Archive Animals- Ducks
Written by Bethan Davies, Trainee Liaison Librarian. After a special visit from our friend Hodor from Reading University Library, we decided to take a deeper look at our duck related objects in our collection. Along the way, we found several literary pseudonyms, famous works set to music, and a very famous Beatrix Potter creation… The […]
#ReadaBookDay – Our top suggestions!
In celebration of #ReadABookDay, members of staff at The MERL and Special Collections have been sharing their favourite books from within our collection on Twitter. This blog post looks in a bit more depth at our selections (beyond the 140 character limit). David’s Choice- The Eagle Annual (1950) David’s selection is from our Children’s Collection, […]
Wonderful Wizard of Oz
The Sainsbury Singers are performing The Wizard of Oz from 17th – 20th May 2017 at the Hexagon, Reading. They visited us here at Special Collections a few weeks ago to get inspiration from our Wizard of Oz Collection. If you hear the name “The Wizard of Oz”, what springs to mind? Visions of the 1939 […]
The ‘New Women’: women writers of the 1890s
Written by Fiona Melhuish, UMASCS Librarian The art and literature of the 1890s is one of the strengths of the University’s Special Collections. However, although these holdings, along with the popular perception of the 1890s, tend to focus on male figures of the fin-de-siècle period, such as Oscar Wilde, Aubrey Beardsley and the publisher Charles Elkin […]
‘Carnivals on the water’ : the Thames Frost Fairs
Written by Fiona Melhuish, UMASCS Librarian Behold the wonder of this present age, A famous river now becomes a stage. Question not what I now declare to you, The Thames is now both fair and market too. (Printed by M. Haly and J. Miller, 1684) One of the memorable scenes from the film adaptation of […]
Adventurous of Mind, Young at Heart: Herbert Leader Hawkins
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian The University of Reading’s Special Collections Service is home to the fascinating papers and unique library of Herbert Leader Hawkins, Professor of Geology at the University from 1920 to 1952. According to his biographer, Allen (1970), Hawkins was, “Adventurous of mind, kindly, young in heart, vividly imaginative and telling […]
Fragments of medieval manuscripts
Unknown to many members of the public, Special Collections holds an intriguing assortment of medieval manuscript fragments. They are part of the John and Griselda Lewis Collection, a fascinating collection which consists of some 20,000 items illustrating the history of printing and graphic design from the fourteenth century to the present day. I have had the […]
Travel Thursday – The Great New York
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian One of the world’s top tourist destinations, New York has been attracting travellers for many years. This week’s Travel Thursday looks at the Big Apple from two uniquely different perspectives; that of a poet and that of an artist. Australian born critic and poet, W.J. Turner (1889-1946) moved […]
Ready, Set, Bake: Recipes from the 18th and 19th Century
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian In honour of the return of much loved T.V. show ‘The Great British Bake Off’ we’ve pulled together some wonderful recipes and baking tips from our favourite 18th and 19th century cookbooks. Despite their popularity and the handy tips provided by the authors, I have to admit, some of […]
National Allotment Week: Top tips for green fingers!
Written by Louise Cowan, Trainee Liaison Librarian It is not uncommon for inexperienced people to be guilty of omissions in providing for the establishment of a garden which strike horticulturists as almost ludicrous. (Wright and Wright, 1909) In honour of National Allotment Week we have dug up some handy horticultural tips from our collections to help […]