Exploring Italian books in Special Collections – a view from our work experience student Andrea

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Joanna Baines

By walking in a labyrinth of ancient books and rare materials from the past, I’ve found some books which reminded me of my country and my homeland.

One of them was particularly eye-catching thanks to its size and its green cover full of detailed designs in gold and black. I knew it was about my Home because of the bright title marked on the centre of the cover: Rome. I could not control my instinct of curiosity and so I chose to read that one.

‘Rome’ by Francis Wey – q DG 806

First of all I’ve found out that what I was holding in my hands was a book older than me, published in 1872 and written by Francis Wey. I thought it was going to be in Italian, but then I discovered it was in English and so I realised how much important traveling was, even in the ‘800s, and that human’s curiosity makes us travel seas and countries to be satisfied. And also, by going through some pages I’ve seen some really interesting illustrations: it was funny try to guess what part of Rome they were representing, and also it made me think about how the time changed those places during the years.

I had in my hands and in 552 pages one big wonderful city, my big wonderful city, and probably this is what made me choose the book at first sight.

Another one that I decided to look at was a little book (quartos, I think they call them) from 1828 with a design of red lions on the front white cover made of a material that lasts well during the years and does not make the book look as older as it actually is [vellum]. The title, “Ossian Poesie”, was on the spine and it looked like someone else has written it on by using an old pen.

Poesie di Ossian, PD 3546.1 Spec Coll

Unlike the book about Rome, this one was completely in Italian. I’ve found myself wondering about why there wasn’t any English in a book placed in a library in England, and I came to a conclusion about the fact that there might be some Italian students, or someone who was studying this language, that could have enjoyed it.
By reading some pages I understood the contest was about Irish royals, and it made me even more curious about why did an Italian writer, called Melchior Cesarotti, write about something which happened in another part of the planet.

Poesie di Ossian, PD 3546.1 Spec Coll

If it depended by me, I would have stayed around all those books for days and days, reading about everything from science to theatre, from geography to history.

Andrea Wlderk spent her Year 10 work experience placement with the Special Collections & Archives team this week. Having recently moved to Canterbury from Rome, she’s fluent in Italian, Spanish and English and wanted to know more about library work. Andrea learnt about how Special Collections departments are run and the activities we do, discovered our collections, shadowed meetings, was trained in basic conservation principles and worked in the stores with our volunteer team. Thank you so much, Andrea – we hope you had fun!

Women on Stage and in Society : 1850 – 1915

Posted on April 11, 2016 by Rachel Dickinson

part of the British Theatre History exhibition

On Wednesday 6^th April the yearly exhibition by second year students of the British Theatre History module launched. Whilst this has been an annual event for several years, this time the students faced a bigger challenge than ever: the size of the Templeman exhibition space. This is only the second exhibition to be held in the new space, and asking first time exhibition makers to fill it was initially concerning, but the students rose to the challenge admirably.

Playbill for Society at the Prince of Wales, currently on display

This module offers students the opportunity to learn about a hugely varied period of theatre history in Britain, ranging from Victorian pantomime through to suffragette plays. What’s unique about this module in particular, is that the student use Special Collections and Archives material to really come to terms with the time period, utilising Kent’s extensive Victorian and Edwardian theatre collections. The students look at a range of original material, such as playbills, play-scripts and theatre documentation, to learn about this exciting time.

The British Theatre History student exhibition

A section about living as an actress

This year was different than previously in other ways too. Firstly, the students usually work in groups to produce sections of a general exhibition on British theatre history. This time,

The exhibition launch

however, the students were challenged to work individually, and they did not disappoint! The other difference is that this time the students worked on a very specific theme: women. Within this theme the students looked at gender roles in pantomime, the representation of women in melodrama, influential female playwrights, theatre managers and actresses, and theatrical women as a political force. The result is a very well rounded, coherent exhibition, which catches the eye and the interest of passers-by.

Dick Whittington from the Melville Collection

The module draws heavily from theatre collections housed here at Kent. Firstly, the Melville Collection, which tells the story of a theatrical dynasty of actors and theatre managers. The Melville’s owned many theatres around the country, but particularly the Lyceum in London, from which we hold music, takings books, and administrative documentation concerning productions put on there, as well as publicity material and scripts.

A lithograph showing a scene from the Octoroon

Secondly, the students use the Boucicault Collections. Dion Boucicault was a playwright and actor who worked both here and in America in the 19^th century. He was particularly well known for his melodramas, most famously the Octoroon, a controversial play concerning race and slavery. One student has produced a detailed section concerning this play.

Photograph of Nellie Farren, from the Milbourne scrapbook

Many of the students use sections from the Milbourne scrapbook. This scrapbook contains photographs (and some signatures) of famous actors and actresses of the time period, and also accurate depictions of costumes worn in theatrical productions. The costume images were originally black and white, but the scrapbook’s owner attended the productions featured in it, and faithfully coloured in the images to represent what was being worn on the stage.

