This wall painting found in the Roman city of Pompeii is an example of a primary source about people in Pompeii in Roman times.

Primary sources are original materials.^[1] Generally, primary sources are not accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight.^[2] Information for which the writer has no personal knowledge is not primary, although it may be used by historians in the abscence of a primary source. In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called original source or evidence) is an artifact, a document, a recording, or other source of information that was created at the time under study. It serves as an original source of information about the topic. Similar definitions are used in library science, and other areas of scholarship. In journalism, a primary source can be a person with direct knowledge of a situation, or a document created by such a person.

Primary sources are distinguished from secondary sources, which cite, comment on, or build upon primary sources, though the distinction is not a sharp one. A secondary source may also be a primary source depending on how it is used.^[3] "Primary" and "secondary" are relative terms, with sources judged primary or secondary according to specific historical contexts and what is being studied.^{[4]:118–246[5]}

The significance of source classification[link]

History and historiography[link]

The delineation of sources as primary and secondary first arose in the field of historiography, as historians attempted to identify and classify the sources of historical writing.^{[citation needed]} In scholarly writing, an important objective of classifying sources is to determine the independence and reliability of sources.^[5] In contexts such as historical writing, it is almost always advisable to use primary sources if possible, and that "if none are available, it is only with great caution that [the author] may proceed to make use of secondary sources."^[6] Sreedharan believes that primary sources have the most direct connection to the past, and that they "speak for themselves" in ways that cannot be captured through the filter of secondary sources.^[7]

Many scholars have commented on the difficulty in producing secondary source narratives from the "raw data" which makes up the past. Historian/philosopher Hayden White has written extensively on the ways in which the rhetorical strategies by which historians construct narratives about the past, and what sorts of assumptions about time, history, and events are embedded in the very structure of the historical narrative. In any case, the question of the exact relation between "historical facts" and the content of "written history" has been a topic of discussion among historians since at least the 19th century, when much of the modern profession of history came into being.^{[citation needed]}

As a general rule, modern historians prefer to go back to primary sources, if available, as well as seeking new ones, because primary sources, whether accurate or not, offer new input into historical questions, and most modern history revolves around heavy use of archives for the purpose of finding useful primary sources. On the other hand, most undergraduate research projects are limited to secondary source material.^{[citation needed]}

Other fields[link]

In scholarly writing, the objective of classifying sources is to determine the independence and reliability of sources.^[5] Though the terms primary source and secondary source originated in historiography^{[citation needed]} as a way to trace the history of historical ideas, they have been applied to many other fields. For example, these ideas may be used to trace the history of scientific theories, literary elements, and other information that is passed from one author to another.

In scientific literature, a primary source is the original publication of a scientist's new data, results, and theories. In political history, primary sources are documents such as official reports, speeches, pamphlets, posters, or letters by participants, official election returns, and eyewitness accounts. In the history of ideas or intellectual history, the main primary sources are books, essays and letters written by intellectuals.

A study of cultural history could include fictional sources such as novels or plays. In a broader sense primary sources also include artifacts like photographs, newsreels, coins, paintings or buildings created at the time. Historians may also take archaeological artifacts and oral reports and interviews into consideration. Written sources may be divided into three main types.^[8]

• Narrative sources or literary sources tell a story or message. They are not limited to fictional sources (which can be sources of information for contemporary attitudes), but include diaries, films, biographies, leading philosophical works, scientific works, and so on.
• Diplomatic sources include charters and other legal documents which usually follow a set format.
• Social documents are records created by organizations, such as registers of births, tax records, and so on.

In the study of historiography, when the study of history is itself subject to historical scrutiny, a secondary source becomes a primary source. For a biography of a historian, that historian's publications would be primary sources. Documentary films can be considered a secondary source or primary source, depending on how much the filmmaker modifies the original sources.^[9]

The Lafayette College Library, for example, provides the following synopsis of primary sources in several basic areas of study:

"The definition of a primary source varies depending upon the academic discipline and the context in which it is used.

