Last summer Cunard deposited further records to be added to their business archive after finding material that had historical value in their offices. Within this particular batch of records were two small boxes containing black and white negative transparencies.
On closer examination many of the transparencies appeared to show passengers on board the Queen Mary during the late 1930s. It was immediately obvious that these were special – a unique snapshot of life on board this historic ocean liner.
Henry Ford (Cunard archive D42 – unlisted)
In the weeks before lockdown began, arrangements were made to digitise the transparencies in order to preserve them and help provide access to readers. They will no doubt be a popular resource and having digital copies will help reduce unnecessary handling of the originals. So far around a quarter of the approx. 200 transparencies have been scanned. Working from home has meant that the digitisation of this collection has had to be put on hold, although cataloguing those already scanned can begin.
One of the boxes was labelled ‘Vintage Passengers’, with each transparency stored in an envelope with pencil notes on the back. The information recorded was brief but included the names of those individuals photographed and year of travel/voyage number. All of the images so far scanned were taken during eastbound and westbound transatlantic voyages during 1937-1938.
Betty Carstairs (Cunard archive D42 – unlisted)
Miss Livingstone and Dr Watson (Cunard archive D42 – unlisted)
Not all of the individuals are perhaps familiar to us now, however that doesn’t diminish the interesting stories they help to tell about the range of passengers that travelled on board the Queen Mary during its early career. Examples include Henry Ford, Betty Carstairs a “British power boat racer known for her speed and her eccentric lifestyle”, the German Tennis Team, and various writers, actors and ambassadors.
These transparencies are an important addition to the Cunard archive and will complement the existing Queen Mary photograph collection. The contextual information that helps identify the passengers provides a fascinating glimpse into life on board the Queen Mary, one of Cunard’s most famous ships.
We hope to provide further information about this collection once they have been fully digitised and catalogued, including photographer information. We look forward to continuing work on these transparencies and learning more about the passengers that travelled with Cunard.
Further information about the Cunard archive can be found on the Cunard archive webpage.
William Crabtree graduated from the School of Architecture at the University of Liverpool in 1929, having studied under Professor Charles H. Reilly. His final year thesis was a design for a department store in Oxford Street.
As a result of Crabtree’s work during his degree, Charles Reilly suggested to his friend John Spedan Lewis, chairman of the John Lewis Partnership, that Crabtree be given the commission to design the new Peter Jones building.
Crabtree’s papers dating from 1933 to 1940, covering the period when Crabtree worked as an architect on the Peter Jones building and Crabtree’s time as a consultant architect for the John Lewis Company, have recently been added to the University Archive.
CRB/2/7. Print showing the Peter Jones building.
The Peter Jones building is named after Peter Rees Jones (1842–1905), the son of a Carmarthenshire hat manufacturer who developed a flourishing retail business, the success of which was reflected in the five-story red-brick store that stood on the site of the present Peter Jones building. After Peter Jones’s death in 1905, the business faltered and the store was purchased by John Lewis, who handed it over to his son John Spedan Lewis in 1914.
By the early 1930’s, Spedan realised that Peter Jones, with its old Victorian layout, needed refurbishment. John Slater and Arthur Moberly were appointed as joint architects, together with Crabtree, with Charles Reilly engaged as consultant.
The Peter Jones building, completed in 1939, is celebrated as an example of the Modern Movement in Britain. Crabtree was influenced heavily by leading Modernist designers, having studied Mendelsohn’s Schocken stores in Germany. Peter Jones was the first property in London to use the glass curtain wall effect, creating a fluid exterior, and the interior was illuminated by lightwells.
CRB/1/2. Examples of letters from manufacturers, including discussions of samples of glass and other materials.
William Crabtree’s papers, donated to Special Collections and archives in November 2019 by Crabtree’s son (Dr. John Crabtree), include correspondence between Crabtree and manufacturing and engineering companies, discussing topics such as the building design and materials, as well as many letters between Crabtree and Charles H. Reilly
CRB/1/3. Examples of correspondence between William Crabtree and Charles Reilly, discussing details of the design of the Peter Jones building, the design of the John Lewis building in Oxford Street, London (never built) and other architectural projects.
Also included are minutes, agenda papers and memorandums from committees governing the development of John Lewis building projects, that offer a fascinating insight into the design and building process.
CRB/2/2/1. John Lewis Partnerships Building Committee agenda papers.
The catalogue for the papers of William Crabtree is available online.