Pettingell scrapbook, currently on display

Finally the students used our Pettingell Collection. Frank Pettingell was an English actor in the 20^th century. He obtained the collection from Arthur Williams, who was an actor and playwright in the 19^th century. The collection is made up of a huge selection of printed and handwritten play scripts, many of which were used as performance prompt copies. There are also a handful of theatrical scrapbooks in the collection, one of which is on display.

The exhibition is up until the 25^th April.

Upcoming Exhibition: Treasures of Rochester Cathedral Library

Posted on February 12, 2016 by Josie Caplehorne

I am very excited to announce a one-off opportunity for you to get up close to some of the most beautiful, unique and culturally significant books from Rochester Cathedral Library.

After some months of cataloguing these books, as part of a collaborative project between Rochester Cathedral and the University of Kent (funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund), I am thrilled to be able to share these books with you for the very first time!

15th century illuminated ‘Book of Hours.’

This guided exhibition will give you the opportunity to explore the treasures of the library and find out more from experts who will be on hand to answer any questions on the day. The books and manuscripts being exhibited date from c. 1150 to the 18th centuries, with highlights from the collection including:

Tudor Bibles (such as Henry VIII’s ‘Great Bible’ (1539), the Geneva Bible (1584) and the Bishop’s Bible (1568))
an excellent example of a John Reynes Tudor binding with royal armorial decoration
a fifteenth century illuminated Book of Hours
manuscript items including an 11th century St Augustine’s ‘De Consensu Evangelistarum’ and the 13th century Lombard’s ‘Sentences’
early modern maps of Kent

So come along and join us for this one-time opportunity to discover more about the collections and Rochester Cathedral, and to speak to members of the project teams from the Cathedral and the University of Kent.

Please register for this free event via Eventbrite at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/treasures-of-rochester-cathedral-tickets-21555859155.

Geneva Bible, 1584

Experiences of an Erasmus+ Placement in Special Collections & Archives – Christine Holzapfel (Philipps-University Marburg / Germany)

Posted on February 9, 2016 by Ann MacDonald

Christine Holzapfel discusses her experiences of working with Special Collections & Archives whilst on an Erasmus+ placement in the Templeman Library.

As part of my 5 weeks Erasmus+ Work Placement at the Templeman Library I had some insights into the Special Collections & Archives department and the Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives.

Craxton Theatre programmes and Foulkes Theatre flyers

My first task in Special Collections was to insert information about some Craxton Theatre programmes and Foulkes Theatre flyers into an Excel spreadsheet. I had to check for duplicates in our catalogue LibrarySearch and see if the archive has any more documents about the particular productions represented by the programmes and flyers. This information will be added to the catalogue to make it easier for researchers to find information about particular plays and theatres.

The store

I was shown the Special Collections & Archives store in the basement of the East Wing. It was really impressive to see all these specific collections – the mix of books, documents, photos and objects.

Rochester Cathedral Collection

With guidance from a colleague I catalogued a rare book from the Rochester Cathedral Collection. Most interesting here was that much more data was recorded than with „normal“ books. For example, things like bookplates, handwritten remarks, everything that is written on the title page and also every single illustrator will be given an entry into the record, because someone might search for it.

British Stand-Up Comedy Archive

As the British Stand-Up Comedy Archive was getting a new collection in from Josie Long (Comedian), I helped to unpack and sort the documents and objects. There were programmes and requisites of her shows, which gave a well-rounded overview of the professional work of a comedian.

Josie Long Collection

Digitisation

Also I have been shown the digitisation process of audio cassettes and photos. The audio cassettes are transfered into a digital file with the aid of a special programme and the appropriate equipment. Digitisation is a really important and ongoing process to keep the content of out of date media accessible.

Public Lending Rights Archive

Another collection that I have been working with was the “Public Lending Rights Archive”. This is a newly received collection, which required important basic conservation work in order to preserve it. This involved removing rusty paperclips/staples and replacing them with brass paperclips. Finally the documents were placed in archival acid-free folders.

Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives

A „special highlight“ during my time in Special Collections & Archives was the visit to the Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives.

The Reading Room (Canterbury Cathedral Archives)

In the archive

Together with the archivist I supervised a school class. They were given questions to 6 historic documents, which they got as facsimiles. In the end the students were shown the original precious documents.

Collections

I had the chance to do some workshadowing at the issues desk and to find out what kind of collections the Cathedral Archive possesses. It holds a wealth of manuscripts, photographs, maps and other records dating back to the late 8th century. Interesting is that there are not only religious inheritances (like e. g. central records of the Diocese of Canterbury) as you would expect, but also records of numerous local individuals, families, organisations, businesses, Parish Councils as well as local hospitals, mostly of the Canterbury area. I found it amazing that a lot of the historic documents have been already digitised and can be explored online and free of charge! on the archive homepage.