• In the humanities, a primary source could be defined as something that was created either during the time period being studied or afterward by individuals reflecting on their involvement in the events of that time.
• In the social sciences, the definition of a primary source would be expanded to include numerical data that has been gathered to analyze relationships between people, events, and their environment.
• In the natural sciences, a primary source could be defined as a report of original findings or ideas. These sources often appear in the form of research articles with sections on methods and results."^[10]

Finding primary sources[link]

Although many documents that are primary sources remain in private hands, the usual location for them is an archive. These can be public or private. Documents relating to one area are usually spread over a large number of different archives. These can be distant from the original source of the document. For example, the Huntington Library in California houses a large number of documents from the United Kingdom.

In the US, digital primary sources can be retrieved from a number of places. The Library of Congress maintains several online Digital Collections where they can be retrieved. Examples of these are American Memory and the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC). The National Archives and Records Administration also has such a tool, called Access to Archival Databases (AAD).

In the UK, the National Archives provides a consolidated search of its own catalogue and a wide variety of other archives listed on the Access to Archives index. Digital copies of various classes of documents at the National Archives (including wills) are available from DocumentsOnline. Most of the available documents relate to England and Wales. Some digital copies of primary sources are available from the National Archives of Scotland. Many County Record Offices collections are included in Access to Archives, while others have their own on-line catalogues. Many County Record Offices will supply digital copies of documents.

In the Republic of Ireland, available digital documents include the censuses of 1901 and 1911 which are available from the National Archives of Ireland.

In Australia, the National Archives of Australia has digitised a number of classes of records and will produce digitised copies of suitable documents on demand.

Using primary sources[link]

History as an academic discipline is based on primary sources, as evaluated by the community of scholars, who report their findings in books, articles and papers. Arthur Marwick says "Primary sources are absolutely fundamental to history."^[11] Ideally, a historian will use all available primary sources created by the people involved, at the time being studied. In practice some sources have been destroyed, while others are not available for research. Perhaps the only eyewitness reports of an event may be memoirs, autobiographies, or oral interviews taken years later. Sometimes the only evidence relating to an event or person in the distant past was written or copied decades or centuries later. Manuscripts that are sources for classical texts can be copies of documents, or fragments of copies of documents. This is a common problem in classical studies, where sometimes only a summary of a book or letter has survived. Potential difficulties with primary sources have the result that history is usually taught in schools using secondary sources.

Historians studying the modern period with the intention of publishing an academic article prefer to go back to available primary sources and to seek new (in other words, forgotten or lost) ones. Primary sources, whether accurate or not, offer new input into historical questions and most modern history revolves around heavy use of archives and special collections for the purpose of finding useful primary sources. A work on history is not likely to be taken seriously as scholarship if it only cites secondary sources, as it does not indicate that original research has been done.^[4]

However, primary sources – particularly those from before the 20th century – may have hidden challenges. "Primary sources, in fact, are usually fragmentary, ambiguous and very difficult to analyse and interpret."^[11] Obsolete meanings of familiar words and social context are among the traps that await the newcomer to historical studies. For this reason, the interpretation of primary texts is typically taught as part of an advanced college or postgraduate history course, although advanced self-study or informal training is also possible.

The following questions are asked about primary sources:

• What is the tone?
• Who is the intended audience?
• What is the purpose of the publication?
• What assumptions does the author make?
• What are the bases of the author's conclusions?
• Does the author agree or disagree with other authors of the subject?
• Does the content agree with what you know or have learned about the issue?
• Where was the source made? (questions of systemic bias)

In journalism, education, and other fields, these are sometimes known as the five Ws – who, what, when, where and why

Strengths and weaknesses of primary sources[link]

In many fields and contexts, such as historical writing, it is almost always advisable to use primary sources if possible, and that "if none are available, it is only with great caution that [the author] may proceed to make use of secondary sources."^[6] In addition, primary sources avoid the problem inherent in secondary sources, where each new author may distort and put their own spin on the findings of prior cited authors.^[12] However, a primary source is not necessarily more of an authority or better than a secondary source. There can be bias and other tactic used to twist historical information.

