ISSUE 06 - SUMMER 2019
DMU SPECIAL COLLECTIONS NEWSLETTER
WELCOME Welcome to the 6th issue of the DMU Special Collections newsletter! DMU Special Collections team are part of Library and Learning Services. We care for archives, rare books and artefacts housed in room 00.21 of the Kimberlin Library. These include records of the institution dating back to 1870 as well as a growing collection of archives relating to subject specialisms of university research centres, including fashion, sports history, photography and performing arts. As I write this we are enjoying some lovely hot weather – and the cool air-conditioned archive storage areas suddenly become everyone’s favourite place to work! June, July and August are quieter months for the Special Collections team after the rush of termtime. We use this time to catch up with outstanding work, hold our Team Away Day and have our stocktaking fortnight, when we are shut so that staff can work together on large or complex tasks! Please note Special Collections will be closed from 6th-16th August. In this issue you’ll find information on some exciting new accessions, including materials donated as part of our appeal for archives ahead of the forthcoming 150th anniversary. If you have anything you would like to contribute please do get in touch! We also have some travel inspiration from our photography collections, and a behind-the-scenes look at the process of designing and installing an exhibition in the Heritage Centre. There’s also a new regular feature: an update from our Wellcome Trust funded cataloguer working on the “Unboxing the Boxer” project. Our next issue will be available in Autumn 2019. We welcome suggestions and comments; please contact archives@dmu.ac.uk or tweet us @DMUSpecialColls. Katharine Short Special Collections Manager 2
CONTENTS Latest News................................................. 3 Appeal Update............................................ 4 New Collections & Catalogues............... 5 Thematic Exploration.................................. 6 Wellcome Trust Project Update.............. 8 Heritage Centre.......................................... 9 Guest Article................................................ 10 Then and Now!............................................ 12
LATEST NEWS LATEST NEWS
May saw the launch of the Stephen Lawrence Research Centre, which features an exhibition of materials relating to the murder of Stephen Lawrence and the subsequent campaign for justice undertaken by his family. The materials were deposited with DMU Special Collections by Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the University Chancellor, and include personal items belonging to Stephen, legal documents, messages of condolence and papers relating to the charity established in Stephen’s name. The launch event included a steel band, curry and cocktails, and a panel discussion about the impact of the case and subsequent Macpherson Inquiry. The papers of Doreen Lawrence will be available for research at DMU Special Collections in due course.
Catalogues Available
Over the summer the Special Collections team will be working hard to finish cataloguing all of our collections at fonds-level, so that researchers can access summary descriptions of everything we hold! We’re also improving our cataloguing of DMU’s institutional records ahead of our 150th anniversary celebrations in 20192020. You can browse our catalogues here: https://specialcollections.catalogue.dmu.ac.uk/
On 31 May we welcomed the Walking Leicester Festival to campus. Two tour groups enjoyed a look around the medieval buildings on campus, including Leicester Castle, Trinity Hospital Chapel and the ruins of the Church of the Annunciation in the Heritage Centre. A second group then had a tour around the modern campus, taking in hosiery factories, a Georgian doctor’s house turned school, and those building that were designed and built just for DMU and predecessors. There was some very positive feedback and surprise at the diverse history of our campus architecture, all squeezed into a relatively small area!
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OUTREACH
ARCHIVES APPEAL Preparations for the celebration of DMU’s 150th anniversary are well underway, with a year-long programme of events set to launch on October 14 2019. Plans include history talks and workshops, ‘In Conversation’ sessions with former staff and students, musical concerts, artistic displays and a major exhibition in the Heritage Centre. We are still accepting contributions to our Archives Appeal – we’re looking for anyone who studied or worked at DMU or predecessors to share their memories or hunt out their old photographs from the attic! See https://dmuheritage.our.dmu. ac.uk/appeal-for-archives/ for more information. We’ve recently had a fab contribution from a former student, including events tickets, a module handbook and samples of her work! We’ve also been busy purchasing some items, including watercolour paintings by former Principals Kenneth Holmes and Edward Pullee, a RAG week badge and posters for gigs at Hawthorn Hall.