The Library

Two of the staff members gave me a guided tour through the Archive and the Library. The old library is really beautiful! It contains about 30,000 books and pamphlets printed before 1900, an expanding collection of 20,000 books and serials published in the 20th/21st centuries. The Collections are particularly rich in books on church history, older theology, national and local history, travel, natural science, medicine and the anti-slavery movement.

Canterbury Cathedral Library (http://www.pinterest.com)

The book stores

In the buildings around the cathedral are several book stores. But one book store you did not expect to be one. It is the cathedral itself! In one corner of the cathedral (left side beside the main entrance) is on the upper floor a book store. A small staircase inside leads to the store. This was a real surprise!

The book store inside the cathedral

The Preservation Studio

At the end of the day at Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives I was shown the Preservation Studio and some of the work which has been conducted on historic books. People who are working in this area are, for me, always like artists. It is simply incredible how they are able to restore books (or documents) which are partly really heavily damaged (for whatever reason) and make them look like they were new.

Conclusion

All in all my time in the Special Collections & Archives at the Templeman Library (and of course the visit to (and of course the visit to Canterbury Cathedral Library and Archives) was a very interesting and unique experience. I am glad that I had the opportunity to get an insight into the Special Collections department with its various collections.

Five Fascinating Artefacts

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Ann MacDonald

Work placement volunteer, Ellis Spicer, explores the new exhibition in the new library:

It’s already been an action-packed 2016 for the Special Collections and Archives at the University of Kent’s Templeman Library. Their ‘Comedy on Stage and Page’ exhibition is up and ready for perusal displayed in the newly built Templeman West Wing on Level 1 of the library. This exhibition embodies the crossover between the British Cartoon Archive and Stand-Up Comedy Archive, founded forty years apart but very much complementary to each other.

Throughout my time browsing the exhibition, my favourites began to emerge. You may agree, you may disagree. The exhibition features treasures from the collections at Kent, so come along to choose your favourites too!

‘The Young Ones’ Script, Alexie Sayle Collection

My first favourite from the exhibition was Alexei Sayle’s script from episode 3 of the second and final series of the Young Ones. For me, this stood out as an item in the collection due to its personalised nature of what seems to be a generic script. This script reveals Sayle’s expressive, cursive handwriting and an absent-minded doodle of a car. It’s nice to know that even the rich and famous still get bored and doodle, whilst referring to themselves as Señor.

2. Bomber Blair, Leon Kuhn Collection

My second favourite item from the exhibition is an image of Tony Blair that changes depending on the angle you look at it (for photos of different angles see below). I felt the poignant message that the artist, Leon Kuhn, was trying to portray about Blair’s foreign policy, especially once you know how anti-war the artist himself was. The collage style itself is also fascinating and really stood out for me, and the view from different angles resonated with me as the different angles such a complex situation can be looked at.

3. Tory Toff Speak (with subtitles), Chris Riddell (British Cartoon Archive)

My third favourite item from the exhibition was the image ‘Tory Toff Speak’ with subtitles, featuring David Cameron and Boris Johnson. Parliamentary talk in debates is notoriously ridden with euphemisms due to MP’s potentially being ejected from debates for ‘unparliamentary language’. This image shows a ‘translation’ of that euphemistic dialogue.

4. Rendezvous, David Low (British Cartoon Archive)

My fourth favourite item from the exhibition resonated with me due to my background as a History MA student specialising in the Second World War. Here Hitler and Stalin greet each other rather cordially, ‘doffing their caps’ to each other in a sign of deference. The two extreme political leaders greet each other politely yet their words disagree. Overall I feel the suggestion that the artists wonders whether the two polar opposite ideological leaders are that different at all….

5. Votes and violence, W.K Haselden (British Cartoon Archive)

My last favourite item from the exhibition is a Suffragette cartoon by artist W.K.Haselden from 1909. It suggests that militant suffragette activities was not going to be successful, and that violence could not win the vote. With hindsight, women’s wartime contribution has been argued to be more influential, and I found it interesting how hindsight connected with the past views.

Overall, an intriguing exhibition that I thoroughly recommend you see for yourself on Level 1 of the West Wing of the Templeman Library.

Written by Ellis Spicer, student work placement in Special Collections and Archives.

University of Kent Special Collections & Archives

News and views from the Special Collections & Archives team at the University of Kent.

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Exploring Italian books in Special Collections – a view from our work experience student Andrea

Women on Stage and in Society : 1850 – 1915

Upcoming Exhibition: Treasures of Rochester Cathedral Library

Experiences of an Erasmus+ Placement in Special Collections & Archives – Christine Holzapfel (Philipps-University Marburg / Germany)

Five Fascinating Artefacts