—
Richmond, P., ‘Later Architectural
Work: 1918–1939’, in Marketing Modernisms: The Architecture and
Influence of Charles Reilly (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press,
2001), pp. 162-176.
‘Retail therapy: with sympathy and
imagination, a well-loved London landmark has been given a new lease of life by
radical alteration and thorough internal revision.’ The
Architectural Review, vol. 215, no. 1288, June 2004, p. 88+.
Twenty-eight architectural drawings from Norah Dunphy’s time as a student at the University of Liverpool and in employment in the North-East have recently been added to the University Archive.
Norah Dunphy was a student of the Liverpool School of Architecture. Graduating in 1926, she was the first woman to obtain the degree of Bachelor of Architecture in the country. She studied architecture under Professor Charles Reilly and obtained a first-class certificate in civic design under Professor Abercrombie. Norah Dunphy was also the first woman in the country to be employed as a town planner, appointed as Town Planning Assistant to the Tynemouth and North Shields Corporation in 1931.
A Small Town Hall. Floor plan, elevation, section drawing.
Catafalque. Sketch drawing.
A Hydropathic Establishment (Thesis). Plan and Cross Section.
Llandudno. Map. Town Planning Scheme.
A Hydropathic Establishment (Thesis). Site Plan.
The drawings were donated by Norah Dunphy’s daughter, who attended an event organised by the School of Architecture to highlight the achievements of their female graduates ( https://alumni.liv.ac.uk/news/stories/title,1123305,en.html ).
The catalogue for Dunphy’s architectural drawings is available online. If you would like to book an appointment to view these drawings, or if you have material that you wish to donate to the University Archive, please email us at scastaff@liverpool.ac.uk.
John Sampson (1862-1931) was the first full-time librarian at University College (later the University of Liverpool) as well as an ardent Romani scholar. Thanks to various donations over the years, including some from the Sampson family, we have a large and fascinating John Sampson archive. Recently, we were delighted to receive some new additions – they have now been catalogued and should be a fantastic resource for researchers.
SP9/5/2 (153): Sampson caught in one of his more casual moments.
Sampson was also a prolific correspondent, and the new material contains a large amount of correspondence between Sampson and a host of well-known names.
One such name is Theodore Watts-Dunton, the critic and poet who shared Sampson’s passion for gypsy lore and literature; they corresponded enthusiastically on such matters. Watts-Dunton is also known for being the last carer of the great poet, Algernon Swinburne. Due to Swinburne’s poor physical and mental health he lived with Watts-Dunton at ‘The Pines’ in Putney from 1879; he died there in 1909, three days after Watts-Dunton wrote this letter to Sampson.
SP9/5/1/6 (3): Watts-Dunton warns Sampson against coming to his home, a ‘plague stricken house of doom of the influenza fiend’.
Other correspondents include Joseph Conrad (author of Heart of Darkness), who wrote this letter to Sampson in 1922, respectfully refusing an honorary degree from Liverpool.
SP95/1/11 (1): Determined to remain a non-academic, Joseph Conrad also turned down degrees from the likes of Yale, Oxford and Cambridge.
The new material doesn’t only contain insights into the literati of the time, but to Sampson himself. Thanks to a large amount of material gathered by his family, including his daughter Mary Arnold, we have photographs, personal letters and even more unusual items.
SP9/5/2 (159): One of a few limericks by Sampson, likely sent to his daughter, Mary.SP9/5/2 (160): The first page of a three-page poem by Sampson, sent to Mary on her 16th birthday, 1922.
The catalogue is now available online (SP9/5). The new material also perfectly complements our huge Gypsy Lore Society archive; Sampson was an active member of this society, serving as president in 1915-1916.
This month Special Collections and Archives were pleased to receive a substantial donation to the Cunard Archive from the founder of the Cunard Steamship Society, John Langley.
As a life-long Cunard collector and historian this opportunity is an assurance that much of my life’s work will be preserved for future generations.
John Langley Q.C.
Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the birthplace of Samuel Cunard, Langley’s passion for maritime history began at a young age. As a boy he was influenced greatly by a family friend, Doug Gordon, who was a prominent Passenger Manager for the Cunard Line in Canada.
After a successful career in Law, Langley has donated much of his time to research and writing on the subject of Cunard history. He is the author of Steam Lion, the definitive biography of Sir Samuel Cunard, and lectures extensively aboard Cunard liners and other cruise ships.
Langley travelled with his collection from Halifax on the Queen Mary 2 and spent a number of days at the University of Liverpool going through the 21 boxes of material.