Posters advertising Leicester Polytechnic music gigs in Hawthorn Hall, 1974 RAG Week pin badge, 1985
Watercolour painting, Edward Pullee
Ticket stubs for Leicester Arena, De Montfort University SU Venue and independent venues, 1980s-1990s Watercolour painting, Kenneth Holmes
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NEW COLLECTIONS & CATALOGUES
NEWEST ARRIVALS ‘Diary of Adrian Mole’, signed first edition, Sue Townsend, 1985
Special Collections was delighted to take in a new collection of great significance to the history of Leicester: the papers of Fox’s Confectionery. The company was founded by Leicester grocer Walter Richard Fox in 1880. The first factory was on York Road, while the administrative offices were on Oxford Street. Fox’s most famous product, Fox’s Glacier Mints, were invented by Eric Fox, Walter’s son, in 1918. A staff competition was held to decide on a name and the polar bear mascot. Peppy (peppermint) the polar bear was usually shown standing on one of the mints, which resembled blocks of ice. The logo was designed by Leicester College of Art graduate Clarence Reginald Dalby and launched in 1922. The company also acquired a stuffed polar bear for promotional events. In 1969 Fox’s was purchased by Rowntree Mackintosh Confectionery, who moved the factory site to Braunstone. It has subsequently changed hands several times and is now owned by Valeo Foods. The collection includes administrative files, correspondence, marketing and promotional materials, sales, pricing and production, building and maintenance of factories and correspondence with local suppliers and contractors. There are also tins of sweets and other examples of product packaging, trophies and statues featuring the company’s polar bear mascot, and a painting. We’ve also received a donation of this signed first-edition copy of the Diary of Adrian Mole, signed by author Sue Townsend.
Fox’s confectionary sweet tins, photographs and marketing materials, 1980-present
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THEMATIC EXPLORATION
Summer Travels Through the Archive As holiday season is well underway for many with exams finished and schools out, the promise of more carefree days and (hopefully) warmer weather turns our minds to vacation planning activities. Whether it is a meticulously planned week-long itinerary or a spontaneous day out, choosing dream (or affordable) destinations, expanding our horizons and seeing something new through travel is a great way to recharge the batteries. Followed by forlornly looking at the photographs when you get back. To demonstrate that this is not just a millennial activity, for this issue’s thematic exploration we will be highlighting three of our amateur photographer collections, all of whom clearly enjoyed taking a few ‘snaps’ while on their travels: the glass plates of Rev Edmund Mann (c. 1860), the lantern slides of Royal Geographical Society Fellow, Edith Barlow (c. 19201930) and the 35mm slides of politician and globe-trotter Frances ‘Jo’ Josephy (19561976).
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Above: Positive scan of ‘Nuremberg: Girl and Child by River’, c.1860
Rev. Edmund Mann (floruit 1860)
Glass plate negatives in orginal box, c.1860
While very little is currently known about Rev. Edmund Mann, the plates comprising the collection came to us through the Photographic History Research Centre based at DMU. Mostly likely bought and used as a teaching resource, when the department re-located they were donated to the archive by Dr. Kelley Wilder. In total there are 105 glass plate negatives with a wet gelatin emulsion dating from around 1860. With a handwritten list of plates attached to the underside of the box lid, all the plates feature images taken in Belgium, France and Germany. Originally stored in two boxes marked 4 and 5 this indicates that there was once, at least, boxes 1-3, if not more. Whether the images are evidence that the Rev. Mann was on his Grand Tour, an educational trip to take in the cultural highlights of Europe, is unknown. But what is evident from the plates, is that he had as much, if not more, interest in the local people and rural and town life as he did the art and architecture of his destinations, such as Paris, Bruges, and Rothenberg.
Edith Barlow (c 1890 – 1978) Edith Barlow was an extensive traveller, diarist, speaker, and photographer. Following the death of her husband in 1917 and acting on the advice given by her doctor that she seek a warmer climate for its health benefits, Barlow set off on her first voyage to Genoa, Italy in 1923. Throughout her lifetime Barlow undertook 30 trips that saw her cover much of the globe. Destinations included, Australia and New Zealand, the South Seas, Japan, the Arctic Circle, both North and South America, North Africa and much of Europe. Initially she travelled alone but then later became a companion/assistant to rich elderly gentleman, W. Mallinson Esq. She kept detailed diaries of her journeys and delivered lectures recounting her experiences and tours of various regions. In recognition of her travels and public speaking she was awarded Fellowship of the Royal Geographical Society in 1933. Edith died in Lytham St. Annes, Lancashire in 1978. The collection came to DMU through a donation in 2017 by a student on the MA Photographic History course. Comprising approximately 90 glass lantern positive slides, the images feature popular tourist sites and local life in Italy, Egypt, New Zealand and many more.
Above: ‘View of Collisseum [sic], Rome’, c.1920. Left: Untitled, possibly view of Via Appia, Rome, c.1920.
