Frank, the Double Duchesse
Amongst the contents of the Fairclough Collection of engraved portraits, relating to political and social history in 17th century Britain, we have recently discovered this delicately executed miniature of Frances Stuart (née Howard), Duchess of Richmond and Lennox, who died in 1639. The oval appears to have been cut from a larger composition (in watercolour […]
Arthur Edward Davis (1882-1916)
“Mr Davis was educated at Mill Hill School, London. He became a cricketer of distinction and played for Leicestershire. In the great War he joined as a Private the 11th Royal Fusiliers and served in France, where he was killed in 1916”. [ULA HIS/FOU/2, Memorial Portraits Book] As described in a previous post, the University […]
A story to … awaken thrilling horror
In the fabulously Gothic frontispiece of the first illustrated edition of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein: or The Modern Prometheus, published in 1831, the monster, dramatically lit by the moon, lies in a medieval chamber, complete with grinning skeleton. The artist, Theodor von Holst, has chosen to show the moment, when Victor, overcome with horror at the […]
Garth Smithies Taylor (1896-1916)
15 October 2016 marks the 100th anniversary of the death in action of Lieutenant Garth Smithies Taylor, a name which many staff and students at the University will have unwittingly passed on numerous occasions when entering the Fielding Johnson Building. The following account of Taylor’s life, death and significance to the University was researched and […]
Finding Dolly Shepherd in Historical Directories
We were recently contacted by Debra Wallace, who had used our Historical Directories collection to help research the life of Dolly Shepherd (1886-1983), an Edwardian Lady Parachutist. I found Debra’s account of Dolly’s life so fascinating that I asked to share it on the Special Collections Blog. I’m very grateful to Debra for agreeing to […]
Scrapbook exhibition
The latest exhibition in the Special Collections programme is on the theme of scrapbooks. We hold a number of different types of scrapbook and it’s been quite a challenge to decide which ones to select for the exhibition. In the end we (that’s my colleague Ian Swirles and I) have opted for a selection which […]
Welcome New Students!
A warm welcome from Special Collections to new students starting this autumn! Here are my top tips to ease you into university life (with a little help from the University Archives). 1. Don’t lose your student ID! One of the first things issued to you as a new student, use this to […]
The Dreadful Burning of the City of London
The atmosphere of London in 1666, before, as well as after, the outbreak of the Great Fire, was febrile – anti-Catholic feeling was potent and rife, portents and prophecies of terrible events abounded, the city had been ravaged by Plague the year before and England was at war with the Dutch, with whom the French […]
The destruction of Old St Paul’s
350 years ago this month, during the early hours of Sunday 2 September 1666, the Great Fire of London, which had broken out in the Pudding Lane bakery of Thomas Farynor, began to spread with terrifying speed through the city’s crooked, narrow streets, lined with wooden buildings. One consequence of the Fire, irreparable damage to […]
Desert ‘magick’ and astral bodies – what could they have to do with Special Collections?
Our current exhibition, exploring the experiences and attitudes of the British in India from the early 17th century to the turn of the 20th, features a selection of material from the Union Club Library, purchased by the University in 1964, about which I wrote previously. But it also draws on the collection of Victor Neuburg. […]
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