John Langley’s collection reflects his life-long interest in the the rich history and proud tradition of the Cunard Steamship Company. It largely comprises ephemera dating from the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, with items such as menu cards, cruise leaflets and newspaper cuttings.
The material will be catalogued within the ‘Related Collections’ series and be made available to the public.
Cunard printed W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts tour booklet . D1212/3
D1212 – W. H. Rhodes Educational Trust Canada Tour, 1961
We are pleased to share the
news of an interesting new accession of material relating to the W. H. Rhodes
Educational Trusts Canada Tour of 1961, now available to consult on request at
Special Collections and Archives.
Donated by David Phillips, a member of the 1961 Canada tour group, the collection includes printed information about the W. H. Rhodes 1961 tour, such as booklets and itineraries; material collected during the trip, such as Cunard ephemera and leaflets from places visited; and photographs and news cuttings that document the trip.
The 1961 Tour group. D1212/4 (p.2)
It has been fascinating to learn about the history of the W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts
The first
Canada tour took place in 1937, as a result of the vision and generosity of Mr.
W. H. Rhodes, C.B.E., Such was the success of this pilot tour that, the
following year, Mr. Rhodes founded the W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts,
under the terms of which students were selected to visit Canada in 1938, 1939
and every year from 1951 to 1963.
The boys were
drawn from secondary schools of the cities in which Mr. Rhodes had business
interests. The 1961 tour included 16 students from London and 8 students
each from Birmingham, Bradford, Glasgow, and Manchester. The boys, aged on
average 18.5 years and at the end of their last year of sixth form, were selected
for their academic achievement and good character.
The Foreword
to the Report on the 1961 Tour to Canada (archive reference: D1212/4) discusses
the great opportunity afforded to those boys chosen:
To be transported at this juncture, from the industrial cities of Great Britain to the heartland of Canada, is a timely and broadening experience; to share in this venture with highly selected companions, in the most formative years of life, is a unique opportunity; to go as “representatives of one country of the Commonwealth visiting another” is an honour […] With the months of careful preparation behind them, they set forth determined to play their full part in helping to realise the high ideals and purpose of our generous founder, “in strengthening those ties of kinship, mutual trust and affection enduring among the countries of the British Commonwealth”.
The tour groups travelled to and from Canada on Cunard ships, accompanied by a representative from the Cunard Company.
The 1961 tour
sailed from Liverpool on R.M.S. Carinthia on 2 August and travelled back to the
United Kingdom on the R.M.S. Saxonia, arriving at Southampton on 1 September.
Cunard printed W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts tour booklet . D1212/3
D1212/7
W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts tour booklet . D1212/1
Cunard Line luggage labels created for the W. H. Rhodes Educational Trust tour group . D1212/5
For the outward journey on the Carinthia Cunard printed special W. H. Rhodes luggage tags and created travel booklets that included interesting information about life on board the ship, such as instructions on how to distinguish the rank of an officer on board, and guides to places they were visiting in Canada.
The 1961 tour group
visited Quebec, Montreal, Toronto, Hamilton, Niagara, Sudbury, Temagami and
Camp Wanapetei. They had tours of Universities, Civic Buildings, Farms,
Businesses and Factories (such as the International Nickel Company and the
Queenston Hydro-Electric Project), and were welcomed by City Mayors,
Businessmen, Academics and Politicians (including the Prime Minister John
Diefenbaker).
The new accession has been added to Cunard Associated Deposits, a collection of items deposited by individuals with personal connections to the shipping company. The full catalogue for the W. H. Rhodes Educational Trusts Canada Tour material is available online.
Other W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts material can be found in the archive at:
D371/4/6/3-4: W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts tour to Canada, 1963 – booklet and report. (2 items)
D42/PR4/14/8/5: W. H. Rhodes Canada Educational Trusts tour to Canada,1952 – booklet. (1 item)
As the first month of 2019 draws to a close, we look back on the previous year and all of the events, accessions, and projects that took place here in Special Collections and Archives.
January
We welcomed in the New Year in with a new exhibition, which was titled The University of Liverpool: A History through Archives. This exhibition celebrated 50 years since establishment in 1968 of the official repository for the University Archives. The repository’s holdings currently comprise over 2000 linear meters of material and continue to grow.
The University of Liverpool: A History through Archives.
