The poverty maps, papers and notebooks of Charles Booth’s inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People in London (1886 – 1903), an investigation into the distribution of wealth and poverty in late-Victorian London. The most famous items in this collection are the maps, known for their street-by-street colour-coded display of wealth distribution throughout the city at the time. This collection includes both the printed and hand-coloured maps produced by the inquiry. Further topics addressed in Booth's papers and notebooks include industry and religion.

A collection of official and administrative publications produced by successive South African governments between 1866 and 1986, including a series of censuses (1866 – 1968) and a series of reports on education (1882 – 1986). These publications provide statistics and time-series data on a range of topics, including demographics, education, employment, housing, industry, marital conditions and public health, as well as insight into the policies of successive South African governments before and after independence from British rule.

A collection of papers and publications produced by the Fabian Society between 1884 and 2009, including the Fabian Tracts, the Young Fabian pamphlets series and meeting minutes. These materials provide a record of the Society’s internal administration, as well as illustrating their political and ideological evolution over time. Founded in 1884, the Fabian Society is a prominent left-wing think tank which has had (and continues to have) a significant influence on the British left, most notably the Labour Party. The Society was founded with the purpose to "reconstruct society in such a manner as to secure the general welfare and happiness".