Behind the scenes: putting on an event

Two visitors at a drop-in session relating to local history

With covid and the various lockdowns over the last couple of years, this has limited the scope of in-person events and exhibitions, transferring the focus to online – details of these for 2020 and 2021 can be found in the respective Year in Review blogs. We are delighted to be able to again plan and be involved in more on site activities. On Saturday 14 May we ran tours of Special Collections as part of the University’s Alumni Day providing visitors with the opportunity to engage with memorabilia relating to student life from the 1950s onwards.

The types of events that we organise are wide ranging, from visits, including by students and by special interest groups, to drop-in sessions open to the general public, seminars, workshops and conferences, including our hugely popular Wellington congresses and two study days relating to the Wellington and Waterloo MOOC, and University-wide activities such Hands-on Humanities or the Science and Engineering Fair. We also have run an active exhibition programme encompassing both the Level 4 Gallery and the Special Collections Gallery, the latter of which is where we exhibit original items from the collections.

Unreliable memories exhibition in the Special Collections Gallery

But what is entailed in putting on an event or curating an exhibition? In all of these there are a number of stages: from the original conception of an event, through an analysis of the audience, the choice of material, curation and interpretation and finally the delivery.

The shape and content of an event or activity will vary depending on the audience. A good example of this might be activities that we created introducing groups to the development of handwriting and of different types of writing implements. Whilst students attending sessions on palaeography did have the opportunity to write with quills, the focus was a much more academic one, introducing them to the different hands over different centuries with practical exercises based on examples from the archive collections. For the Hands-on Humanities events, aimed at families and children, the fun factor was much higher with activities using quills and ink being much more at the fore.

Hands-on Humanities writing activity

Hands-on sessions for visits of students or special interest groups are not just about choosing items that are interesting for their content, but also considering the importance of the item as an object, the significance of which can only be fully experienced by handling them and experiencing their materiality. Thus the choice of items has to be framed by wanting to inspire and add that additional dimension – the “creative inspiration” – for those engaging with them. Two very good examples of this is a lovely nineteenth-century commonplace book that we hold, as well the letter books of the secretary of the Jewish Board of Guardians, a fascinating historical record of the administration of this organisation and its philanthropic work, but also an amazing object that physically manifests the working practices of the secretary.

Letterbook of the secretary of the Jewish Board of Guardians, 1901-9 [MS172/1/11/3]

The planning process for all events and sessions takes time, but with exhibitions we have at the very least a six-month lead in period for the curatorial work. The planning and development of this programme will have been begun much earlier since six months is the absolute minimum time required by standard agreements if material is to be loaned from other institutions, such as in the case of the Early Modern Image exhibition which included items from both the British Library and the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Private view for the Early Modern image exhibition

The choice of subjects for exhibitions in the Special Collections gallery can be tied to anniversaries or events at the University or to highlight particular facets of our collections. Choosing the right material is a key factor in making an exhibition work successfully. What is meant by the right material might be defined in a number of ways, such as its appropriateness for its intended audience; how it contributes to the narrative thread of the exhibition; how it supports a nuanced or balanced interpretation of a subject; whether it adds variety and interest to the display. One of the problems with exhibiting written archives is that viewing material as items in an exhibition gallery is fundamentally different from how it is usually used – written material is intended to be read as a piece of text and not looked at as an object. And whilst the content of written archives can be fascinating, they can look rather dull as objects. Finding material that is both relevant, of important content and visually interesting can be challenging. It also is important to take into account the gallery conditions, particularly the low lighting, that can make items difficult to read. Plus there is the added dimension that not everyone will be able to read the handwriting in some of the documents that we hold.

The issue of how much interpretation and exposition you should have with the objects in an exhibition can be a tricky one. Beverley Serrell Exhibit labels: an interpretative approach (Altamira Press, 1996) noted that “visitors should be allowed to feel they are there primarily to look and do, not to read”, but where you have an exhibition with lots of written archives and written interpretations it starts to be very text heavy. While you need to create a narrative thread and to explain the context of the material, this should never overwhelm the items themselves. I am a great advocate of space around items as this allows them to speak more for themselves and allows the audience to engage with them rather than with the captions.

