Ann Spencer, one of the new Library Volunteers, took the opportunity to write a review of David Attenborough’s book, First Life; A journey back in time, that was recently added to stock. Here are her thoughts….

This book is based on insights captured during the making of the accompanying TV series, with an introduction by David Attenborough. The book is a chronological account of the story of early life from Pre-Cambrain times to key events during the explosion of life in the Cambrian period. The story of how geologists pieced together the puzzle of how living creatures survived the Ice Age has more in common with a Sherlock Holmes adventure than the work associated with activities in a laboratory.

Although the book deals with potentially difficult subject matter the text is well written and accessible to readers who have little specialist scientific knowledge. There are some magnificent photographs including computer generated images of plants and animals extrapolated from their fossils.

One of the many delights of this book is the insight it provides into the young David Attenborough’s enthusiasm for fossil hunting, a passion which prompted his interest in the natural world which has given pleasure to so many of us.

Listed below is a selection of some of the other new purchases and donations that have been recently added to the Library. To view the full records please go to NewcastleUniversity’s Library Catalogue.

Breeze, David J (Editor),  200 Years – The Society of Antiquaries Newcastle Upon Tyne 1813 – 2013,   SANT,  2013

Breeze, David J (Editor) The first souvenirs – enamelled vessels from Hadrian’s Wall,Cumberlandand Westmorland Archaeological Society 2012

Clark, Andrew & Nairn, Goerge,  Durham Coal – A people’s history,  People’s History, 2001

Curcic, Slobadon, Architecture as Icon – Perception and representation of architecture in Byzantine art,PrincetonUniversity, 2010

Dennis, Nigel & MacDonald, David Meerkats  A & C Black, 2009

Eilperin, Juliet,  Demon fish  – travels through the hidden world of Sharks, Duckworth, 2012

Gerstel, Sharon & Nelson, Robert,  Approaching theHolyMountain, Brepols,  2010

Grigs, Lucy & Kelly, Gavin (Editors), Two Romes –RomeandConstantinoplein late antiquity, OUP, 2012

Hodder, Ian, The present past – An introduction to anthropology for archaeologists, Batsford, 2012

Liverani, Paolo & Spinola, Giandomenico, The Vatican Necropoles  -Rome’s City of the dead, Brepols, 2010

Moyal, Ann,  Platypus – The extraordinary story of how a curious creature baffled the world, Smithsonian Institute, 2001

Orton, Fred,  Fragments of history – rethinking the Ruthwell andBewcastleMonuments, Manchster University Press,  2007

Pietsch, Oceanic anglerfishes  – extraordinary diversity in the deep sea, University of California, 2009

Prahms, Wendy, Animals inNewcastle  – An illustrated history, Tempus, 2008

Sands, Tim, Wildlife in trust – a hundred years of nature conservation, Wildlife Trusts, 2012

Scott, Bob, The illustrated birdwatcher’s handbook, Bounty, 2012

Smith, Charles H ,  Natural selection and beyond – the intellectual legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace, OUP 2008

Taylor, Neil,  Memories of the Northumberland Coalfields, Countryside Books, 2009

Temple, David,  DurhamMiners’ Millennium Book, TUPS Books

Turner, John ,  Ponteland (Images ofEngland) Tempus,  1999

I hope to see you in the Library soon. Opening hours are 10.00 – 4.00 Monday to Friday.

New Books

As you may know the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle Upon Tyne is celebrating its Bicentenary in 2013.  During its 200 years the Society has built up a large and fascinating library of regional and national importance. As part of the celebrations the Great North

Society of Antiquaries Books

Museum:Hancock Library, where the collection is housed is providing free tours of the SANT collection.

These will take place on the last Tuesday of each month during 2013 at 11.00. The tours will last approximately 40 minutes. The first event takes place on 26 March.

If you would like to come along and join in you would be very welcome. Booking is essential, to do this please telephone 0191 222 5121, or email gnmlibrary@twmuseums.org.uk

rk

Platypus from Nomen Nudum : Naked Name by Dawn Felicia Knox

You can see this exhibition in the Great North Museum Library from 5 March to 13 April. Dawn will be here in the library on the afternoon of 14 March (2-4pm) to talk to visitors about her work. So why not take the opportunity not only to engage with some fascinating art works but also to explore the treasures of the three library collections housed in the Great North Museum.

If you’d like to find out more about Dawn’s work then please visit her website.

The Great North Museum Library is on the second floor of the museum and current opening times are Monday-Friday 10am-4pm (University term time). For more information and holiday opening times please visit the Museum’s website or phone the Library on (0191) 222 3555.

