Sometimes an item comes into the Conservation Room that has pretty much everything going wrong for it and as a Conservator your heart sinks (but then you get a bit excited because it’s good to have a challenge!) This volume was one of those. The paper was acidic and brittle, 141 of the 430 leaves… Read more Rebinding the Rental: conserving the Rental of the Estate of The Marquis of Donegall, 1864
In a recent blog we looked at what sort of information title deeds can tell you. In this blog, one of our volunteers, Louise Haywood, has explored this theme in more detail, looking at a recent purchase made by Dorset Archives Trust… — Nowadays we have a conveyance to transfer property or land between a seller… Read more Marriage and Property in 16th Century Kimmeridge
‘Royal Weymouth’ is a four-volume book that we hold within our collection. Like ‘The Extra Illustrated Edition of Hutchins’, it has been put together by A.M. Broadley, but instead of grangerising one book, these volumes are based around several accounts of the Royal visits to Weymouth by King George III and his family. — The… Read more Royal Weymouth Volume 3: A Pardon and a Petite Princess
As archivists we are often taking in documents long after the events they relate to have passed, sometimes hundreds of years later! But as the way we create and store documents has changed we have changed our practices to include more proactive collecting. Modern media, including digital files, are much more fragile than paper and parchment. Risks include file… Read more The Digital Problems: Capturing the Coronavirus
The invention of photography coincided with an unprecedented advancement of technology and science, transport and communication. It was also a time of great inequality, poverty and the desire for social reform. Photography allowed the documentation of all of this as ‘real-life’ images, having previously relied on artists interpretations. It changed the way people perceived themselves and the world around them. We are all likely… Read more Archival Types – Photographs
“Unique” “Unprecedented” “Strange” — Since Dorset History Centre closed its doors to the public on the 20th March in the face of the looming global pandemic, the world has changed. How we live and work is now very different to how it was just two months ago. In April, in conjunction with Lighthouse, Poole, we… Read more Corona Diaries
There are a number of resources online to be able to view modern and historic maps of Dorset. In this blog we will explain a little about how to access some of these maps and offer some tips on how to make the most out of your searches. Dorset Explorer DorsetExplorer is Dorset Council’s online… Read more Online maps: Where are they and how can you use them?
In the second of our Preserving Archives blog, we’re following on from our tips on handling, packaging and storing Great Aunt Bessy’s birth certificate and now we’re going to talk about digitising, displaying and repairing your precious archives. Digitising Thinking about digitising some of your archive is a great idea. It means you can… Read more Preserving Archives: Part 2
We are all likely to have some sort of archive at home, whether it’s photographs and letters passed down by Nanny Jo or our own collection of school records and concert tickets, these are items that make up our collective past and they are worth preserving for future generations. Few of us will have rooms… Read more Preserving Archives: Part 1
As Mental Health Awareness Week rolls round again, our Community Engagment Officer, Maria wanted to share a few experiences, reflections and plans from Dorset History Centre. As you may be aware, DHC cares for the records of Herrison Hospital, formerly the County Asylum. These records have been fully catalogued over the course of the last year, thanks… Read more Mental Health Awareness Week 2020
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