As well as the practical issue of how much text to put on a caption or label for an item, there is also the intellectual issue of how you interpret material. How much prior knowledge of a subject do you assume? How complex is the language you are going to use? How do you tackle material that is controversial or offensive or could be interpreted in different ways?

Of course all this work in curating the exhibitions could not be completed without the significant input from colleagues undertaking conservation work and preparing material for exhibition, exhibition design and the myriad of other tasks that are involved in the process. As in so much of our work, it is a team effort and that is always very much in evidence in the last few days before an exhibition opens.

Item used in the Early Modern Image exhibition – Figure and drapery studies by Francis Cleyn, including a study of a young man in a helmet, possibly related to the depiction of Ajax in a tapestry of Ajax and Cassandra, now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
[MS 292 f. 19r]

Our next exhibition will be images from the Basque child refugee archive which will be on display in the Level 4 Gallery, 5 September – 28 October 2022. We also shall be running a panel discussion on 19 September: this coincides with events organised to mark the 85th anniversary of the arrival of the Basque children in Southampton. Do look out for further details.

Behind the scenes: Conservation of watercolours in the Broadlands Map Collection

Welcome to the third in our “behind the scenes” blogs where we shift focus to the work of Conservation and a project relating to the Broadlands Map Collection, part of the Broadlands Archive (MS62).

The Broadlands Map Collection consists of over 220 maps and plans from the mid 18th century to the mid 20th century. There is a wide range of media used, including pencil, iron gall ink, watercolour, printers ink and red India ink. The challenge of conserving this wonderful series is the range of media: the earlier maps are on vellum, with others on handmade paper, tracing paper, linen and finally machine made paper. The collection also includes very large items (2278mm x 478mm).

What all this material had in common was that they required cleaning, were tightly rolled and they had rips, tears and in some cases structural loss with general degradation.

The initial part of the conservation project was to survey the collection. From this survey a number of recommendations were highlighted, for the cleaning of the items, for the repair of small tears, and for the requirements of flat storage for ease of access.

Dry cleaning was undertaken with chemical smoke sponges and cosmetic sponges and then each item was placed between blotters with ever increasing weights to carry out dry flattening. Whilst items were undergoing this lengthy procedure a decision was made to explore the possibility of carrying out aqueous cleaning of the architectural watercolours and MBMAP57 was chosen as a test subject. Conservator Sonia Bradford talks about this work below.

The Broadlands map survey identified that several architectural watercolours not only needed cleaning, but being tightly rolled and in some cases damaged, were not easily accessible. These items were initially dry cleaned with chemical and cosmetic sponges and left to gently flatten between clean blotters under increasing weights since July 2017. After two years of flattening the watercoloured items were assessed with the following conclusion:

• They were still curled and difficult to handle
• They still contained ingrained dirt
• The pH of the stiff paper was acidic

Aqueous treatments would address the above problems, however the correct treatment would need to be carried out to avoid any detrimental or permanent damage to the object. As a result of this four watercolours were chosen to undergo various controlled aqueous treatments to ascertain the best course of action for the remaining collection. Below is a summary of the investigation and final results obtained to carry out successful conservation of this lovely collection. BRMAP57 consists of 4 elevation views of a proposed design of the bailiffs house at Broadlands. (N.E.S. & W) – they are of the same size, paper and watercolour palette.

North elevation

South Elevation

West Elevation

East Elevation

Fugitivity of the inks were spot tested with water and all results including the red line border were clear.

Humidification using a Cedar Box

The North (N) and East (E) views were placed in a cedar humidification box consisting of a layer of wet fleece placed on the Corian® studio table, then Gortex® (shiny side up), the object (with the illustration side up) and the glass top placed on the cedar box.

