Category: Historical collections

Who was Gordon Craig?

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Gordon Craig in 1903 (picture via Wikimedia Commons)

Have you ever noticed the Gordon Craig Theatre when travelling through Stevenage station and wondered who Gordon Craig was? I did and after a quick search on my phone it was soon apparent that this was a figure with an interesting and complex life worth writing about. Born in Stevenage (hence the theatre being named after him), Gordon Craig (1872-1966) was the son of the famous actress Ellen Terry, and as a young man he too was an actor alongside his mother in Henry Irving’s company. Much of his later work related to the theatre – stage designs, directing and writing widely on the theatre – but he also produced woodcuts and bookplates. This blog post will explore some aspects of his life and work using the UL’s rich collections. Continue reading “Who was Gordon Craig?” →

Illustrated books and humour in Cambridge University Library’s Liberation collection (1944-1946)

On By europeancollectionsIn French, Historical collections, Special collections, The Department of Collections and Academic Liaison1 Comment

This year will mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings and the Liberation of France from German occupation, at the end of the Second World War. As part of the ongoing promotion of and research into Cambridge University’s Library Liberation collection (1944-1946), we have been delighted to shed light on Sophie Dubillot’s AHRC-funded collaborative (Cambridge UL and Open University) PhD project: ‘Ce n’est pas une blague: Purposes and Limits of Visual Humour in Early Post-War France (1944-46)’ and on the Liberation Collection (1944-46) Visiting Scholarship at Cambridge UL, whose first recipient will be announced in the next few weeks. We would be very happy to welcome you on Tuesday 19th March, 5-6pm at the Faculty of Divinity on the Sidgwick site, for Sophie Dubillot and Irène Fabry-Tehranchi’s talk on the Liberation collection: Illustrated books and humour in Cambridge University Library’s Liberation collection (1944-46), as part of the Cambridge Festival (you can register here).

This talk will examine a selection of the Liberation collection’s illustrated works (ranging from deluxe fundraising anthologies to commemorative works, clandestine printing and poetry), as well as humorous drawings representing struggles (such as restrictions, housing issues, and missing family members), in an ideologically divided country in dire need of reconstruction.

Irène Fabry-Tehranchi

Percy Cruikshank’s Panorama of the Franco-Prussian war (1870) in context

On By europeancollectionsIn E-resources, French, Historical collections, New Acquisitions, Special collectionsLeave a comment

Two years ago, Cambridge University Library acquired a satirical pocket-size (but 3 meters long, once unfolded) Panorama of the Franco-Prussian war by Percy Cruikshank (1870) (8000.e.354). This work is a good complement to the library’s Collection of 1870-71 Franco-Prussian caricatures from a British perspective. In a talk taking place on Thursday 7 March from 5-6pm in the University Library’s Milstein room, as part of the Cambridge History of Material Texts seminar, we are going to present Cruikshank’s panorama and contextualise this work within the author’s creation of other comic cartoons produced in the concertina format.

Panorama of the Franco Prussian War, painted by PC [Percy Cruikshank], London : F. Platts, 185 Fleet Street EC, & Mann Nephews, 39 Cornhill E.C., [1870-71].
Percy Cruikshank, The Comic History of the Russian War, London : Read & Co., 1856-57.

Continue reading “Percy Cruikshank’s Panorama of the Franco-Prussian war (1870) in context” →

“Chameleonic games” in the 1870-71 caricatures collections  

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If over the recent holidays you have been roped into playing party games, which ones would you have encountered in 1870-71? Among the latest paper cut-out games and board games, fully engaging with contemporary historical and political events, Parisians of the time could have tackled the two “Jeux caméléoniens”, or Chameleonic Games by Louis-Valentin-Émile de La Tremblais, a painter and draughtsman probably of aristocratic origin.

Louis-Valentin-Emile de La Tremblais, Jeu caméléonien [Second French Empire] (recto), lithograph, [1871], Paris, Musée Carnavalet, G.47384.
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Glorious Christmas greenery

On By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, New Acquisitions, Special collections1 Comment
Holly in v. 4 of Baxter (S370.c.83.4)

One of the Christmas carols sung this year by the Library choir was a version of The holly and the ivy. This inspired me to choose greenery associated with Christmas for this year’s festive blog post. Christmas trees (a little more on these later) have had brief mentions in previous years (2020’s A very merry online Christmas and 2014’s Christmas comes but once a year) but other traditional Christmas plants such as holly, ivy and mistletoe are new territory here and provide the opportunity to showcase some wonderful botanical art from across the centuries contained in UL books.

In pre-Christian pagan times evergreen plants were used to help celebrate the winter solstice festival, warding off evil spirits. Later on, the plants were given meaning by the Christian church. The fact that many of us today still continue the ancient tradition of decorating our spaces with greenery is rather pleasing. In my house, we will have a holly wreath on the door, ivy adorning the staircase and the tops of pictures, and mistletoe strategically placed for a kiss or two! Continue reading “Glorious Christmas greenery” →

The Liberation Collection (1944-46) Visiting Scholarship, Cambridge University Library

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Cambridge University Library is delighted to announce the launch of the Liberation Collection Visiting Scholar Programme. Generously supported by the Penchant Foundation, this new initiative will enable a Visiting Scholar to spend between two and four months undertaking research focused on the Chadwyck-Healey Liberation Collection held at Cambridge University Library.

