Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1898-1988 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
3 boxes
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Sylvia May Moore was born into a clergyman's family in Wimbledon, South London in 1880. She qualified from the London School of Medicine for Women (now the Royal Free Hospital) in 1906. In 1908 she married Jack Payne, a surgeon, with whom she had three sons. During the First World War she was Commandant and Medical Officer in charge of Torquay Red Cross Hospital which received wounded soldiers direct from the battle lines. She was awarded a CBE in 1918 for her services.
During the war she also became interested in psychoanalysis and began training with James Glover at the Brunswick Square Clinic in London. She later also underwent a short period of analysis with Hanns Sachs in Berlin, where she came to know Karl Abraham. Payne became an Associate Member of the British Psychoanalytical Society in 1922 and a Member in 1924. She played an increasingly important role in the practice, advocacy and administration of psychoanalysis. She played a key role in the Controversial Discussions, becoming President of the Society from 1944 to 1947 and again from 1954 to 1956. She was also a fellow of the British Psychological Society and chairman of its Medical Section. She was elected an honorary member of the BPAS in 1962. She died in 1976.
Repository
Content and structure area
Scope and content
Psychoanalytic writings and lectures by Sylvia Payne, with some professional papers and personal material.
The majority of this collection is material related to the writings and lectures of Sylvia Payne, including papers on various psychoanalytic themes, book reviews, responses to colleagues' papers and lecture scripts. Also included are papers written by various psychoanalytic colleagues, as well as a small quantity of material related to her work for the British Psychoanalytical Society. There are also a few items of of personal material and memorabilia, plus some papers produced during biographical research on Payne's life and work.
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
System of arrangement
The material is arranged into seven series:
P21-A - Writings, lectures and broadcasting
P21-B - Papers by other authors
P21-C - Various published materials
P21-D - British Psychoanalytical Society
P21-E - Clinical material
P21-F - Personal and miscellaneous material
P21-G - Biographer's papers
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Access to our archive collections in our reading room is by appointment only; please email the archivist to arrange your visit. Please note that access to material that is in poor physical condition may be restricted.
Access to the information in our archive is governed by our access policy and guided by sector ethical codes and relevant legislation.
We charge fees for access, reprographics and guided research; please see our current price list.
Conditions governing reproduction
Copies of material from our archive collections may be supplied for research and private study in accordance with the UK Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Written permission must be obtained from the chair of the archive committee and the archivist to reproduce or publish any material held in our archive.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearance from the copyright holder.
We reserve the right to make a charge for the publication of material obtained from our archive.
Language of material
- English
- German
Script of material
- Latin
Language and script notes
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
The collection catalogue is published online.
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related units of description
Material related to Sylvia Payne's work within the British Psychoanalytical Society can be found amongst the records of the Society (ref. S).
Other papers relating to Sylvia Payne are held at The Wellcome Library, in the papers of Ann Dally (ref. PP/DAL) and Melanie Klein (ref. PP/KLE). The Klein papers include material related to the Controversial Discussions.
Publication note
No known publications based on this material.
Notes area
Alternative identifier(s)
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
Genre access points
Language(s)
- English
Script(s)
- Latin