Daily attendance of members and visitors at the Rooms of the Institute. 1 Nov. 1881 – 20 Oct. 1908.
Most of the signatures are those of members and visitors with a few in the hand of the Assistant Secretary of the time.
1 1 Nov. 1881 – 10 Dec. 1901, ff.1-133,135
Also includes attendance at the Exhibition of Beadwork, 13 May – 24 June 1901, f. 134. See A14:2 for ff. 139-274, Attendance at Ordinary Meetings, 11 Nov. 1902 – 7 Feb. 1911 including Annual General Meetings and Huxley Lectures.
2 6 Nov. 1902 – 16 Nov. 1903; 25 Mar. – 23 June 1904; 16 Jan. – 17 Mar. 1905; 10 Apr. 1906 – 20 Oct. 1908, ff. 49-50,53,55-6,59-73
This volume is labelled: Athenaeum Society – Attendance Register for Members and Visitors. There is no reference to the Athenaeum Society in the RAI records and the Librarian of the Athenaeum states there is no connection with that Club. The Times Index and The Athenaeum, 1885-1908 have been checked to no avail. Lectures and other activities of a number of societies were listed weekly in the latter including those of the Anthropological Institute, but nothing from the Athenaeum Society is recorded. It is thought that ff. 1-48,51, 11 June 1885 – 15 Feb. 1888, 30 Nov. 1903 – 3 Feb. 1904 record signatures of those attending the Athenaeum Society which includes that of John Galsworthy who attended on 30 Nov. 1903. The Athenaeum Society appears to have been a short lived late Victorian club. The link between the Athenaeum Society and the Institute is George W. Bloxham whose signature occurs regularly in the former until 15 Feb. 1888 and who was Assistant Secretary of the Institute from 1879-93; he also compiled the Index to the publications of the Anthropological Institute, 1843-91 (and the Ethnological and Anthropological Societies). It is also possible that the Athenaeum Society held its meetings in the rooms of the Institute. After the probable demise of the Athenaeum Society, it is suggested that Bloxham made use of the volume for the daily signatures of those visiting the Institute.
/3 This volume is stamped: A.S. Sectional Meetings. It contains only Athenaeum Society entries. It had six Sections, A-F. Sections A (unnamed), B (Philosophy) and F (Social Sciences) where nothing is recorded; and C (Science), D (Fine Arts) and E (Industrial Arts) which give the date and title of the lecture, and the name of the lecturer. The first meeting of the Science Section was on 28 Jan. 1886 at which George Christopher read a paper on a new oxide of iron; J. Sanford Dyason was in the chair. The Industrial Arts Section (E) and Fine Arts (D) followed with meetings on 27 May 1886 and 22 June 1887 respectively.