The documents were still heavily curled and therefore glass weights were placed at each end to hold the item in place until the humidification had sufficiently relaxed the paper. Unfortunately the pressure of the glass weights led to increased water absorption in that area and tide lines were beginning to form. Due to this, the objects immediately underwent a blotter wash to eliminate any permanent tide lines and take advantage of the paper in a relaxed state.

Blotter Wash

A series of controlled blotter washes were set up for the North and East views to remove ingrained dirt and the possibility of reducing acidity.

Felt was placed on the Corian® studio table with a layer of Melinex® to protect the felt. 2 x wet blotters and 1 x damp blotter placed on the Melinex® followed by the object (illustration side up). Thin Bondina® (17gsm), to protect the document and a perspex weight if appropriate.

If the object dried out too much the object was mist sprayed, and as discolouration appeared on the damp blotter this was replaced. pH tests were carried out throughout the process as the documents were now wet enough to use pH test strips (2.0 – 9.0)                                                               

1^st Blotter      2^nd blotter

North View                                        4.3                         4.4

East View                                            4.3                         4.4

Fugitivity of particularly the red border line was checked using a digital microscope during the washing process. There was no reaction/movement to the red line during the blotter wash.

1. Red margin before humidification

2. Red margin after blotter wash

Both documents continued to absorb moisture unevenly on the damp blotter and a decision was made to spray both papers until wet through and then re-placed on the damp blotter for impurities to be pulled through. This was achievable due to the stability of the watercolours/inks.

After half an hour the wet blotters were saturated with tap water again and the damp blotter changed for a new one. Quite a lot of discolouration (especially the left band of the North view) had pulled through onto the damp blotter.

3. Objects drying under Bondina® and perspex sheet on Corian® surface

After the first blotter wash it was decided to remove the felts and to only use the Corian® work tables as a base to give an even contact and increased pressure with the damp blotters and a Perspex sheet on top of the Bondina® protective layer. The second blotter was left for 1 hour with fugitivity tests being carried out and a pH test completed at the end of the wash.

The second blotter wash showed more discolouration due to the flat surface contact and increased pressure from the perspex sheet.

If no further treatment was to be carried out, I would replace the damp blotter for a third time/until no further discolouration of the damp blotters.

Float Wash

A white photographic tray placed on a flat surface and filled to a third with cold tap water (almost pH neutral).

The object was placed on thin Bondina® and a dahlia spray mist to relax the object. The Bondina® and object (image side up) lifted up and placed or ‘floated’ on the water in the tray.

Small pieces of thin blotter were prepared for use in case of any water ‘pooling on the surface’. Cold water float wash carried out for 15 minutes and then the water changed for a second cold water float wash. Once the water showed discolouration it was changed. The red margin line was still stable with no movement therefore a warm float wash (approx. 30^oc) was carried out for 15 minutes.

N.B. the object should be spray misted if it becomes dry or if water pools on the surface of the object thin blotter strips can remove the excessive water.                 

3 x cold float wash                    1 x warm float wash

pH after 3^rd wash                             pH after warm wash

North View                                         6                                                             6.1

East View                                            7                                                              7

The objects were left to air dry on Bondina® and blotter overnight. If no further treatment were to be undertaken then the objects would be dried gradually with new blotters under a Corian® board to ensure even flattening.

Full Immersion Wash

Both North and East views were fully immersed on Bondina® supports in cold water for 15 minutes in a white photographic tray.

The full immersion wash is an effective way of ‘washing away’ any remaining impurities/dirt/acidity.

An alkaline buffer wash was discussed but not carried out for two reasons;

• A large proportion of acidity had been washed out during the various washes and a further alkaline wash would not particularly benefit the pH enough to carry out a 30 minute buffer wash.
• More importantly it was decided not to compromise a possible ‘colour change’ from the alkaline buffer due to the reaction it can cause with watercolours.