February
The Gypsy Lore Society collections were enhanced with the accession of a collection of papers formerly belonging to Helen Murray, secretary to philologist and GLS member Bernard Gilliat-Smith (1883-1974).The collection largely comprises correspondence and photographs, including letters from notable GLS members such as Dora Yates, R. A. Scott Macfie and Henry James Francis.
Macfie (left) is pictured alongside a fellow employee from Messrs Macfie & Sons, the sugar refinery business which had been run by his family in Liverpool since 1838.
Photographs and a digital version of R. A. Scott Macfie’s photo album on display in Paris.
April
We began a new series of events displaying Special Collections and Archives ‘Treasures’. The series started with a display of medieval books, including the beautiful Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). To find out more, see our new blog post! Another first in April was the launch of the LivUniSCA twitter account, which has grown to have 299 followers to date.
D958: Queen Mary jigsaw puzzle, featured in the Puzzles, Poetry and Playground Games exhibition” …don’t forget the photos, it’s very important…” The National Socialist Persecution of Central German Sinti and Roma at Liverpool Central Library
June
The Harold Cohen Library holds the Mathematics texts for the University, so it was fitting that the‘Seeing Euclid’ exhibition was on display there during June and July. We also welcomed many prospective students and their family and friends for the first Undergraduate open day of the year.
July
SC&A was awarded Archives Accreditation, the UK quality standard which recognises good performance in all areas of archive service delivery, and is awarded by a Committee representing the entire archive sector. We also welcomed the Society for the Social History of Medicine 2018 Conference delegates to view some of the medical texts held here in the collections.
August
We celebrated World Photo Day by picking our favourites from the collections, including the fantastic below photograph from the Cunard Archive. Niamh Delaney, Assistant Special Collections Librarian, was awarded a bursary to attend the Montefiascone Conservation Project in Italy, where she spent a week cataloguing books held in the collections there.
Dance aboard the RMS Queen Mary, from the Cunard Archive. D42/PR2/1/97/F67.
The 31st of July also marks the end of the academic year, so in August we are busy totting up the total number of visitors, retrievals, and enquiries we answered throughout the previous year. Between 1st August 2017 and 31st July 2018, we retrieved 5332 items from the stores, welcomed 1107 visitors and readers, and received 1558 email and 210 phone call enquiries!
September
While the hustle and bustle of the first 2018-19 academic teaching semester began, staff changes were happening in SC&A. We said goodbye to Graduate Library Assistant Michaela Garland, who was heading for the Master of Archives and Records Management course, and we welcomed Caitlin Fleming into the same post; Cunard Archivist Sian Wilks gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Dylan Derek Matthews, and Beth Williams began her Maternity cover of the Cunard Archivist post; and finally we said goodbye to the amazing Andy Sawyer, who retired from the post of Science Fiction Librarian which he held for 25 years.
Author Neil Gaiman and Andy Sawyer
Third year English student Sophie Craven began her SOTA300 work experience placement cataloguing the Literary Annuals. The annuals are currently featuring in our new Special Collections and Archives exhibition, Behind the Scenes: Student encounters with Special Collections and Archives. We also began the A-Z of books blog series with Almost an Alphabet; we post each teaching week during semester to demystify some of the specialist words we use in cataloguing our printed books.
A panel from the Eleanor Rathbone: An Independant Woman Exhibition at the VG&M
November
November was events month! Special Collections and Archives hosted a celebration event for the award of Archives Accreditation, at which President of the Archives and Records Association (ARA) Dr Alex Buchanan presented Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpool Dame Professor Janet Beer with the official certificate (and, there was cake!). Sticking with the theme of archives, University Archivist Jo Klett and Archives Cataloguer Josette Reeve’s hard work on EMu (Collection Management System) became accessible to users via the new and updated archives catalogue.
Head of Special Collections and Archives Jenny Higham introduced Dame Professor Janet Beer to the collections at the Archives Accreditation event.
Other events included: Jenny Higham was welcomed by the Liverpool Nautical Research Society at the Athenaeum for a talk on the Cunard Archive; the ‘Treasures’ series continued with a fascinating display of medical texts, and Niamh Delaney (Special Collections Assistant Librarian) and Robyn Orr (Library Assistant) hosted a KnowHow session on using Special Collections and Archives material in research. Lastly, to mark the centenary of Armistice Day, the ‘This Week’s War’ blog posts were completed with a final overview post by Caitlin Fleming.
December
We received a new accession to be added to the Science Fiction collections in the form of the library of Brian Aldiss. We wrapped up the year by getting festive in collaboration with the Sydney Jones Library team: images provided by SCA were displayed alongside the Christmas themed books, including this idyllic snow scene.
