‘Derbyshire Day’ is an annual celebration which recognises all the things which make this county special. If you haven't heard of Derbyshire Day then you can be forgiven - the day hasn’t been going for that long. The first Derbyshire Day took place in 2006 when a public vote decided that 22nd September should be … Continue reading Happy Derbyshire Day!
Conservation
Rescuing a framed photograph
Do you have framed old photographs hanging on your walls? Many of us do, without realising how damaging framing can be. When we give the advice to frame copies of old photographs rather than the original images, we mainly do so because photographs react strongly to light and they will fade considerably over time. But … Continue reading Rescuing a framed photograph
More online events from the record office
We are pleased to announce another three free online talks for the new year. Our first talk is our ever popular ‘Introduction to the Record Office’ – find out who we are and the services we offer, the collections we hold and how you can access them, whether in person or remotely. Talk: ‘Introduction to … Continue reading More online events from the record office
Repairing the Richardson letters
In our Franklin collection is an album containing about a hundred letters, mainly written by Sir John Franklin (1786-1847) to his good friend and fellow arctic explorer, Sir John Richardson (1787-1865). The letters had been stuck into the album with a shiny, translucent tape, which had also been used to carry out repairs. In order … Continue reading Repairing the Richardson letters
Repairing the Arctic
I've just cleaned and repaired this amazing map of the Arctic; it's from an 1848 printed copy of the instructions Sir John Franklin was given for his expedition. This is the repaired map:
Packaging the packaging
When I carry out preservation training sessions, I always emphasize the importance of archival packaging: it protects our (and your) records from over-handling, keeps them out of light, provides a barrier for rodents, insects, mould and water, and stops them getting covered in layers of dust. The 'archival' bit matters, as that means the quality … Continue reading Packaging the packaging
Two tales of self-adhesive tape
Next time you meet a paper conservator, just mention the words 'self-adhesive tape' and watch their struggle to retain some self-control. It is the bane of our profession, the tapes used by very well-meaning people, who were trying to look after or even save important, precious documents and ended up destroying them in the process. … Continue reading Two tales of self-adhesive tape
Sir John Franklin’s signature
After the disappearance of Sir John Franklin in 1845 his wife, Lady Jane Franklin, was inundated with requests for copies of his signature. She responded by cutting out his signatures from letters he'd sent and posting these to the grateful collectors. The damage this did is immediately obvious in this example, a letter Sir John … Continue reading Sir John Franklin’s signature
An unusual incunable
An incunable is a book that was printed before the year 1500, when the printing press was still a new invention. Most surviving ones are now in specialist libraries or private collections, but we’re fortunate to have one example here at the Record Office: Lives of the Saints volume II, by Plutarch (D5424/1). It was … Continue reading An unusual incunable
Cricket in Derbyshire – have you got a story to tell?
Lien and I visited the County Cricket Ground in Derby on Friday the 19th, to meet heritage enthusiasts from a range of cricket clubs across the county. We were there to offer some practical advice to clubs that look after their own archives, covering the best ways of managing and caring for old records. If … Continue reading Cricket in Derbyshire – have you got a story to tell?