Full Immersion wash (pH test strip)

North View                                                        7.5

East View                                                            7.5

Results

The Humidification process was time consuming, lengthy to set up and due to the uneven moisture absorption the treatment was adapted midway (by spraying the paper until wet through)

The blotter washes again took a period of time to set up and carry out, this would be even longer if doing repeated blotter changes until no further discolouration appeared on the damp blotter. This was the first opportunity to carry out a pH reading and even after the second blotter the reading was still highly acidic at pH 4.4

The advantage of the blotter wash was the controlled element of the treatment. Due to minimum water being absorbed, but a strong ‘pull’ of discolouration impurities the object could be successfully cleaned and a low risk of damage/fugitive inks/colour change becoming a problem as the object could be easily retrieved and dried at any given point.

This would be an effective treatment if the document showed an acceptable pH level or if the document needed to be carefully monitored due to fragility/suspect fugitivity or any other reason where the procedure may need to be stopped immediately.

The float washes appear to have been effective partly because they removed a significant amount of discolouration from the object, however the pH acidity didn’t effectively change from the first blotter reading. If carrying out aqueous treatments on several documents I think that a 90 minute – 2 hour float wash would not only remove a substantial proportion of discolouration but would also improve the pH reading as the float washes were fairly short in the tests. The float wash also gives a level of control during the process and a full immersion wash can still be carried out if desirable.

Full immersion wash proved the most effective in ‘washing out’ acidity with the most improved readings and leaving the document with an acceptable neutral pH level. The water didn’t show any discolouration, but this is probably due to the fact that the item had already undergone multiple washes.

South and West Views

Due to the lengthy set up and process of the humidification cedar box and the various blotter washes and the disappointing results of the pH readings these processes were omitted and the objects were mist sprayed and float washed. The controlled washing on the North and East views had proven that the watercolour media was stable and that these two views were unlikely to react any differently. The float wash still being a controlled method of aqueous washing.

Aqueous Treatment

Both the South and West views were float washed in exactly the same way as the North and East views (see earlier). The only difference being that the items were float washed for 90 minutes and the surface of the object was mist sprayed where appropriate. A full immersion cold wash for 20 minutes was also carried out.

pH Tests                          

Before treatment                 After float wash       After full immersion

South View                        

4.3                                                         6.3                                         7

West view                          

4.4                                                         6.4                                         7.5

North elevation before treatment

North elevation after treatment

Conclusion

1. The continuous testing and controlled aqueous treatments of these watercolours has ensured that the colours and margins have not been affected. The results of the float washes and full immersion wash has significantly reduced the acidity to an acceptable neutral pH.

2. A further advantage is the object is now flat rather than tightly rolled. Several of the objects in the collection have suffered large rips and damage/detachment of tabs and map inserts from being rolled and un-rolled unprofessionally – before becoming part of the Special Collections!

3. Repairs can be carried out whilst still wet including large tears or weakened areas being lined with spider tissue and wheat starch paste.

4. Objects can be used for exhibitions without requiring substantial weights to combat curled and rolled items. Much lower risk of damage whilst handling flattened and repaired documents.

5. The objects can be stored flat between acid free tissue in archival boxes keeping them appropriately preserved with easier access for both curators and researchers who need to handle them.

We hope that you have found this glimpse into the work of the conservation section of interest. Do look out for our other behind the scenes blogs.

Behind the scenes: cataloguing work on Rare Books

As part of this month’s “Behind the scenes” series, we take a look at the Hartley Library’s older books and the surprises that can often be found within them.

The publication and use of ebooks has many advantages over traditional print media, including instant and wide-reaching access, readily available updates, and, of course, freedom from lugging heavy textbooks around!

However, although ebooks offer practicality and convenience, they definitely lack certain qualities that makes opening an older, printed book such a fascinating experience. In Archives and Special Collections, we’re in the process of transferring books published before 1850 from the main library shelves to the Archives strongrooms, where the controlled environment aids their preservation. This has given us plenty of opportunity to examine some of our older items; many of these have been library books since the earliest days of the Hartley Institution.

We make sure that the online catalogue record for each book reflects its new status as a Rare Book, which includes adding links to online copies where available; we then add the books to the shelves in the Rare Book sequence. We also, where possible, note a book’s provenance by looking for bookplates and inscriptions; wondering what stories lie behind these brief glimpses into history is the fun part of Rare Book cataloguing!