New books in the library

These books are just some of the new purchases and donations to the library. To view full records please go to Newcastle University’s Library catalogue.

Some of the new books in the Great North Museum Library

The Oxford handbook of cuneiform culture / edited by Karen Radner and Eleanor Robson, O.U.P., 2011.

The Oxford handbook of ancient Anatolia, 10,000-323 B.C.E. / edited by Sharon R. Steadman and Gregory McMahon, O.U.P., 2011.

The frontiers of imperial Rome / David J. Breeze, Pen & Sword Military, 2011.

An encyclopaedia of North-East England / Richard Lomas, Birlinn, 2009.

Columbanus : poet, preacher, statesman, saint / Carol Richards, Imprint Academic, 2010.

John Ray’s Cambridge catalogue (1660) / translated and edited by P.H. Oswald and C.D. Preston, Ray Society, 2011.

Scotland : looking at the natural landscapes / Peter Friend, Collins, 2012.

Early medieval Northumbria : kingdoms and communities, AD 450-1100 / edited by David Petts and Sam Turner, Brepols, 2011.

Running the Roman home / Alexandra Croom, History Press, 2011.

One of the great joys of rummaging through the Society of Antiquaries (SANT) books in the Great North Museum Library is that you can never be exactly sure what you will come across. One of my many passions is the theatre so finding that the library had a copy of Ellen Terry’s autobiography was a joy. However, as it turned out, it was not Miss Terry that proved to be the most interesting aspect of this book. It was the person who had once owned the book and had donated it to SANT who took my interest, Mr. E. Story-Gofton.

'The Story of My Life' by Ellen Terry

On the fly page is a dedication “To Story Gofton, with very kind regards from Ellen Terry” and dated October 1908. Opposite, pasted to the cover, are press cuttings about Story-Gofton playing in Bernard Shaw’s Captain Brassbound’s Conversion along with a cartoon. Further in there is a hand written note from Terry herself to Story-Gofton welcoming him to the tour. The book is protected by a “Boots Book-Lovers Library” dust cover (a historic document in its own right) and in the back of this are a number of letters, cuttings and photographs. So who was E. Story-Gofton?

Mr Story-Gofton

Edward John Story [Gofton to be] was born at Elswick Row, Newcastle on 31 July 1845. He was educated at the Royal Grammar School where he obtained his love of the theatre, and throughout his life he performed as an actor and singer. He managed a number of touring companies both in this country and overseas. At the beginning of the 1890s he was performing Shakespeare and other plays in Africa; in 1893 he returned to Newcastle to direct Cinderella at Tyne Theatre (where he had been the manager for a number of years previously), and the new year of 1898 found him at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, Australia. At the turn of the twentieth century moving pictures were developing fast and Story-Gofton appeared in a number of them between 1913 and 1922. Towards the end of his life he and his wife lived in Ilford, Essex, and Story-Gofton continued his work as a theatre critic writing a number of articles and letters to newspapers. He died aged 92 at his Ilford home in 1939.

This has by its nature only been a sketch of a man of the theatre and of course there is much more to tell. However, this illustrates just what unexpected gems can be found while rummaging through old books.

Many thanks to Martin for this fascinating piece of research. The book Martin was looking at is The Story of My Life by Ellen Terry, published by Hutchinson & Co. in 1908, and is in the collection of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne. As Martin says, you never know what exciting snippets of information you might come across while browsing through the books in the Great North Museum Library.

For library opening times please visit the Museum’s website or phone 0191 2223555 for more details.

(Please note that the library will be closed for Christmas and New Year from 23 December until 3 January).

New books in the library

New books in the GNM Library

All three library collections have a range of new books. Here is a selection:

Carlisle : excavations at Rickergate, 1998-9 and 53-55 Botchergate, 2001 / edited by Rachel Newman, Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 2011

The Romans came this way : the story of the discovery and excavation of a Roman military way across the Yorkshire Pennines / Norman Lunn … [et al.], Huddersfield & District Archaeological Society, c2008

Benwell’s big houses : a social history / by Mike Greatbatch, Newcastle Community Heritage Project in association with Tyne Bridge Publishing, 2011

The Celtic and Roman traditions : conflict and consensus in the early medieval church / Caitlin Corning, Palgrave Macmillan, 2006

A Roman settlement and bath house at Shadwell : excavations at Tobacco Dock and Babe Ruth restaurant, the Highway, London / Alistair Douglas, James Gerrard and Berni Sudds, Pre-Construct Archaeology, c2011

