The LPS archive including correspondence (1894-1929) on membership, debates and dinners, and books from the LPS library.
![Ticket for LPS annual dinner 1926 [ref. LPS 3/1]](http://s3.amazonaws.com/libapps/customers/393/images/lps4.jpg)
Image. Ticket for Centenary Dinner 1826 in LPS archive (LPS 3/2, file 23/3/1926).
The Liverpool Philomathic Society was founded in 1825 as a debating society for businessmen intended, like the Liverpool Literary and Philosophical Society, to prove the compatibility of commerce and culture, and upgrade Liverpool's cultural image.
In 1900 the Society was described as "one of the few remaining bulwarks against the flood of feminine invasion of men's privileges and prerogatives": membership was men-only until 1920.
The Liverpool Philomathic reference library was established in 1863 and catalogues were printed in 1879 and 1893. In 1925, as the Society's financial position worsened, the decision was taken to offer the c. 150 titles from the Library for sale to members, a few of which, chiefly author's presentation copies, are now held in Special Collections and Archives, together with printed Addresses; the Society's Proceedings and Papers are part of the general University Library collections.
The Liverpool Philomathic Society features in the post The business of war at 30 Bold Street on the Special Collections and Archives blog Manuscripts and More.