This programme is a collaboration between the University Library Research Institute and Clare Hall, a graduate college located at the heart of the University of Cambridge, renowned for its informal approach to college life and its international diversity. The maximum value of the scholarship is £6000 for UK-based applicants and £7000 for international applicants.

Bulletin municipal. Numéro spécial consacré à la Libération.
Ville de Toulouse, Octobre 1944. Liberation.a.235
Special issue of the city bulletin of Toulouse published after the liberation of the city in August 1944.

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Purposes and Limits of Visual Humour in Early Post-War France through Cambridge UL’s Liberation collection (1944-46)

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We are delighted to share the new webpage designed by the University Library Research Institute (ULRI), for the AHRC-funded doctoral award on France and the Second World War, a collaborative project of the Open University and Cambridge University Library.

The PhD candidate, Sophie Dubillot, previously contributed to this blog pieces on the French résistante Madeleine Riffaud and the collaborationist Auguste Liquois; the résistant priest Père Jacques de Jésus (who inspired Louis Malle’s 1987 film Au revoir les enfants) and Julien Unger’s Le sang et l’or : souvenirs de camps allemands (1946).

Sophie is using material from the Chadwyck-Healey Liberation Collection and the abundant press of the Liberation period to examine humorous drawings in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War in France (1944-46). Her project aims to examine visual humour’s forms, functions, and limits at a time when the French had to negotiate the delicate post-war transition back to peace. Sophie’s research focuses on how humour served to redefine the French nation in the early post-war period and how different influences on the drawings encouraged or stifled particular voices.

Irène Fabry-Tehranchi

Event “French Collections in UK Libraries: Discovery, Research, Dissemination” at the Institut Français (London)

On By europeancollectionsIn College Libraries, French, Historical collections, Special collectionsLeave a comment

We are delighted to share the programme and free online registration for a one-day seminar which will take place at the Institut Français in London on the 20th of November 2023, with the sponsorship of the French Studies Library Group. Cambridge French collections are very well represented, as it includes talks on University Library collections, the 1870-71 Franco-Prussian caricatures and Chadwyck-Healey Liberation collection (1944-45), as well as Trinity College holdings, with the Crewe Collection of English and French literature and the Kessler artist books collection.

Book in library with open textbook,education learning concept
Mon, 20 Nov 2023 09:15 – 18:30 (French Institute, 17 Queensberry Place, London SW7 2DT)

This event brings together leading specialists from academia, libraries and the book trade to explore French printed, archival, and digital collections in all their richness and diversity from across the United Kingdom. Found in major public institutions as well as hidden in lesser-known collections, they reflect the British Isles’ continuous engagement with France. Themes include collections of caricatures; the Second World War; Artists’ Books; Anglo-French collectors and their collections; and the French community in Britain. We will also consider how libraries shape research, and how they can play a role in cultural diplomacy. The event, which will provide a unique opportunity to foster the interpretation, promotion, and enjoyment of these collections, is aimed at a wide audience and will include ample time for discussion and networking. Continue reading “Event “French Collections in UK Libraries: Discovery, Research, Dissemination” at the Institut Français (London)” →

Funding opportunity for a PhD on Spanish chapbooks : the culture of their time and modern digital description

On By europeancollectionsIn Historical collections, Spanish, Special collectionsLeave a comment

Cambridge University Library is delighted to have received an Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA) and invites applications for PhD studentships, starting in October 2024. The successful PhD candidate will receive funding to work on the Spanish chapbooks collections, as part of the Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) with the University of Oxford.

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Haiti in Cambridge University Library’s collections

On By europeancollectionsIn French, Historical collections, Latin American, Special collectionsLeave a comment

A few months ago, we were delighted to welcome two visitors from Haiti to Cambridge University Library: Jean-Claude Legagneur, painter and director of the Musée du Panthéon National Haïtien, and the historian and writer Daniel Supplice. They were invited to Cambridge by colleagues from the Fitzwilliam Museum, in preparation for the forthcoming Black Atlantic exhibition, and were able to meet colleagues from the Modern Languages and History faculty. This gave us the opportunity to exhibit some of Cambridge University Library’s holdings related to Haiti, including current publications focusing on Haitian literature and art, in Creole and French, but also English and Spanish (academic works, along with other material, such as children picture books translated into Haitian Creole, from the Legal Deposit collections). The display included books published in Haiti (this year we added a new supplier, Libros de Barlovento), the UK, France, Canada, etc., and works about the history of the island (aspects of its earlier history; studies of Taíno archaeological remains and the culture of this indigenous Caribbean people; or later emblematic political figures, such as Toussaint Louverture). The visit of Cambridge UL was followed by a tour of the Wren Library at Trinity College with a display of livres d’artistes from its Kessler collection.

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