The frontiers of imperial Rome / David Breeze, Pen & Sword, 2011

An encyclopaedia of North-East England / Richard Lomas, Birlinn, 2009

British Oaks: a concise guide / Michael Tyler, Crowood Press, 2008

Natural selection and beyond: the intellectual legacy of Alfred Russel Wallace / edited by Charles H. Smith and George Beccaloni, Oxford University Press, 2008

Cataloguing work in progress in the Great North Museum Library

You can find the records for Great North Museum Library material on the University Library’s catalogue. To limit your search just click on the ‘Local Collections’ tab at the top of the page. Our books will display as either Cowen, SANT (Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne) or NHSN (Natural History Society of Northumbria). Unfortunately the catalogue won’t tell you if a book is out on loan – but please feel free to contact the Great North Museum Library (0191 222 355 or gnmlibrary@twmuseums.org.uk) if you want to check availability before you make a visit.

As part of the cataloguing process the Cowen Library journals have been reclassified and you will now find they have shelfmarks beginning PER. This has meant rearranging the journals on the shelves to follow this new classification scheme. It’s been reasonably straightforward for the Cowen Library but its going to be a much bigger task when we do the same for the Society of Antiquaries journals. The library volunteers will be kept very busy for the next few months!

Library bookmarks

I’m very pleased to say that we now have some fantastic new library bookmarks to give away to library visitors. There is a set of four; each bookmark has an image from one of the library collections. Why not call in and collect one?

Term time opening (Monday-Friday 10am-4pm) begins on 26 September. For more details please visit the Museum’s website.

New books

As well as the regular acquisitions made by the Societies, we have also recently taken delivery of over 30 new books for the Cowen Library. These include books on Egyptology (which has tied in well with the Museum’s Pharaoh, King of Egypt exhibition), Greek vases, Polynesian art and native North American art. 

Some of the new books in the Cowen Library collection

Here are just a few of the new titles in the library: 

The rise of an early modern shipping industry: Whitby’s golden fleet / Rosalin Barker, Boydell, 2011

 The making of Carlisle: from Romans to railways / Mark Brennand, Keith J. Stringer (eds), Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society, 2011

 Ancient Egypt: an introduction / Salima Ikram, Cambridge University Press, 2010

 In Oceania: visions, artifacts, histories / Nicholas Thomas, Duke University Press, 1997

The Pacific art of Polynesia and Micronesia / Adrienne L. Kaeppler, Oxford University Press, 2008

 Greek vases / Dyfri Williams, British Museum, 1999

 AD410: the year that shook Rome / Sam Moorhead and David Stuttard, British Museum, 2010

 The Society of Dilettanti: archaeology and identity in the British enlightenment / Jason M. Kelly, Yale University Press, 2009

 Ravenna in late antiquity / Deborah Mauskopf Deliyannis, Cambridge University Press, 2010

We know this because in the Archives are stored the Newcastle Chamberlains’ accounts for the years 1508 until 1835.

The entry we looked at read…”bill of charges for the wiches for 2 weekes ending the 23th (sic) of August 1650 and other charges for executing the prisoners” was £15 19s 2d.

The Chamberlain was the 16^th century equivalent of the City Treasurer. It was his job to account for all the City’s expenditure. Thankfully today’s City Treasurer does not have to account for witch trials.

Lask week Christina, one of the Archives Conservators, was cleaning and stabilising once of the volumes so that the fascinating information they contain can be accessed more easily by researchers and historians. Here are some pictures of her at work.

Using the shaving brush to remove dust and loose dirt

Tools of the trade! A clean shaving brush used for dusting and pieces of the conservation sponge before and after showing how much dirt has been removed

Other payments recorded in the volumes included:

“To the 4 students at Cambridge viz: Richard Stotte, Cuthbert Stotte, Edward Dobsonne & Rich: Handcocke £30″ (1643 – early grants?)

“For wintering the Townes Bulles £8″ (also 1643)

“Paid for wine for Mr Maior and Alldermen the 5th and 6th November and for my lord Newcastle and his gentlemen £6 4s 8d” (1642) (Guy Fawkes night?)

“Pade William Marshall ffor bookes viz the Annotations of the bible a dickenarie and a booke to copy letters in 44s 10d (1646 – they obviously needed the dickenarie)

17th century writing. Roman numerals showing payment amounts.

Since I retired from my library job last summer, I have been doing voluntary work one day a week in the Library of the Great North Museum: Hancock.

History of the Berwickshire Naturalists' Club from the Society of Antiquaries' Library. Photo by Nicky Clarke.

