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Volunteer Research and Archive Group member Lilian C writes:
I met up with a group of really interesting people at the Central Library in Liverpool for an induction to the History of Place project.
They have incredible artefacts belonging to Sir Charles Santley. They included a beautifully delicate woven hair bracelet and his pipe still stuffed with tobacco!
It was very friendly and informal, with some tasty refreshments, and a PowerPoint presentation. I feel it’s going to be an interesting experience, finding out about the history of disability and how disabled people were treated in the past. What is especially interesting are the numerous ‘titles’ that were given to describe disabled people – often these were more than insulting – I’m hopeful that times have changed for the better.
Old books and maps at the archive
Going on a tour around the ‘back stage’ of the records office was quite exciting; looking through old archives, shelves full to bursting with books and files dating from 18th century.
Incredible artefacts
The memorabilia on show in glass cabinets in the foyer were fascinating. They have incredible artefacts belonging to Sir Charles Santley. They included a beautifully delicate woven hair bracelet and his pipe still stuffed with tobacco!
In storage are some ancient books and archived photographs from the likes of Chambre Hardman, a famous photographer who lived in Rodney Street, Liverpool. There are kept in temperature and quality controlled area.
A quick visit to the book binding and restoration area was really interesting too. There were hand drawn maps from 18th century plus a beautiful hand painted advert for a haulage company. They all needed a lot of tlc! This is an area I would love to work in although I’m sure it is very time consuming but satisfying task.
Great feedback
The group seemed to be very enthusiastic about the whole of the project and left with lots of ideas and suggestions of what to look into before our next meeting.
This project looks like it’s going to be a great experience.