Liberty, Parity and Justice at the Hull History Centre

This month we are marking our 100th Collections of the Month feature by highlighting descriptions for the records of pressure groups held by Hull University Archives at Hull History Centre. The records of pressure groups and campaigns represent some of the most significant and substantial archives held by Hull University Archives, They number around 40 collections from small, short-lived, groups to major continuing organisations. The most significant and substantial archive is that of Liberty, which recording the continuing development of civil rights in Britain over the past 75 years. photo: British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection marchers, copyright © Hull History Centre.

Firefighters

This month we focus on firefighters, highlighting descriptions for the records of fire and rescue and civil defence services, with an empasis on descriptions for the papers of men and women working for these services during the Second World War. Illustration: photograph of fire engine, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk, from Geograph British Isles; copyright © Keith Evans and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Designs on Delivery: GPO Posters from 1930 to 1960: Online extras

University of the Arts London Archives and Special Collections Centre, in collaboration with The British Postal Museum & Archive, presents Designs on Delivery: GPO Posters from 1930 to 1960. The exhibition at the Well Gallery - and online here on the Archives Hub - focuses on a period when the Post Office was at the cutting edge of poster design and mass communication. It explores how the GPO translated, often complex, messages to the public in order to educate them about the services offered, by using text, image, and colour. The Archives Hub website now has online extras: exclusively online, an additional eight posters representing the range of themes adopted by the General Post Office in their advertising. Illustration: John Armstrong (1893-1973) 'Mail Coach A.D. 1784' (1935) reference The Royal Mail Archive POST 110/3175; copyright © Royal Mail Group Ltd and courtesy of The British Postal Museum & Archive.

Designs on Delivery: GPO Posters from 1930 to 1960

University of the Arts London Archives and Special Collections Centre, in collaboration with The British Postal Museum & Archive, presents Designs on Delivery: GPO Posters from 1930 to 1960. The exhibition at the Well Gallery - and online here on the Archives Hub - focuses on a period when the Post Office was at the cutting edge of poster design and mass communication. It explores how the PO translated, often complex, messages to the public in order to educate them about the services offered, by using text, image, and colour. As part of the exhibition, the Well Gallery will be showing on loop Night Mail (1936) which the British Film Institute calls "one of the most popular and instantly recognised films in British film history ... one of the most critically acclaimed films ... [of the] documentary film movement". Illustration: poster designed by Pat Keely (died 1970) for the film Night Mail, reference The Royal Mail Archive POST 109/377; copyright © Royal Mail Group Ltd and courtesy of The British Postal Museum & Archive.

The Spanish Civil War

In 1936, a military revolt against the Spanish government led to a war involving Nazi Germany and fascist Italy, and brought anti-fascist volunteers to Spain from around the world.in defence of democracy. This month we highlight descriptions for the papers of political campaigners, historians, and International Brigades volunteers, the records of aid organisations, and descriptions for collections of posters, photographs, and interviews with veterans of the Spanish Civil War. llustration: drawing by Basque refugee children of an air raid; reproduced by permission of People's History Museum.

Pubs and Inns

As we start to enjoy the beautiful British summer time, here at the Archives Hub our thoughts often turn to beer and beer gardens. We thought we ought to celebrate this by devoting our August Collections of the Month feature to pubs and all things hostelry and alcohol related. We are highlighting descriptions for the records of breweries, licensed premises, and trade associations, plus the papers of pub users - and temperance campaigners. Illustration: The Hub (no relation) pub, Brighton. Photo © Simon Carey and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.

Collections of the Month: Top 10

Here are the current ten most popular Collections of the Month features:

1. Dig for Victory! (Nov 04) Archival Awareness with help from the Women's Land Army
2. The Great War (Sep 04)
3. Forensics: a partial print of the history of forensic science (Jun 09)
4. The Big Draw (Oct 02) all kinds of drawings can be found in archives
5. Interpreting Shakespeare (Apr 03)
6. Miners' Strike 1984-1985 (Mar 04)
7. Railway history: 200 years of the steam engine (Jun 04)
8. Fairs and Circus History (Oct 08)
9. Trees (Dec 03)
10. Stanley Kubrick (Jul 08)

Illustration: Woodcraft Folk photo copyright © National Co-operative Archive. From Around the Campfire (Aug 07).

Forensics

This June's Collections of the Month examines a partial print of the history of forensic science, shining a light on the descriptions for the papers of physicians, pharmacists, chemists and toxicologists involved in criminal investigations, and records relating to forgery and violent crimes. Illustration copyright © 2009 The Archives Hub.