"Original material may be ... prejudiced, or at least not exactly what it claims to be."

—David Iredale^[13]

These errors may be corrected in secondary sources, which are often subjected to peer review, can be well documented, and are often written by historians working in institutions where methodological accuracy is important to the future of the author's career and reputation. Historians consider the accuracy and objectiveness of the primary sources they are using and historians subject both primary and secondary sources to a high level of scrutiny. A primary source such as a journal entry (or the online version, a blog), at best, may only reflect one individual's opinion on events, which may or may not be truthful, accurate, or complete.

Participants and eyewitnesses may misunderstand events or distort their reports (deliberately or unconsciously) to enhance their own image or importance. Such effects can increase over time, as people create a narrative that may not be accurate.^[14] For any source, primary or secondary, it is important for the researcher to evaluate the amount and direction of bias.^[15] As an example, a government report may be an accurate and unbiased description of events, but it can be censored or altered for propaganda or cover-up purposes. The facts can be distorted to present the opposing sides in a negative light. Barristers are taught that evidence in a court case may be truthful, but it may be distorted to support (or oppose) the position of one of the parties.

Classifying sources[link]

Many sources can be considered either primary and secondary, depending on the context in which they are examined.^[5] Moreover, the distinction between primary and secondary sources is subjective and contextual,^[16] so that precise definitions are difficult to make.^[17] Investigative journalism, for example, is a primary source of information.^{[18][19][20][21]} A book review, when it contains the opinion of the reviewer about the book rather than a summary of the book, becomes a primary source.^[22][23]

If a historical text discusses old documents to derive a new historical conclusion, it is considered to be a primary source for the new conclusion. Examples in which a source can be both primary and secondary include an obituary^[24] or a survey of several volumes of a journal counting the frequency of articles on a certain topic.^[24]

Whether a source is regarded as primary or secondary in a given context may change, depending upon the present state of knowledge within the field.^[25] For example, if a document refers to the contents of a previous but undiscovered letter, that document may be considered "primary", since it is the closest known thing to an original source; but if the letter is later found, it may then be considered "secondary"^[26]

In some instances, the reason for identifying a text as the "primary source" may devolve from the fact that no copy of the original source material exists, or that it is the oldest extant source for the information cited. Alternatively, when a printed version of a document is made from an electronic version, the electronic version may be termed the primary document.^[27][28]

Whether a source is primary also depends on its age. For example, encyclopedias are generally considered tertiary sources, but Pliny's Naturalis Historia, originally published in the 1st century, is a primary source for information about the Roman era.

Forgeries[link]

Historians must occasionally contend with forged documents, purporting to be primary sources. These forgeries have usually been constructed with a fraudulent purpose, such as promulgating legal rights, supporting false pedigrees, or promoting particular interpretations of historic events. The investigation of documents to determine their authenticity is diplomatics.

For centuries, Popes used the forged Donation of Constantine to bolster the secular power of the Papacy. Among the earliest forgeries are false Anglo-Saxon Charters, a number of 11th and 12th century forgeries produced by monasteries and abbeys to support a claim to land where the original document had been lost or never existed. One particularly unusual forgery of a primary source was perpetrated by Sir Edward Dering, who placed false monumental brasses in a parish church.^[29] In 1986, Hugh Trevor-Roper "authenticated" the Hitler diaries, which were later proved to be forgeries. Recently, forged documents have been placed within the UK National Archives in the hope of establishing a false provenance.^[30][31] However, historians dealing with recent centuries rarely encounter forgeries of any importance.^[4]:22–25

See also[link]

Historiography Source criticism Source literature Source text Historical document Historical editorial

Library and information science portal Secondary source Tertiary source Original research UNISIST model Scientific journalism Scholarly method

References[link]

External links[link]