Frances ‘Jo’ Josephy (1900-1985) Frances Josephy, known to her friends as ‘Jo’, was a Liberal politician and a British Representative in the European Union of Federalists as well as being a keen amateur photographer. Following her death in 1987, her collection of travel slides were donated to the Victoria & Albert Museum’s National Art Slide Library (NASL). The range of images produced by Josephy features many places that were not represented in the NASLat the time, thus the donation was accepted and placed into the library. Comprising approximately 3,400 slides that document her travels from 1956-1976 the collection includes images from over 20 countries, such as Guatemala, Nepal, and Myanmar. It is unclear whether or not these images were ever used by the public while held at the V&A but since their transfer to DMU in the 1990s the collection has been rediscovered by one of our volunteers. They were able to piece together the story behind the slides and find out more about the author of the images. The volunteer was so enthusiastic about this collection that as well writing a Special Collections blog post they adapted the piece for publication in the ARA Magazine special issue on Film, Sound and Photography (April, 2018) and used the collection in one of their assignments at DMU. For further images and reading on our volunteer’s experience and discoveries, please visit our blog: http://dmuheritage.our.dmu.ac.uk/research-using-ourcollections/guest-posts/6/.
Above: View of Buddhist Temple Kek Lok Si, Penang, c.1970s Right: Untitled slide, Penang, c.1970s
If you are feeling inspired but have not quite got the means to undertake these remarkable trips you can always indulge in a bit of ‘reader desk travels’ by visiting Special Collections and viewing these beautiful archives!
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WELLCOME TRUST PROJECT UPDATE
UNBOXING THE BOXER
PROJECT UPDATE
With Louise Bruton Assitant Archivist (Cataloguing)
Earlier this year Special Collections received funding from the Wellcome Trust to catalogue four significant sports collections: England Boxing, Ski Club of Great Britain, Special Olympics Leicester and the papers of Sir Norman Chester. I started with the Ski Club of Great Britain (SCGB) collection (1903 – 2001) the largest of the four at 50 linear metres (the length of an Olympic swimming pool). When cataloguing any collection, but particularly a large one where the organisational history may be complex and the items varied, it is important to get a sense of the whole before looking at the detail. I did this in three ways: I analysed existing item lists to identify like material and patterns; I conducted background research on skiing and the Ski Club itself; and I made notes from the Club’s Minute Books to gather an Administrative History of the organisation’s purpose and changes over time. Knowing the organisation’s functions and activities allowed me both to understand how the items reflected those purposes and to detect and preserve, as far as possible, the way in which the Ski Club organised its own records while they were in use. This analysis determined the hierarchical structure of the catalogue. For example, I discovered that in 1925 two other skiing organisations merged with SCGB and their records are preserved amongst the other papers. Realising this allowed me to create two subdivisions within the hierarchy in acknowledgement of the fact these records were created by two entirely separate entities. I am creating detailed descriptions for every file, object or item in the collection within the overarching hierarchical structure. I have now finished cataloguing papers relating to administration, press, publicity, affiliated ski clubs and ski racing. Next, I will move on to the less paperbased items in the collection such as photographs, audiovisual material, artwork and artefacts – yes, even skis! I am packaging the collection as I go, replacing tired cardboard files with acid-free folders and preserving photographs in inert plastic sleeves. Some of the items present a real challenge! We recently sought the assistance of the Media Archive of Central England (MACE). MACE has the equipment and expertise to view old SCGB film reels and assess their condition. Without specialist help some of the contents would have remained a mystery in the absence of labels or titles!
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Correspondence of the Ski Club GB 1964
Some of the files are pretty full!
Brochures for holiday resorts in Austria 1950 - 1953
From this… to this! Repackaging files in acid-free archival folders
HERITAGE CENTRE
HERITAGE SUNDAYS Explore Leicester’s hidden history on the last Sunday of the month
EXHIBITIONS In June 1919, seven months after the end of the First World War, Leicester was granted city status by His Majesty King George V. To commemorate the centenary of this significant occasion, the DMU Heritage Centre has chosen this year’s exhibitions based around two noteworthy local events that took place 100 years ago.
April - November 2019 11am - 3pm Featuring the restored Leicester Castle Great Hall Court Rooms
The Green Bicycle Mystery investigates the tragic death of a young woman named Bella Wright near a Leicestershire Village on 5 July 1919. The only suspect was a mysterious man riding a green bicycle. This unsolved case is considered one of Britain’s most infamous of the 20th century and continues to pique curiosity today. 5 July 2019 – 21 February 2020.