A268/19 Abercromby Square in the snow (image by University’s Central Photographic Service)
“We had travelled 30,913 miles, circumnavigated the globe, visited 13 countries and 18 ports…”
D1183/1/2
Alongside the Cunard Archive we hold a range of complementary material donated by individuals, many of whom have links to the company.
It is often these materials that best reflect the day to day activities of travelling by Cunard and of the experiences of the people involved.
One of the most recent additions to the Associated Deposits series is a donation from ex-Cunard Assistant Purser Robin Almond.
On 1st January 1957 the 17 year old Robin Almond from Ainsdale in Lancashire joined the Merchant Navy. Robin started as a Cadet Purser with Elder Dempster Line before, 11 months later, taking up a shore based position as a First Class Reservations Clerk with Union Castle Line.
In April 1959 he secured a position as an Assistant Purser with Cunard Line, and in the next three and a half years sailed on the Mauretania, Queen Mary, Caronia, and Queen Elizabeth.
Robin Almond. Caronia North Cape Cruise. 1960. D1183/4
As a young man sailing the globe on world famous cruise liners, Robin has many a tale to tell.
He has been kind enough to share his story with us. Donating extracts from his diaries as well as memorabilia and photographs collected over his years with Cunard to the archive.
Cunard cruise brochures, Junior Assistant Purser’s epaulettes, Cunard buttons and Cunard cap badge.
D1183/5-6
The full catalogue can be viewed online by searching for the reference number D1183.
Our University Archives were recently enhanced by the welcome addition of a collection of papers previously belonging to Professor Walter Dilling (1886-1950), pharmacology professor at the University of Liverpool.
Dilling was born in Aberdeen and went on to attend the city’s university, graduating in 1907. As Carnegie research scholar he studied and worked in Germany at the University of Rostock, before returning to Scotland to take up a lectureship at the University of Aberdeen; here he delivered a course on experimental pharmacology for medical students, the first of its kind in Britain. He moved to the University of Glasgow in 1914 and in 1920 became a lecturer in pharmacology at Liverpool, rising to Associate Professor before his appointment to the newly created Chair of Pharmacology in 1930.
Professor Dilling, 1936
Dilling’s archive reflects his varied professional and personal interests. There are research papers and lecture notes on everything from the origin and development of girdles, to modern drugs in dental surgery, to the treatment of various diseases throughout history.
A keen music lover, Dilling served as Chairman of the Liverpool Philharmonic Society and was an ardent admirer of opera, particularly Wagner. The text of many of the lectures he delivered to the Young People’s Opera Circle (of which he was chairman) can be found in the archive.
Score for Wagner’s ‘Die Feen’ (‘The Fairies’)
The collection also contains a large amount of correspondence, mostly comprising letters between Dilling, his parents, his beloved wife Vida, and their two children, Nancy and Eva. There is also a small section of items belonging to Vida, including a diary covering her time in the Auxiliary Territorial Service during the Second World War.
Both Walter and Vida undertook vital work during the wars. During the First World War Vida served for a time as registrar at the Scottish National Red Cross Hospital in Bellahouston, Glasgow, while Walter utilised his medical knowledge in the Royal Army Medical Corps. During the Second World War he commanded the medical company of the University Senior Training Corps, working alongside student stretcher bearers to receive casualties at the railway terminus.
Dilling initially volunteered in the Royal Army Medical Corps between 1903-1905 and returned during the First World War, becoming an officer in 1916
We also hold around 70 books formerly belonging to Dilling, most of which were transferred to SC&A from the old Pharmacology Library in 2010. A previous blog post highlighted these items, which can be located on the library catalogue.
Cataloguing of the archive is currently underway; it will be accessible later this year.
The following of Christ is an English translation of Imitatio Christi, a work traditionally attributed to the German canon Thomas à Kempis (c. 1380–1471). Written around 1420, it became one of the most widely read and frequently translated of Christian devotional works.
This edition was printed and sold by John Sadler of Harrington Street, Liverpool, in 1755. Sadler was primarily an engraver and printer for the pottery trade, but he also produced a number of Catholic devotional books.
This book marks a landmark for Special Collections, as it was our 10,000th item reported to the English Short-Title Catalogue! According to ESTC it is one of only two known copies of the 1755 edition in Britain, with two more copies reported in the United States.
