The Cotton Papers were an archive of documents and drawings on the society and culture of the Tasmanian Aborigines compiled by early members of the Cotton family, Quakers and early settlers on Tasmania's east coast, and their friend Dr George Story. According to family tradition the material was gathered from 'elderly Aborigines who wanted their traditions recorded before they died'. The archive was destroyed in a fire in 1959 but was re-created, from memory, by William Jackson Cotton. Some of the stories and drawings he produced were published as 'Touch the Morning' in 1979. This compilation has been annotated by historian Nick Clements and includes a special essay by historian Henry Reynolds. Despite the absence of the original documents, this 'fascinating and often startling material' is an important addition to a field of study in which contemporary sources are extremely limited.