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YEARS OPENING HOURS Tuesday - Friday 12pm - 5pm University Open Days and Heritage Sundays CONTACT (0116) 207 8729 heritage@dmu.ac.uk
of LCFC
Becoming Leicester City explores the founding of Leicester City Football Club in August 1919. Originating as the Leicester Fosse in 1884, the club was reformed after the First World War reflecting Leicester’s new city status. This exhibition highlights the club’s progress, most prominent events and key individuals from the last 100 years. 13 September 2019 – 21 February 2020.
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GUEST ARTICLE
BEHIND THE SCENES
Below is a brief look behind the scenes whilst we prepared for our latest exhibition changeover, The Green Bicycle Mystery.
ships r e n t r a P : Stage 1
of THE GREEN BICYCLE MYSTERY With Elizabeth Wheelband (Heritage Curator) and Steven Peachey (Heritage Assistant)
From concept to installation, preparing an exhibition is an exciting, detailed and rewarding process. It is a journey that often involves many ideas, decisions, official partnerships and collaborations – all contributing to a shared objective of educating visitors through creative storytelling. This process can be approached in countless ways and is often unique to each exhibition theme. Yet, the continuous goal is to produce a visual narrative that engages visitors intellectually and emotionally. Simply put, we love to see people interact with our exhibitions, and, if they leave wishing to explore deeper into that subject, we consider it a job well done!
In August 2017, the Heritage Centre Team was approached to participate in a city-wide steering group to commemorate the centenary of the notorious Green Bicycle case. Due to the university’s link with Leicester Castle Great Hall (where the trial for the case took place in 1920), it was decided that our venue would host an exhibition alongside a variety of related outreach events.
pt e c n o C : 2 Stage
In the DMU Heritage Centre we have two temporary gallery spaces, both of which change, on average, every six months. Our exhibition programme is confirmed up to two years in advance. We tend to choose themes based around local or national events as well as those considered to be of public interest. Read more about this season’s exhibitions on page 9.
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From the start, it was essential to agree how the story of The Green Bicycle Mystery would transpire in exhibition format – particularly as the family members of the victim, Bella Wright, were involved in discussions. When it comes to true crime we often tend to glorify the guilty and the gore but, for this significant anniversary, the steering group agreed that the focus should be on Bella. As such, the exhibition was developed to provide visitors with more information about her life and those who were affected by her tragic death.
h c r a e s e R : Stage 3
To study The Green Bicycle Mystery we consulted a variety of sources such as local and national archives, academics and historians to ensure we presented clear, factual and comprehensive information. We researched heavily into the case itself, but also approached experts who could tell us a bit more about life in post WWI Leicester, the cycling culture of the time, women in factory work, policing practices then vs now and the evolution of forensics. In an exciting turn of events, our research led us to a couple of individuals with private collections – most of which had never been seen by the public. This resulted in a very important shift to the exhibition, as we were able to reference previously unknown information.
ign s e D : 4 e g Sta
lation l a t s n I : 5 Stage
Out with the old and in with the new! It is always exciting to install a new exhibition as all of your hard work comes together. For installation week, we liaised with our wonderful museum Fit-Out team, who helped us with the labour intensive task of exhibition changeover – including shifting graphic panels, realigning the gallery lighting, installing artwork and interactives and moving display cases. Lastly, once the team curated our objects in their respective display cases and wrote up required information labels, we were ready to go!
ach e r t u O : 6 Stage
We love the design process as it is what gives each exhibition its own identity. For The Green Bicycle Mystery we created a storyboard, breaking down our research into relevant sections. From an early stage, it was apparent that the amount of information we accumulated would never fit comfortably within the allocated space. As a solution, we decided to include interactive touchscreens featuring expert interviews where visitors could dive deeper into specific areas. This allowed us to streamline the text panels and focus primarily on the case, using prominent images and objects to complement. Once we were happy with our work, we sent a design brief to our talented Graphic Interpreter, who helped to visualise the story on a series of graphic panels
It is wonderful having a new exhibition in place, but if no one comes to see it then it is a bit pointless! Following the launch of our exhibition, we developed a varied programme of events, activities, talks and tours related to the case. If you are interested to see what we have planned, please visit dmu.ac.uk/heritagecentre for more information.
This stage, as always, was significant as layout, colours, fonts and object positioning can make or break visitor experience.
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THEN
! W O N AND
and t, 19 94 le h p m a phy p hotogra g the selfie! p n io t a Gradu bracin 2 019 em f o s s cla
De Montfort University Kimberlin Library 00.21 Mill Lane Leicester LE1 9BH T: +44 (0)116 207 8776 E: archives@dmu.ac.uk W: dmuspecialcollections.our.dmu.ac.uk @dmuspecialcolls
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