Over the last few months I have been involved in checking the holdings of the journals in the Society of Antiquaries Library, which has been absorbing and challenging work. The Society has been collecting journals in the fields of history and archaeology, by purchase or exchange, from its earliest days, and the breadth and depth of the resulting collection is awesome. I have worked with local history collections before, so the volumes from British antiquarian societies were not unfamiliar except in their geographical and chronological comprehensiveness. Many of the British periodicals have continued in an unbroken sequence from the early 19^th century to the present day. The prize for the most venerable goes to the History of Berwickshire Naturalists Club, founded in 1831 and still going strong under its 19^th century name; although the Numismatic Chronicle (founded 1836) can boast the most volumes: 169 to date.

A selection of journals from the Society of Antiquaries' Library. Photo by Nicky Clarke.

But the Society’s scope covers all of Europe, and it has been a revelation to me to find how much work has been carried out and published in almost every corner and language of the continent. There are 30 publications from Germany alone, both national and local.

There are three separate serial publications emanating from the Société d’Émulation d’Abbeville, the earliest starting in 1844; the Sociétés d’Émulation in France were the local antiquarian societies, so called to distinguish them from the national aspirations of the Academies. Abbeville, near the mouth of the Somme, was the source of the first stone tools of early man to be identified as such, by the pioneer archaeologist Jacques Boucher de Perthes; and the journals in the Society’s collection include the earliest publication of most of the significant archaeological discoveries throughout Europe.

Back runs of journals in the library mobile shelving. Photo by Nicky Clarke.

With Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Dutch and all the Scandinavian languages represented – as well as Latin – identifying the holdings of these journals has been a challenge to our linguistic skills. But solving the puzzles presented is correspondingly rewarding.

The records we have assembled will shortly be added to Newcastle University’s online catalogue, so that these matchless historical and linguistic treasures can be made better known and more available. It has been a privilege to be involved in this stimulating enterprise.

Many thanks to Joan and all the library volunteers who were involved in this task. As Joan mentions, records for the Society of Antiquaries’ journals will soon appear on Newcastle University Library’s online catalogue and all the journals are available to look at in the Great North Museum: Hancock library. Nicky.

For library opening times please visit the Museum’s website or phone 0191 2223555 for more details.

New books in the library

Some of the new books in the library - June 2011. Photo by Nicky Clarke.

The thousand and one churches / by W.M. Ramsay and Gertrude L. Bell, 2008 (originally published 1909).

The dynamics of ancient empires : state power from Assyria to Byzantium / edited by Ian Morris and Walter Scheidel, 2009.

Ambrose and John Chrysostom : clerics between desert and empire / J.H.W.G. Liebeschuetz, 2011.

The Church of England and the Durham coalfield, 1810-1926 : clergymen, capitalists and colliers / Robert Lee, 2007.

The keelmen of Tyneside: labour organisation and conflict in the North-East coal industry, 1600-1830 / Joseph M. Fewster, 2011.

Thomas Bewick: the complete illustrative work / Nigel Tattersfield, 2011.

The complete guide to fossils and fossil-collecting / Steve Parker, 2009.

The Natural History Society of Northumbria

New books from the Natural History Society of Northumbria's collection

Plant pests / David V. Alford, Collins, 2011 

This book is No. 116 in Collins’ New Naturalist Library series. Written by entomologist David V. Alford, the book focuses on the natural history of the insects and mites in our farms and gardens.

Weeds: how vagabond plants gatecrashed civilisation and changed the way we think about nature / Richard Mabey, Profile, 2010 

Described as the “first ever cultural history of weeds” Mabey looks at weeds from a whole new perspective.

Botany for the artist / Sarah Simblet, Dorling Kindersley, 2010 

This beautiful book is full of colour photographs and illustrations. It provides some inspirational examples for anyone interested in botanical drawing or knowing more about the structure of plants.

Ecomuseums: a sense of place / Peter Davis, Continuum, 2011

In this 2^nd edition Peter Davis develops the idea of the ecomuseum and considers the worldwide increase in museums embracing the “ecomuseum ideal”. Moving from theory to practice Davis uses individual case studies to demonstrate the spread of this concept.

The Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne

New books from the Society of Antiquaries' collection

Artefacts in Roman Britain: their purpose and use / Lindsay Allason-Jones (ed.), Cambridge University Press, 2011

This work, written by experts in their individual fields, looks at the material culture of Roman Britain. Aimed at both students and general readers, artefacts are discussed both in terms of identification and use.

Regional identities in North-East England, 1300-2000 / Adrian Green, A.J. Pollard (eds), Boydell Press, 2007

This collection of essays is the result of a research project undertaken by five North East universities. The essays examine and question the idea of a single regional identity and consider the implications of this on our understanding of regionalism.