Well-known Southampton schoolmaster, deacon and author John Bullar (1777-1864) was a lifelong friend of Henry Robinson Hartley, and was instrumental in the decision to use Hartley’s bequest to the city of Southampton for educational purposes. Bullar lived just long enough to see the opening of the Hartley Institution in 1862, and, after his death, his sons donated their father’s collection of approximately 400 books on theology, languages, literature and history to the Institution library.

Buller bookplate

I always think he looks a little formidable here and wonder what he was like as a teacher. Was he strict, or lenient? Were his pupils intimidated by him? Hopefully the fact that he had six children of his own meant that he was fond of youngsters and wasn’t quite as frightening as I imagine!

Charles Boswell must have been a good scholar: whilst at Harrow School he was awarded a book of poetry attributed to Theocritus for Diligentiae Praemium (“the reward of industry”). I can think of a few things I’d prefer as a prize than a book of poetry in Greek with Latin commentary, but perhaps Charles was thrilled! The pages of the book are quite crisp and clean which suggests that he didn’t spend too long thumbing through it, though whether that was because it was a cherished possession, or whether he had no interest in the subject, is a fact lost to history.

Codicum manuscriptorum ope (1844) Rare Books PA 4442

There’s little doubt that the original owner of Nouveau vocabulaire de l’Académie Française valued it highly; his note to a potential thief makes me wonder whether he’d had previous experience of misplacing his books:

Nouveau vocabulaire de l’Académie Française, 1836 [Rare Books PC 2625]

Si par hasard je le perdais, celui qui le trouvenir aurait labontéde me la rendre. S’il ne me le rend pas, je le mets au nombre des scelerots (“If by chance I lost it, whoever found it would be kind enough to return it to me. If he doesn’t give it back to me, I count him among the scoundrels”).

This note is dated 1838, but a partially obscured pencilled note underneath suggests that the book was bought again in 1844 by J. A. Oates. Was the previous owner prone to losing his books, or was he the unfortunate victim of a theft? Perhaps he just decided that he no longer needed a French dictionary and sold it to a bookseller! The book also contains bookplates of Edward Oates and William Edward Oates: I’m sure that none of this famous family were the scoundrels who perhaps stole this book away.

Occasionally, treasures such as letters or pressed flowers can be found within the pages of the books. A letter from Lucy Galton to her friend Frances Armstrong either meant so much to Frances that she kept it in her copy of I quattro poeti italiani, or maybe she was using it as a book mark, forgot where she’d put it and the letter went unreplied! Hopefully regardless of how the letter came to be in the book, the friendship survived; Lucy writes self-deprecatingly about a visit to the opticians so they were clearly comfortable enough with each other to share such jokes:

I quattro poeti italiani, 1836 [Rare Books PQ 4212]

I spent an age at the opticians fitting my wide-apart eyes & bridgeless nose with proper spectacles. They certainly don’t spare pains to get all exactly right.

I also find myself regularly wondering how these previous owners of our library stock would feel to know that their books would one day be examined, and pondered over, roughly 200 years in their future. I imagine they’d be delighted, but perhaps that’s only because I know that I would be!

Ebooks provide no opportunity to spark the imagination in this way, and library books aren’t to be written on, but if you own a book that has special meaning for you, why not leave a note within its pages, as an interesting discovery for future readers?

Behind the scenes: a day in the life of an archivist

This month we’re posting a series of “Behind the scenes…” blogs which will delve into the world of archives, rare book cataloguing and conservation. Anyone who’s had the opportunity to come for a tour of the Special Collections accommodation will know that the searchroom is just the very tip of the iceberg. So for anyone wondering what actually goes on behind that white door, read on…

Behind the scenes at the Archives

To say that I dread the “So, what do you do for work…?” question is an exaggeration, but if I’m feeling tired I must confess I just say “I work in a Library” and leave it at that. I’ve been employed as an qualified archivist for over 14 years and I love my varied and interesting job but I feel most people have very little concept of what I actually do. The best mis-hearings I’ve had over the years have to be “alchemist” and “arsonist” – I don’t remember the careers counselling suggesting either of those!