SPEC 2018.a.003
Our second new accession is another translation, and another Liverpool publication. Printed in 1802 by William Jones – a bookseller, printer, publisher, stationer and “seller of patent medicines” based on Castle Street – Memoirsof the year two thousand five hundred is an English translation of the French work, L’an 2440: rêve s’il en fut jamais, by French dramatist and writer Louis-Sébastien Mercier. Originally published in 1770, the novel is set in 2440 (or in the English edition, “for the sake of a round number” 2500), presenting a future France based on Enlightenment political theories. It was one of the very first novels to present a utopian vision of the future, and was especially pioneering in choosing a real place in which to set it – namely Paris. The novel was immediately banned in France and condemned as blasphemous in Madrid, where distribution was subject to a fine and six year prison sentence. Despite this, it is thought to have had an important influence on subsequent French and English speculations about the future.
Finally, we have two books containing volumes 1 and volumes 4-6 of William Combe’s The r[oya]l register. Combe was a prolific writer, best known for his Doctor Syntax series. Published between 1778 and 1784, this register contains often lengthy descriptions of the activities of aristocrats and other notables of the period. Written in the distinctive writing style of the author, the tone has been described by one bookseller as “somewhere between ‘Hello’ magazine and ‘Private Eye'”.
Volume one contains the bookplate of the Earl of Morley:
SPEC 2018.a.005
Bibliography:
Alkon, Paul K, Origins of futuristic fiction, (Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1987)
Liverpool Bibliographical Society, The book trade in Liverpool to 1805: a directory, (Liverpool: Liverpool Bibliographical Society, 1981)
Stableford, Brian M., The plurality of imaginary worlds: the evolution of the French roman scientifique, (Encino, CA: Black Coat Press, 2016)
We’re delighted by the recent acquisition of a collection of papers formerly belonging to Helen Murray, secretary to philologist and Gypsy Lore Society (GLS) member Bernard Gilliat-Smith (1883-1974).The collection largely comprises correspondence and photographs, including letters from notable GLS members such as Dora Yates, R. A. Scott Macfie and Henry James Francis, and is a welcome addition to our GLS archive.
The earliest letter is from R. A. Scott Macfie (GLS Honorary Secretary, 1907-1914) to Gilliat-Smith, written on the day of the outbreak of the First World War; as well as containing personal news and reference to his work, Macfie comments on the ‘danger of another Balkan war – or worse.’ Macfie would experience this danger first-hand as a Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant in the Liverpool Scottish Regiment, receiving the Military Medal for gallantry in 1916.
Letter to Bernard Gilliat-Smith from R. A. Scott Macfie on the eve of war.
The new acquisition also contains this print of a c.1899 photograph of Macfie, gifted by Dora Yates to Gilliat-Smith on his birthday (sent, as Yates explained in an accompanying note, as ‘I have nothing better to offer him’).
Macfie (left) is pictured alongside a fellow employee from Messrs Macfie & Sons, the sugar refinery business which had been run by his family in Liverpool since 1838.
Dora Yates (GLS Honorary Secretary from 1935) was a prolific correspondent and we are pleased to add more of her letters to our large extant collection, offering as they do great insight into the work of the GLS and the various personalities within the society.
Letter to Bernard Gilliat-Smith from Dora Yates in Romani (the rest of her letters are in English).
A full catalogue of this new collection will soon be available online under the reference number GLS ASC/7.
SC&A’s latest acquisition is a somewhat eccentric publication, composed of a mishmash of writings by the Quaker author Ephraim Wood (pictured) – including, An account of a tour from Liverpool to London, Notes on the new age, or the new heaven and new earth and A friendly address to sailors; or, A few remarks on a seafaring life. The work was printed by ‘Johnson’, in Liverpool, in 1820. In a rather telling note on page 436, they write that “The Printer respectfully informs the reader, that the Author’s punctuation and peculiar style of writing, have been strictly adhered to”.
This book is one of only three known copies of the work in the UK, and bears contemporary ownership marks (see the top corner of the title-page above), as well as the book label of Anne and Fernand Renier. Prodigious book collectors, the Renier’s had a particularly impressive collection of 80,000 children’s books, now looked after by the V&A Library.
2017 was another busy year in Special Collections and Archives. To celebrate Burns Night, we have curated some of the highlights: collections that were conserved, catalogued, acquired, and the people whom we have been thrilled to meet and work alongside this past year.