Helena Bonham Carter CBE
Helena Bonham Carter at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards 2011
Born	(1966-05-26) 26 May 1966 (age 46) Golders Green, London, England, United Kingdom
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1983–present
Partner	Tim Burton (2001–present)
Children	2
Parents	Raymond Bonham Carter (deceased) Elena (née Propper de Callejón)

Helena Bonham Carter, CBE (born 26 May 1966) is an English actress. She made her acting debut in a television adaptation of K. M. Peyton's A Pattern of Roses before winning her first film role as the titular character in Lady Jane. She is known for her roles in films such as A Room with a View, Fight Club, and playing the villainess Bellatrix Lestrange in the Harry Potter series, as well as for frequently collaborating with director and domestic partner Tim Burton in films such as Planet of the Apes, Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows.

A two-time Academy Award nominee for her performances in The Wings of the Dove and The King's Speech, Bonham Carter's acting has been further recognised with six Golden Globe nominations, an International Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to drama,^[1][2] and received the award from the Queen at Buckingham Palace on 22 February 2012.^[3]

Early life and family background[link]

Bonham Carter was born in Golders Green, London. Her mother, Elena (née Propper de Callejón), is a psychotherapist.^[4] Her father, Raymond Bonham Carter, was a merchant banker, and served as the alternative British director representing the Bank of England at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. during the 1960s.^[4][5][6] He came from a prominent British political family, being the son of British Liberal politician Sir Maurice Bonham Carter and renowned politician and orator Violet Bonham Carter. Helena's paternal great-grandfather was Herbert Henry Asquith, 1st Earl of Oxford and Asquith, Prime Minister of Britain from 1908–1916. She is the grand-niece of Asquith's son, Anthony Asquith, legendary English director of such classics as Carrington V.C. and The Importance of Being Earnest. Helena's maternal grandfather, Spanish diplomat Eduardo Propper de Callejón, saved thousands of Jews from the Holocaust during World War II, for which he was recognised as Righteous among the Nations (his own father had been Jewish).^[7] He later served as Minister-Counselor at the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C.^[8]

Helena's maternal grandmother, Hélène Fould-Springer, was from an upper class Jewish family; she was the daughter of Baron Eugène Fould-Springer (a French banker, who was descended from the Ephrussi family and the Fould dynasty) and Marie Cecile von Springer (whose father was Austrian-born industrialist Baron Gustav von Springer, and whose mother was from the de Koenigswarter family).^[4][9][10] Hélène Fould-Springer converted to Catholicism after World War II.^[11][12] Hélène's sister was the French philanthropist Liliane de Rothschild (1916–2003), the wife of Baron Élie de Rothschild, of the prominent Rothschild family (who had also married within the von Springer family in the 19th century);^[13] her other sister, Therese Fould-Springer, was the mother of British writer David Pryce-Jones.^[9]

Bonham Carter has two brothers, Edward and Thomas, and is a distant cousin of fellow actor Crispin Bonham-Carter, who played Mr. Bingley in the 1995 BBC production of Pride and Prejudice, and politician Jane Bonham Carter. Bonham Carter is also distantly related (through marriage) to Ian Fleming, author of the James Bond novels, and pioneering English nurse Florence Nightingale.^[14] Other prominent distant relatives include Lothian Bonham Carter, who played first-class cricket for Hampshire, and his son, Vice Admiral Stuart Bonham Carter, who served in the Royal Navy in both of the 20th century's world wars.

She was educated at South Hampstead High School, an independent girls' school in Hampstead, London, and later at Westminster School, a co-educational independent school near the Palace of Westminster. Bonham Carter was denied admission to King's College, Cambridge, not because of her grades and her test scores but because school officials were afraid that she would leave mid-term to pursue her acting career.^[15]

When Bonham Carter was five, her mother had a serious nervous breakdown, from which it took her three years to recover. Upon her recovery, her experience in therapy led her to become a psychotherapist herself – Bonham Carter now pays her to read her scripts and deliver her opinion of the characters' psychological motivations.^[16] Five years after her mother's recovery, her father was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma. He suffered complications during an operation to remove the tumour which led to a stroke that left him half-paralysed and using a wheelchair.^[17] With her two older brothers at college, Bonham Carter was left to help her mother cope. She would later study her father's movements and mannerisms for her role in The Theory of Flight,^[18] before his death in January 2004.