The Cowen Library

New books in the Cowen Library

Edge of empire, Rome’s Scottish frontier: The Antonine Wall / David J. Breeze, Birlinn, 2008

This book looks at the Roman invasion of southern Scotland in the second century AD and the building and abandonment of the Antonine Wall. The story is brought to life using up-to-date evidence and beautiful photography. Emphasis is placed on the archaeological importance of the Wall as a proposed World Heritage site.

Medieval rural settlement in marginal landscapes / Jan Klápště, Petr Sommer (eds.), Brepols, 2009.

The papers brought together here are the product of discussions held at the seventh Ruralia conference, held in Cardiff in 2007. The papers examine the difficulties of settlement in marginal landscapes, exploring the problem not only as a physical concept, but also as a social and cultural idea.

This is just a small selection of our new books. If you’d like to look at them or see what else is new why not come and visit the library.

For library opening times please visit the Museum’s website or phone 0191 2223555 for more details.

(Please note that the library will be closed for Easter from 22 April until 3 May).

Ellen was only 11 years of age when she was caught stealing iron along with Mary Catherine Docherty, Rosanna Watson and Mary Hinnigan. 

They were all sent to Newcastle City Gaol to carry out 7 days hard labour. 

Rosanna Watson aged 13

Mary Hinnigan aged 13

During the Victorian period, girl offenders who were Catholics were sent to the Dalbeth Roman Catholic Reformatory School in Glasgow, after serving their sentence in Newcastle Gaol. 

A book titled “Victorian Villains” by Barry Redfern gives further information on the individuals who were convicted. He mentions that the girls didn’t have any previous convictions and the crime wasn’t reported in the newspapers at the time, so there isn’t alot of information about them, which is a shame. 

It makes me wonder what happened to them after they left the Reformatory Schools?

To see more of the convicts visit our Flickr page click here

From the collection of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle upon Tyne.

Selected by Brenda Astley, Library volunteer

Local records; or, historical register of remarkable events … Newcastle, 1865-67

Last week, whilst looking for some information amongst the Society of Antiquaries books, I happened on 3 rather sober-looking volumes of local records. Or, to give them their full title: Local records; or, historical register of remarkable events, which have occurred in Northumberland and Durham, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, from the earliest period of authentic record to the present time … I idly started reading one of the volumes and was lost for the next hour or so.

Title page detail

Really nice marbled boards

They are full of the most interesting snippets, for example, in the volume for 1865 an entry for Dec. 7, 1733 reads: “A flying man flew from the top of the castle of Newcastle into Bailiff-gate, and after that he made an ass fly down, by which several accidents happened …”. The entry goes on to state that: “This Icarus must have been an impostor, but John Bull is easily gulled”.

There are also more weighty items like the entry for Nov. 17, 1771, about the terrible Tyne flood and the entry for Sept. 10, 1830 when the chain-bridge near Aldgate in Morpeth, which had 200-300 people on it at the time, fell into the river.

February 14, 1842 has the entry: “A singular contrivance, to evade the payment of excise duty, was discovered on board the Vesta steamer …” This turned out to be a large doll whose “head easily separated from her body, and that her neck formed nothing less than the neck of a large whisky bottle …”

There is nothing new, is there? Dip in and enjoy the trivial, the amusing and the serious.

Old houses, head of Middle Street (vol. for 1867, p.97)

Thanks to Brenda for her selection. These fascinating compilations were published in Newcastle upon Tyne in the mid 19^th century. The Society of Antiquaries copies are dated 1865-66 and were compiled by John Sykes. The Society also own a later copy dated 1867 by T. Fordyce, a continuation of Sykes’ volumes. There also appears to have been earlier compilations by Sykes dating from 1824. The Natural History Society of Northumbria’s archivist tells me that these earlier volumes included engravings by Thomas Bewick. If anybody knows any more about the history of these unusual books please let me know. Nicky.

These books are all available to look at in the Great North Museum: Hancock library.

For library opening times please visit the Museum’s website or phone 0191 2223555 for more details.

New books in the library:

Edge of empire, Rome’s Scottish frontier : the Antonine Wall / David Breeze, 2008

Wayside and woodland fungi / W.P.K. Findlay, 1967

From Stonehenge to Santa Claus: the evolution of Christmas / Paul Frodsham, 2008

Northern landscapes: representations and realities of North-East England / T. Faulkner, H. Berry and J. Gregory (eds), 2010

Northern pride: the very best of northern architecture from churches to chip shops / J. Grundy, 2003

New books in the library