The collection comprises mainly copies of letters to and from Sigmund Freud (b. 1856 - d. 1939). Sigmund Freud's career can be summarized in brief as follows: Freud lived in Vienna from the age of four until 1938, just one year before his death. In 1873 Freud entered the University of Vienna medical school. Freud was primarily interested in science but eventually specialized in neurology. His future area of specialization was already evident in the work he did at the Institute of Physiology under Ernst Brucke. Freud obtained his doctorate in medicine in 1881. He then went on to study in Paris under the French neurologist, Jean-Martin Charcot. In 1886 Freud returned to Vienna and opened a private practice specializing in nervous and brain disorders. He married Martha Bernays (b. 1861 d. 1951) in September 1886. In 1900 he published The Interpretation of Dreams, which established Freud's reputation as a psychoanalyst, and followed this up in 1901 with The Psychopathology of Everyday Life. Freud was appointed professor at the University of Vienna in 1902. In 1905 he published Three Essays on Sexuality. Sigmund and Martha Freud had six children: Mathilde (b. 1887-d. 1978), Martin (b. 1889- d. 1967), Oliver (b. 1892- d. 1970), Ernst (b. 1892-d. 1970), Sophie (b. 1893-d. 1920), and Anna (b. 1895-d. 1982). On June 4, 1938, after Germany annexed Austria Freud, having been persuaded to emigrate, left Vienna for London. He died of cancer on September 23, 1939.
This collection of Freud documents was assembled in a fairly random way over several decades and serves principally as a copyrights archive. Ernst Freud was largely responsible for building up the collection. Ernst Freud left Austria in 1934, settling in London where, while practicing architecture, he devoted considerable time and energy to wholeheartedly promoting knowledge of his father's work. When building up the collection Ernst kept copies of all his father's letters that came into his hands. Copies of letters to Freud were also made. Also included in the Freud collection are letters by Freud's youngest child, Anna who is generally regarded as having been Freud's favorite child. Anna Freud carved out her own career in psychoanalysis and eventually became the founder of child psychoanalysis.
When Ernst Freud's health began to fail the administration of the collection fell to the literary agent Mark Paterson, who had met Ernst Freud in the mid-sixties. The Freud Collection thereby entered the offices of Mark Paterson and Associates and in 1998 was transferred from their Wivenhoe offices to the Special Collections Room of the Albert Sloman Library.
From the guide to the The Freud Collection, 1880-1970, (University of Essex: Albert Sloman Library)