Career[link]

Bonham Carter and Colin Firth in the 2010 film The King's Speech

Bonham Carter has not received any formal training in acting.^[19] In 1979, she won a national writing contest and used the money to pay for her entry into the actors directory Spotlight. She made her professional acting début at the age of 16 in a television commercial. She also had a part in a minor TV film A Pattern of Roses.

Her first starring film role was as Lady Jane Grey in Lady Jane (1986), which was given mixed reviews by critics. Her breakthrough role was Lucy Honeychurch in A Room with a View, which was filmed after Lady Jane, but released beforehand. Bonham Carter also appeared in episodes of Miami Vice as Don Johnson's love interest during the 1986–87 season and then, in 1987 opposite Dirk Bogarde in The Vision and Stewart Granger in A Hazard of Hearts. Bonham Carter was originally cast in the role of Bess McNeill in Breaking the Waves, but backed out during production due to, "...the character's painful psychic and physical exposure," according to Roger Ebert.^[20] The role went to Emily Watson, who was nominated for an Academy Award for the role.^[21] In 1994, Bonham Carter appeared in a dream sequence during the second season of the British comedy series Absolutely Fabulous, playing Edina Monsoon's daughter Saffron. Throughout the series, references to physical similarities between Bonham Carter and the character of Saffron had been made.

These early films led to her to being typecast as a "corset queen," and "English rose," playing pre- and early 20th century characters, particularly in Merchant-Ivory films. She played Olivia in Trevor Nunn's film version of Twelfth Night in 1996. One of the high points of her early career was her performance as the scheming Kate Croy in the 1997 film adaption of Wings of the Dove which was highly acclaimed internationally and it netted her first Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations. She has since expanded her range,^[19] with her more recent films being Fight Club, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Corpse Bride, Big Fish, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Alice in Wonderland.

Helena Bonham Carter at 26th Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2011.

Bonham Carter speaks French fluently, starring in a 1996 French film Portraits chinois. In August 2001, she was featured in Maxim. She played her second Queen of England when she was cast as Anne Boleyn in the ITV1 mini-series Henry VIII; however her role was restricted, as she was pregnant with her first child at the time of filming.^[22] Bonham Carter was a member of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival jury that unanimously selected The Wind That Shakes the Barley as best film.^[23]

Bonham Carter played Bellatrix Lestrange in 2007's Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, 2009's Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, 2010's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, and 2011's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. While filming Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, she accidentally ruptured Matthew Lewis's eardrum when her character stuck her wand in his character Neville Longbottom's ear. Bonham Carter received positive reviews as Lestrange, described as a "shining but underused talent".^[24][25] She then played Mrs. Lovett, Sweeney Todd's (Johnny Depp) amorous accomplice in the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Broadway musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. The film was released on 21 December 2007 in the US and 25 January 2008 in the UK.^[26] Directed by Tim Burton, Bonham Carter received a nomination for the Golden Globe for Best Actress for her performance. She won the Best Actress award in the 2007 Evening Standard British Film Awards for her performances in Sweeney Todd and Conversations With Other Women, along with another Best Actress award at the 2009 Empire Awards. Bonham Carter also appeared in the fourth Terminator film entitled Terminator Salvation, playing a small but pivotal role.^[27]

In May 2006, Bonham Carter launched her own fashion line, "The Pantaloonies," with swimwear designer Samantha Sage. Their first collection, called Bloomin' Bloomers, is a Victorian style selection of camisoles, mop caps and bloomers. The duo are now working on Pantaloonies customised jeans, which Bonham Carter describes as "a kind of scrapbook on the bum."^[28]

