttings start from her time at the Guardian as a student. Most of the articles are unauthored, and as such identifying which materials are Ruth's would make a separate research project of its own. We work on the assumption that the earlier, more comprehensive, notebooks are mainly First’s own writing, and as the collection advances the focus changes to include articles with significance for campaigns and other work. In order to maintain the integrity of the archive, we have chosen to digitise the entirety of the scrapbooks and deliver them in sections, collected by date or by issue where appropriate.

Scrapbook 1: 1947-8

Scrapbook 2: 1948

Scrapbook 3: 1948-9

Scrapbook 4: 1949-50

Cluster 2: Bethal slave labour scandal.

This cluster focuses on the scandal around the use of convict labour in Bethal. It consists of newspaper cuttings (mostly unauthored – see Cluster 1) and some correspondence.

Cluster 3: Bus boycott

Cluster 4: African Women’s Pass campaign