Playing the Archive

It is with considerable sadness that we report the death of Iona Opie (née Archibald) on 23 October 2017, aged 94. Her ground-breaking work on children’s folklore, especially play and games, undertaken together with her husband Peter, has been inspirational to our own research. In particular, the Opies’ archival collection, which Iona donated to the British Library, Bodleian Libraries and Folklore Society Archives, is central to our current project, Playing the Archive, and its predecessor, Children’s Playground Games and Songs in the New Media Age.

We are grateful to have had her support for this work, and glad to have the privilege, like many scholars around the world, to build on her legacy.