So what actually do I do? My job can be split into three main areas: archival arrangement and description; searchroom service and outreach work.

An archivist at work!

Archival arrangement and description

A key part of my job is cataloguing our amazing collections. Unlike the rest of the Library, Archives and Special Collections offers a mediated service. You can’t just browse our strongrooms like you would shelves of open access books; you have to look at the lists and order specific files. And for this to work well, it means our lists have to be good. The natural consequence is that archival arrangement and description is the foundation stone of everything we do. When a collection is first deposited it may need rearranging if the “original order” has been disturbed or is unhelpful. We are also required to produce a finding aid to assist the researcher in locating the relevant files.

Fetching material from a strongroom

Last year we acquired our new Archives Catalogue (a browser-based cataloguing module called Epexio produced by the team at Metadatis). It has been a genuine joy to work on this project as the system offers full hierarchical awareness in search and display; additionally, all records are indexed by Google. Now the bulk of our catalogues have been ingested it just leaves us with years of refinement and fine-tuning to give the our users the best possible search experience.

Epexio our new Archive Catalogue

Modern technology offers so much – we can produce a preservation copy to preserve a fragile original. We can make documents easily available to people on the other side of the world. But it all still falls down without an effective catalogue. A digital copy is still of no use if you can’t read the handwriting or identify the context and content of the item. This however doesn’t mean that we’re ignoring the opportunities offered by technology: our Digital Library, for example, is enabling greater access to our holdings. There are currently two archive collections accessible: the records of the Anglo-Jewish Association, up to 1945 and correspondence between Henry Temple, third Viscount Palmerston, and Sir S.Canning, Sir G.C.Lewis, William Lamb, second Viscount Melbourne, and Lord Ponsonby. It is possible to either browse through these collections or, as catalogue records have been written to go with every image, conduct detailed searches.

To supplement our finding aids we produce research guides to help users navigate our collections. I’ve produced the following guides: “My ancestor worked on the Broadlands Estate”: Genealogical material in the Broadlands Archives” and World War I. Our latest venture, to introduce our shiny new catalogue, has been video tutorials which we post on YouTube.

Searchroom service

Another key part of my job is the searchroom service. If you book to come in and look at your material someone – maybe me! – will be there to issue it to you and help with any questions. The items in our custody are unique and irreplaceable and it’s part of our job to make sure this material is handled with care. And yes we are there to help! If you’re new to archives and feeling unsure you’ll be pleased to hear that my favourite researchers are the ones that need a little help navigating the catalogues or reading a tricky word.

Before we issue a file to a researcher we weigh it and keep a record in the issue log

Many of our researchers are not based in the UK and not all are able to visit so we deal daily with research enquiries sent to us via email. Some of the most interesting and challenging enquiries relate to the Norwood collection (formerly known as the Jews’ Hospital and Orphan Asylum). It is frustrating when you don’t find records (some things just weren’t preserved) but bittersweet when you do as: as one might imagine, some of the stories are emotionally challenging.

New for 2022, and partly as a result of COVID-19, we now offer virtual appointments. Researchers can order up to 3 items to be viewed during a hour long appointment facilitated by a visualizer via Microsoft Teams.  It’s very exciting to be able to offer remote access in this manner; so far we’ve received bookings from America and Asia as well as the UK and the feedback has been overwhelming positive.

As well as supporting individual researchers we also run research sessions for student and external groups and well as acting as supervisors for the “group project” model undertaken by second year history students.

Outreach work

So, finally, the outreach work. This is something which has changed significantly over the last decade. When I started at the University there was no social media. We now produce a blog every week and try to tweet several times a week. Since COVID our events calendar has changed somewhat. I’ve helped to organise several conferences and exhibitions over the years and we hope to resume the in person events in the near future.

Should this post have sparked your interest in a possible career in the sector, please take a look at the Archives and Records Association website.