January – The Mersey Sound exhibition ®McCoy_Wynne
February – Special Collections Librarian Katy Hooper hosted delegates from the Edgar Allison Peers Symposium and their guest speaker, Spanish Poet Luis García Montero, for an evening viewing of material from the Peers, E. J. Burford, and Manuel de Irujo collections. We also lovingly selected some of our sweetest material for a blog post on Valentine’s Day.
February – Peers Symposium attendees
March – always a busy month for teaching classes, including the popular Children’s Literature module (see below photo). We also welcomed several visitors with special links to our collections, including a relation of Grace Wilson, the long term partner and wife of John Wyndham.
March – Dr Esme Miskimmin leading a seminar using SC&A material for ENGL573 Children’s Literature module. ®McCoy_Wynne
April – Cunard archivist Siân Wilks worked hard to ensure that the catalogues for the Chairman’s papers (an excellent resource for business and maritime history) are available online; we hosted a meeting of members of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association; our reading room reference collection overhaul was completed, undertaken by our former Assistant Librarian Lucy Evans and Archives Cataloguer Josette Reeves; and Special Collections and Archives Manager Jenny Higham delivered the session ‘Using Primary Sources’ for the Researcher KnowHow programme.
July – many boxes from the Liverpool Poets archive were transported to London for the Southbank Centre exhibition The Mersey Sound at 50; our reading room was refreshed through the acquisition of a new microfilm system, new specialist book rests, and new professional photographs were hung on the walls, giving a behind-the-scenes look at our collections and activities.
July – a photograph of some of the beautiful spines and tooling work in our collections! ®McCoy_Wynne
August – we showed off our feline collections and friends for International Cat Day. Thankfully, all the pet cats featured in the blog post are dealing with their new found fame in a very grounded manner. Our University Archivist, Jo Klett, also completed a data cleanse of records to prepare for the launch of a new archives catalogue in the future.
August – International Cat Day featured Oldham 173, The Tale of Tom Kitten
September – aside from greeting students both returning and new for the start of the 2017-18 session, we welcomed our new Graduate Library Assistant Michaela Garland to the team, bade farewell to Beth Williams for the Master of Archives and Records Management course, and former Graduate Library Assistant Robyn Orr took up the new post of Library Assistant, with responsibility for the day-to-day reading room service. The Unsettling Scientific Stories researchers visited us to consult the Science Fiction archive; and we also opened a new exhibition, Roscoe’s University: Liverpool Royal Institution 1817 – 2017, to celebrate the bicentenary of the Liverpool Royal Institution.
September – Roscoe’s University: Liverpool Royal Institution 1817-2017 exhibition
October – we fittingly marked the 50th anniversary of the last voyage of the Queen Mary by showing on our blog the exciting new accessions donated that month; we hosted our Library colleagues to view our some of our new acquisitions in a Staff Open Afternoon; more enthusiastic prospective undergraduates visited us on the second open day of the year; SC&A staff took part choosing our favourite books for the Libraries Week fun on the Library Instagram; and these events were a final hurrah for our Assistant Librarian Lucy Evans, who left us to join the British Library as Curator of Printed Heritage Collections. She leaves a great legacy in many research-enabling catalogue records and on social media, including her work with the ERC funded TIDE project.
October – D1169/1/2, The Queen Mary puzzle
November – we kicked off this month with a bang through a blog post on bonfire night; we also welcomed Niamh Delaney to the team as the Assistant Librarian, who has been very busy cataloguing our Special Collections material and keeping up SCA’s profile on social media since her arrival; we were also pleased to welcome visitor Christopher Graham, Vice President of the Council of the University of Liverpool, to view material from his time as President of the Guild; further, after the event The Bicentenary of Liverpool Royal Institution: A Celebration, we hosted attendees to view our Liverpool Royal Institution exhibition.
November – Attendees of the Bicentenary event viewing the Liverpool Royal Institution material in our exhibition area.
November – an eager attendee viewing the Liverpool Royal Institution exhibition.
December – and finally, our festive season and winter themed material took centre stage on both the University Library twitter (#livunisca) and a board displayed at the entrance of the Sydney Jones Library; we launched our SC&A merchandise (available to purchase at our reception during opening hours); and our collections reached dizzying heights to celebrate International Mountains Day 2017.
December – The merchandise table located in the SC&A reception area – available to purchase Monday to Friday, 9:30am – 4:45pm.
December – SC&A Merchandise, including notebooks, pencils, erasers, magnets, bookmarks, and more!