Steve Cohen

This month we are highlighting Steve Cohen's collection which he deposited at the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre in 2001.

Steve Cohen was a lawyer and anti deportation campaigner who dedicated his life to anti-racism and anti-Semitism, particularly the welfare of immigrants and refugees, and those seeking the right to remain in the UK.

There are links to related materials, mainly in the areas of race relations and immigration.

For more information on the Steve Cohen collection, please contact the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre on 0161 275 2920. We'd like to thank Julie Devonald of the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre, who wrote the text for this month's description.

Image of a demo rally poster provided by and copyright the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre.

Tuberculosis

This month we've been focussing on the epidemic disease tuberculosis or T.B., once known as 'consumption'. We highlight the records of hospitals and sanatoriums, the papers of medical professionals, campaigners and organisations, and victims of the disease; illustrated with a range of photographs from Lothian Health Services Archive, The Women's Library, the People's History Museum, and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow. Photo: Illuminated tram-car advertising, 1957, part of Glasgow Corporation's tuberculosis campaign. Image Wellcome Library, London and copyright © Wellcome Trust, reproduced under Creative Commons licence.

Special Feature: Manchester Histories Festival

This month 'Collections of the Month' highlights the Manchester Histories Festival. The Manchester Histories Festival is being held in Manchester Town Hall on March 21st 2009, 10am - 5pm. The Festival aims to show that there are many stories woven through the city’s past and looks like it’s going to be a fun-filled day out for all the family. Nine Hub Contributors are involved in the Festival. This month's special feature highlights how they are involved and includes links to their collections on the Hub and to their websites. Contributors involved are: • Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre, the University of Manchester • The John Rylands University Library, The University of Manchester • Labour History Archives • Manchester Museum • MMU Special Collections • National Co-operative Archives • Royal Northern College of Music Archives and Special Collections • University of Salford, Archives and Special Collections • Wellcome Library You can find links to their Hub contributors' pages from the March Collection of the Month page or from our link to the repositories. The page was created with input from all of the contributors involved and Mari Lowe from the Manchester Histories Festival. MHF website found at http://www.manchesterhistoriesfestival.org.uk/. Image: Photo of Manchester's skyline. Public domain image sourced from Wikimedia Commons.

Charles Darwin and Evolution

This year sees the 200th anniversary of the birth of the geologist and naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1892) and the 150th anniversary of the publication of his revolutionary book On the Origin of Species, which explained his theory of natural selection and evolution. Image: Detail of a design by Tom Eckersley (1914-1995) for the World Wildlife Fund (now WWF-UK), showing species in danger of extinction - due to some very un-natural selection. Image provided by University of the Arts London with all rights reserved by the owners: the Tom Eckersley Estate and London College of Communication. Image taken by Graham Goldwater, with rights reserved by University of the Arts London, contact: archive-enquiries@arts.ac.uk, 02075 149 335.

The Welsh in Patagonia

This month we have our first bi-lingual pages, as look at the founding of a Welsh-speaking settlement in Argentina in the mid-19th century. Elen Wyn Simpson, Assistant Archivist at Bangor University, has provided an introduction (in both Welsh and English) to the highlighted collections, and four striking photographs of the settlers. There are also links to related websites and some suggested reading. Above: Building a road to the Andes, near 'Afon y Mynach' in 1888. At the left, in a white coat, stands Llwyd ap Iwan, who was murdered in 1909, some say by Butch Cassidy and Sundance Kid. Photo copyright © Bangor University.

Typewriters and Office Machines

For Collections of the Month this December, we look at typewriters and their impact on office workers in collections at The Women's Library and other collections around the UK. Throughout the 20th century female typists were a key part of office life, resulting in an uneasy relationship between the workforce and the machine. The Women's Library have provided an introduction and some suggested reading, and there are links to related websites. And the subject of a previous Collections of The Month also gets a mention: Betty Boothroyd, Speaker of the House of Commons, 1992-2000, at one time worked as a secretary. Illustration: Untitled [typewriter covered with beads], 2003, by Brigitte Williams, University for the Creative Arts at Farnham. Photo courtesy of VADS

Collections of the Month: Tom Eckersley

This month we celebrate the work of Tom Eckersley (1914-1995), one of the foremost graphic designers of the twentieth century working in Britain. With an introduction by Karyn Stuckey, Archivist at University of the Arts London, and illustrated with 14 designs and drawings from their Tom Eckersley collection, including poster designs for Guinness, the World Wildlife Fund, and RoSPA. There are also links to selected websites and a some suggested reading. Above: Image provided by University of the Arts London with all rights reserved by the owners: the Tom Eckersley Estate and London College of Communication. Image of poster taken by Graham Goldwater. With rights reserved by University of the Arts London, contact: archive-enquiries@arts.ac.uk, 02075 149 335.

