A number of books have been written about the history of the Observer including:
The Observer and JL Garvin 1908-1914, A study of a great editorship
Alfred M Gollin (published by Oxford University Press (London) 1960)
David Astor and the Observer
Richard Cockett (published by Andre Deutsch (London) 1991, ISBN 023 398 7355)
The Observer, A short history of the world's oldest Sunday newspaper
Stephen Pritchard (published by the Observer (London) 2002)
The books should be available at local libraries via inter-library loan or are available for consultation in the archive reading room at the Newsroom (appointment required). Selected titles are available for sale at the Newsroom.
Where can I undertake research using the original documents?
Few documents relating to the Observer's early years are known to have survived and the majority of those that have survived remain within private collections.
The archive of JL Garvin (editor of the Observer 1908 - 1942) is held by the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. A microfilm of the catalogue is available for consultation in the archive reading room at the Newsroom (appointment required).
The Newsroom will acquire records of the Guardian, the Observer and Guardian Unlimited, as well as individuals and organisations that have made significant impact on the histories or values of the newspapers e.g. former employees/writers. Information on the collections that have been catalogued and are available for research is available at Archives - summary of holdings
Brief history of the Observer
Observer interactive timeline
Observer text timeline