December – one of our lovely Special Collections items (reference JUV.530) found on the #livunisca twitter advent
We wish our readers and visitors a happy new year and we look forward to welcoming old and new faces in 2018. To arrange an appointment, please do email us on scastaff@liverpool.ac.uk and our staff will be happy to assist.
This second accession comprises material collected and produced by Patten since the purchase of the first accession in 2007. It includes manuscript and typescript poems, children’s plays, unpublished poetry collections and story ideas, and various correspondence, recordings, photographs and ephemera.
Patten 6/4/14/2 – from the first accession
Amongst the key material are Patten’s unpublished poetry drafts and memoirs. Many of his recent pieces are elegies for friends and other writers and meditations on life and death, often invoking the natural landscape around his home in Devon. A number of poems appear in multiple draft stages.
The archive includes a small but significant collection of correspondence and mementoes from other writers kept in a first edition copy of The Oxford Book of 20th Century English Verse chosen by Philip Larkin. This volume is signed by Patricia Beer, Adrian Henri, Adrian Mitchell, Gavin Ewart, Roger McGough, Christopher Logue, Basil Bunting, and Brian Patten. Patten has used this copy of the book as a place to store important mementoes of other poets and many of the pieces are placed within the text near related and significant poems. Included are a programme and letters for Christopher Logue’s memorial service, hand-printed Christmas cards with poems from Roger McGough, postcards from Beryl Graves and Adrian Henri and a programme for a remembrance of the life of Seamus Heaney, amongst others.
Also included is material relating to Patten’s trip to India in 1984, undertaken in collaboration with the British Council to do public readings, meet with poets, and research a possible novel. Included is a tape recording of Patten reading his in-the-moment experiences of the city of Calcutta.
The archive also contains original ink and watercolour illustrations by Meg Rutherford for Patten’s first children’s book The Elephant and the Flower, written in 1968, a number of audio recordings of BBC radio shows produced in the last fifteen, year, including Patten’s series Lost Voices on forgotten poets, and large quantity of contracts for books as well as correspondence from poets, friends, family, admirers and publishers.
Copyright Meg Rutherford
It is expected that the archive will be fully catalogued and available during 2018.
Earlier this month SC&A received a donation of material commemorating the Queen Mary and her launch in 1934 and memorabilia from a Sylvania Mediterranean cruise in 1965. These items were donated by Kit Syder in memory of her Grandparents, Tom and Hilda Roby who collected the items through their connection with the John Roby Ltd Company (later Roby & Utley) and as passengers on a Cunard cruise. This accession is particularly timely as today marks 50 years since the Queen Mary made her final voyage from Southampton to her new home in Long Beach, California.
D1169/1/1 – The Journal of Commerce and Shipping, Telegraph (1 Oct 1934)
It is perhaps difficult today to appreciate how significant the Queen Mary was when she entered service, for not only was she the largest and fastest ship the world had ever known but she was also the most expensive. Items within this new accession help to demonstrate the impact the Queen Mary had on the country and her wide-ranging appeal.
They include a supplement from The Journal of Commerce and Shipping, (as the first ship to be launched by the newly formed Cunard White Star Line Ltd. the Queen Mary dominated news headlines); a scale model by Bassett-Lowke Ltd, complete with printed instructions and a fold-out scale drawing; a hand-held Queen Mary puzzle from the ‘R. J. Series of Popular Puzzles’ and collectable confectionery and cigarette cards that used illustrations to demonstrate the scale and features of the Queen Mary to the public and potential passengers.
D1169/1/2 – The Queen Mary puzzle
The new accession also includes items relating to Thomas Utley (Rainhill) Ltd (a brass foundry which made fittings for the shipping industry) in the form of a promotional booklet and catalogue, staff photograph and news clipping. The promotional booklet as shown was produced by Thomas Utley (Rainhill) Ltd. Rainhill Liverpool to highlight a selection of the sidelights and windows supplied to the Queen Mary.These items will be of particular interest to those who are researching suppliers to the Queen Mary and will complement Sir Percy Bates’ correspondence that can be found within the Cunard Archive’s ‘Chairmen’s Papers’.
D1169/2/2
Pictured below is just one of the menu cards collected by Tom and Hilda Roby on their Mediterranean cruise on the Sylvania in 1965. Further items from this cruise include copies of the Cunard Ocean Bulletin and even Cunard-themed cocktail stirrers, matches and a bar of soap!
D1169/3/1 – Dinner menu card from a Sylvania Mediterranean Cruise (15 Feb 1965)
The full catalogue for this new accession (D1169) will be available online via the Cunard webpage.