The Big Draw 2008: The Big Wheel

This October the Archives Hub took part in The Big Draw. Thank you for sending your drawings on the themes of Fairgrounds and Playgrounds or Cycling and Recycling. Above: Research drawing of ferris wheel for the film Artificial Intelligence: AI, originally developed by Stanley Kubrick and realised by Steven Spielberg after Kubrick's death in 1999. From the Stanley Kubrick Archive. Image provided by University of the Arts London with rights reserved by the Stanley Kubrick Estate and reproduced with their permission. Submitted by Karyn Stuckey, Archivist.

The Big Wheel: Fourth Spin

This October the Archives Hub is taking part in The Big Draw. We want you to make drawings on the themes of Fairgrounds and Playgrounds, or Cycling, or Recycling. Scan or photograph your drawing, and then email the digital version to us. We'll post your pics here each Friday. And we'll give an Archives Hub notepad and propelling pencil to everyone who sends us a drawing, and the first name out of the cycle helmet will receive colouring pens, a pencil case and a notepad - all made from recycled car tyres! If you send us your postal address, we won't use it for anything else. 1. Windmill and bicycle This is a detail of a calendar for 1950 from the Cyclists' Touring Club archive. Photograph copyright © CTC, reproduced with kind permission, and courtesy of the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick. Submitted by Paddy: "I've recycled this from a Collections of the Month about cycling and some other things."

The Big Wheel: Third Spin

This October the Archives Hub is taking part in The Big Draw. We want you to make drawings on the themes of Fairgrounds and Playgrounds, or Cycling, or Recycling. Scan or photograph your drawing, and then email the digital version to us. We'll post your pics here each Friday. And we'll give an Archives Hub notepad and propelling pencil to everyone who sends us a drawing, and the first name out of the cycle helmet will receive colouring pens, a pencil case and a notepad - all made from recycled car tyres! If you send us your postal address, we won't use it for anything else. 1. An Oxford bicycle Here's a drawing of an Oxford bicycle. Submitted by Elizabeth Martin of Nuffield College Library.

The Big Wheel: Second Spin

This October the Archives Hub is taking part in The Big Draw. We want you to make drawings on the themes of Fairgrounds and Playgrounds, or Cycling, or Recycling. Scan or photograph your drawing, and then email the digital version to us. We'll post your pics here each Friday. And we'll give an Archives Hub notepad and propelling pencil to everyone who sends us a drawing, and the first name out of the cycle helmet will receive colouring pens, a pencil case and a notepad - all made from recycled car tyres! If you send us your postal address, we won't use it for anything else. 1. Cyclist This is a detail of a RoSPA leaflet from 1954. Photo courtesy the University of Liverpool Library, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents. Copyright © RoSPA. Submitted by Paddy: "I've recycled this from the Collections of the Month about cycling." 2. Mr Pickwick Label for the Pickwick fairground music LP 'Radcliffe's Steam Carnival on Tour'. Submitted by Paddy: "I found this in a charity shop years ago. The label includes a drawing of Mr Pickwick, so it still counts!"

The Big Wheel: First Spin

This October the Archives Hub is taking part in The Big Draw. We want you to make drawings on the themes of Fairgrounds or Playgrounds, or Cycling or Recycling. Scan or photograph your drawing, and then email the digital version to us. We'll post your pics here each Friday. And we'll give an Archives Hub notepad and propelling pencil to everyone who sends us a drawing, and the first name out of the cycle helmet will receive colouring pens, a pencil case and a notepad - all made from recycled car tyres! If you send us your postal address, we won't use it for anything else. 1. Swing Ride Silhouette Above: Drawing by Amanda Hill, formerly of the Archives Hub, and now relocated to Canada. This pic links to a larger version. Submitted by Amanda:"Mike says it looks like a pizza, but then he's a complete philistine." 2. Recycle Above: Quick drawing by Paddy of the Archives Hub. Submitted by Paddy: "I was going to try the Manchester Wheel but it looks a bit difficult... "