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
For most people the word ‘archives’ conjures images of dusty basements crammed full of old documents. It’s true that Dorset’s archives contain millions of paper and parchment documents dating from 965AD (though neatly boxed and not dusty!). But this is not the whole story. We collect all types of media and are much more interested… Read more Archival Types – Film and sound
We are sharing a monthly look at the farm diary of John Foss, written from his dairy farm in Kingston Russell in 1851. May 1851 May of 1851 starts cold with a snowstorm on Monday the 5th, but soon improves. John describing many of the days in a similar manner: “Fine morning, continued so all… Read more The Diary of John Foss: May 1851
With the exception of the fascinating recent blog about our conservator creating protective packaging for the wonderful plaster maquettes, it has been a while since we updated you about the exciting project to catalogue the archive of the renowned sculptor, Dame Elisabeth Frink. This collection was provided to Dorset History Centre in accordance with the… Read more Elisabeth Frink: A project update
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