Bonham Carter joined the cast of partner Tim Burton's 2010 film, Alice in Wonderland as The Red Queen.^[29] Bonham Carter appears alongside Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Christopher Lee and Alan Rickman. Bonham Carter's role was an amalgamation of two roles, The Queen of Hearts, and The Red Queen.^[30][31][32] In early 2009, Bonham Carter was named one of The Times newspaper's top 10 British Actresses of all time. Bonham Carter appeared on the list with fellow actresses Julie Andrews, Helen Mirren, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench and Audrey Hepburn.^[33]

In 2010, Bonham Carter played Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in the film The King's Speech. As of January 2011, Bonham Carter had received numerous plaudits for her performance, including nominations for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.^[34][35] Bonham Carter won her first BAFTA Award, but lost the Academy Award to Melissa Leo for The Fighter.

Bonham Carter signed to play author Enid Blyton in the BBC Four television biopic, Enid. It was the first depiction of Blyton's life on the screen, and Bonham Carter starred with Matthew Macfadyen and Denis Lawson.^[36] Bonham Carter also received her first Television BAFTA Nomination for Best Actress, for Enid. In 2010, she starred with Freddie Highmore in the Nigel Slater biopic Toast, which was filmed in the West Midlands^[37] and received a gala at the 2011 Berlin Film Festival.^[38][39] She has now been confirmed to be taking on the role of Miss Havisham in Mike Newell's adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel, Great Expectations.^[40] She received the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year from BAFTA LA in November 2011.^[41]

In mid-2011, Bonham Carter was reported to be in negotiations to star in a film adaptation of the musical Les Misérables, playing the role of Madame Thénardier. Her role was later confirmed on 8 September 2011.^[42] In April 2012, Bonham Carter appeared in Rufus Wainwright's music video for his single "Out of the Game," featured on the album of the same name.^[43]

On 17 May 2012, it was announced that Bonham Carter will be appearing in an adaptation of Reif Larsen's book The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet, entitled The Young and Prodigious Spivet.^[44] Her casting was announced alongside that of Kathy Bates, Kyle Catlett and Callum Keith Rennie, with Jean-Pierre Jeunet directing.^[45] She also appeared in a short film directed by Roman Polanski for the clothing brand Prada. The short was entitled A Therapy and she appeared as a therapy patient to Ben Kingsley's therapist.^[46]

Personal life[link]

Bonham Carter at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, promoting Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit

In 2001, Bonham Carter began her current relationship with director Tim Burton, whom she met while filming Planet of the Apes. Burton has taken to casting Bonham Carter in his films, including Big Fish, Corpse Bride, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Alice in Wonderland, and Dark Shadows. They live in Belsize Park, London.^[47] Bonham Carter owned one of the houses, Burton later purchased the other and they then connected the two. She also lives in Sutton Courtenay, England.^[48]

Their son Billy Raymond Burton was born on 4 October 2003.^[49] At age 41, she gave birth to her second child, a daughter named Nell Burton, on 15 December 2007 in Central London.^[50] She says she named her daughter Nell after all the "Helens" in her family.^[50][51]

In August 2008, four of her relatives were killed in a safari bus crash in South Africa,^[47] and she was given indefinite leave from filming Terminator Salvation, returning later to complete filming.^[52]

In 2008, Bonham Carter and Burton sold their American flats for $8.75 million.^[53] In early October 2008, it was reported that Bonham Carter had become a patron of the charity Action Duchenne, the national charity established to support parents and sufferers of Duchenne muscular dystrophy.^[54]

Bonham Carter is known for her unconventional sense of fashion,^[55][56] which has been described as "shabby chic".^[57] Despite her often controversial fashion choices, Vanity Fair named her on its 2010 Best-Dressed List^[58] and she was selected by Marc Jacobs to be the face of his autumn/winter 2011 advertising campaign.^[59] She cites Vivienne Westwood and Marie Antoinette as her main style influences.^[58]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Helena Bonham Carter

• Helena Bonham Carter at the Internet Movie Database
• Helena Bonham Carter at AllRovi
• Helena Bonham Carter at the TCM Movie Database
• Helena Bonham Carter at Emmys.com