Behind the scenes

Hutchins’ Extra Illustrated Volume 2 – The Pitt family, a piano player and a plague of caterpillars

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It is impossible to list all the additions in the Extra Illustrated Edition of Hutchins, but several items catch your eye as you browse the second volume; the drawing of a maze at Pimperne, a rubbing of a coat of arms alongside sketches of archaeological finds from a house at Langton Long, the account of… Read more Hutchins’ Extra Illustrated Volume 2 – The Pitt family, a piano player and a plague of caterpillars

Archives A-Z: I is for Inside the repository

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We may have cheated a little with this entry, but we felt it was a good excuse to tell you a little more about what goes on ‘behind the scenes’ inside the repository. What are the repositories? Repositories (or strong-rooms) are the temperature and humidity controlled spaces which store all of the records we hold… Read more Archives A-Z: I is for Inside the repository

Going Dutch for digital preservation!

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Digital preservation is the practice which will determine if and how we access electronically-held data in the future.  Sam Johnston, the County Archivist, was recently lucky enough to attend the Digital Preservation Coalition’s awards ceremony in Amsterdam.  A real hardship, you might say!  Sam was very pleased to be asked – foreign travel rarely features… Read more Going Dutch for digital preservation!

Archives A-Z: E is for edible archives

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April sees the 18th annual International Edible Book Festival (yes, it’s a real thing!).  So, we’re sharing a few examples of insects that enjoy eating books and other materials found within an archive, such as paper, adhesives and leather. Please note that these pests were not found at Dorset History Centre! We have an extensive… Read more Archives A-Z: E is for edible archives

Archives A-Z: C is for catalogues

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There are almost 320,000 records in our archive catalogue. This is the place where items in our collections are arranged and described so we can find what we’re looking for. If you have used archives before you will know that our catalogues aren’t arranged by place, subject or date. Instead, records are grouped according to… Read more Archives A-Z: C is for catalogues

Archive A-Z: B is for boxes

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It won’t surprise you that Dorset History Centre contains a LOT of boxes. Our environmentally controlled repositories have a capacity of around 49,000 archive boxes – not including oversize items. The boxes are made from materials that won’t have any negative effects on the unique items they contain.   Collections arrive with us in various states… Read more Archive A-Z: B is for boxes

Work experience in the archives

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Our recent work experience student, Ellie, shares her reflections on a week working in the county archives based at Dorset History Centre. Discovering archives I completed a week-long work experience placement at Dorset History Centre, discovering the archives and how they are managed. As this was the first time I had visited I didn’t have a clear idea of… Read more Work experience in the archives