Clare, our Collections Assistant in Digital Preservation has decided to move on at the beginning of November. Over the course of the last four years, she has contributed to a wide range of projects and helped us with processing a lot of our digital records. Before she left, we asked her to write us one final blog, choosing a few of her highlights from the past few years…
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After nearly 4 years of contributing to blog posts and working with digital, and some physical collections, I have been asked what have been among my favourites. That is such a tough choice as there are so many unique and varied collections here at the Dorset History Centre!
Frink
The one that has had the biggest impact has been the archive of Dorset sculptor Elisabeth Frink (D-FRK). During lockdown I worked with the team scanning and digitising images for identification. It was a privilege to get to see a lot of personal and professional photographs. I came to like Frink’s bold style of sculpture, and the various large head sculptures became firm favourites.
It has been interesting to see aspects of the collection being used in the recently aired BBC Fake or Fortune series. If you are not familiar with Elisabeth Frink’s work, visit D-FRK and have a look at the catalogue for the extensive archive.
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Christmas – Herbert and Beales
Christmas has always been a time of year that has excited me; the anticipation and sense of celebration, so writing a blog on Christmas in 1960s Weymouth was a perfect fit. It enabled me to delve into the Herbert Photographic Collection (D-HBT) and a lot of the impressive images that local photographer Graham Herbert took. He really captured Christmas at that time. There is a wealth of images in the archive documenting life in and around Weymouth from the 1950s-1980s – from beauty pageants to local businesses, landmarks and everyday life – Herbert captures a time of rapid change.
A Christmas display for Dorset History Centre reception enabled a closer look at the Beales Department Store archive (D-BEL). A Bournemouth institution, until 3 years ago when it ceased trading and finally closed its doors, Beales celebrated Christmas in a big way. Not only did they have a Christmas parade through the streets of Bournemouth, but they also had an in-store Father Christmas, and what a spectacle he was, Father Christmas didn’t come down a chimney or through the front door, he arrived at the pier on an aeroplane! There are some nice examples of Christmas cards in the archive given to staff throughout the years from the 1920s, the war years through to the 1960s and 1980s.
A pair of documents from the same collection caused a lot of amusement: The Perfect Husband and The Perfect Wife.
The Perfect Husband
He never checked the household books,
He never criticised her looks.
He left about his petty cash,
He seemed to thrive on mutton hash.
He never took to drink or play,
Unless her mother came to stay.
He carried home the hats and veils
She purchased at the Summer sales.
When smarting from a ruthless snub,
He never bolted to the club.
He paid her modiste in advance,
He sent her to the South of France.
In Spring, the scrubbing and the cleaning,
Provoked no word of doubtful meaning.
He meekly took the largest clout
And helped to turn his study out,
Performed each trivial task she set him,
And no one yet has ever met him!
The Perfect Wife
She had a gay and cheerful mind,
Her clothes were chic, her heart was kind
She never sought to vex
By asking him for household cheques.
She ironed his ties and darned his socks,
His buttons were as firm as rocks.
When things went wrong she held her peace
Until he dined and felt at ease.
She revelled in his smallest jest,
She always thought that men knew best.
She never asked him where he’d been,
Or what he’d done or whom he’d seen.
Her voice was sweet; she never nagged,
None ever saw her ill or fagged.
Her relatives were few but kind,
And left small legacies behind.
Why was he so fed up with life,
The owner of this perfect wife?
I was surprised to find these – there are other fascinating gems to find within the Beales archive alongside documents relating to the business!
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The Gaumont Cinema
If you grew up in 1950’s Weymouth, you may remember some scenes taken in The Gaumont Cinema Collection (D-2715). Particularly photographs capturing the novel tactics staff took to promote the films. In the mid-1950s, cinema attendances were falling as the growth of television ownership grew. To stem the fall cinema managers were encouraged by senior management to publicise films more widely, and they had some original ideas – from dressing up as St Trinian’s to promote the 1957 film, to a horse being photographed on the cinema steps with a banner stating, ‘I have left my rider watching Gun Glory’.
In 1971 the cinema chain was sold and with it a collection of movie memorabilia almost lost, as workers were instructed by new management, to clear and dispose of large amounts of stored material. Fortunately, a lot of the material was saved, and the original collection (D-2715) has been given to the Dorset History Centre.
These have been among my favourites, however there are many more collections to discover in the DHC archives… come and visit, or view the online catalogue here. I’ve had a wonderful four years working at DHC, filled with so many interesting things! Thank-you to everyone who has made me feel so welcome!