The archival part of the Fraser collection contains of a wide range of material predominantly relating to tobacco, but also reflecting other interests of John Fraser (1836-1902) and, subsequently, his sons, John Fraser ([18--]-1943) and Donald Fraser ([18--?]-1963). The majority of items were collected by John Fraser (1836-1902) during his period of employment for Cope Brothers & Co., a tobacco manufacturing company in Liverpool.

Items within this collection include publications and advertising material produced for Cope's under Fraser's direction, original drawings and watercolours, manuscript copies of literary work submitted to Fraser, correspondence, and other materials produced to facilitate the publishing process of Cope publications (e.g. printing plates, galley proofs). Also included are non-Cope publications and ephemera on the topic of tobacco (including anti-tobacconist literature), and material relating to book collecting, the Church of Humanity, and positivism.

This collection includes racial prejudices in the form of offensive language and/or illustrative depictions of people. The University of Liverpool’s Special Collections and Archives are committed to addressing the legacies of slavery and colonialism as present within the collections, and supports their ongoing contextualisation as evidence of historic inequalities and racial prejudice. Please contact scastaff@liverpool.ac.uk for more information.