January 19, 2010

Thomas Knight Leslie's Illustrated Story Book

Mention Tom and Jerry nowadays and you might be forgiven for imagining the cartoon antics of a cat and mouse.  However, as January's item of the month demonstrates, the names had a previous incarnation as two shipwrecked sailors.

This story and two others - 'The Adventures of a Castaway' and 'Ye Pirate' are brought to life in the first item of the month of 2010.  If the stories inspire your imagination don't forget to click on the links and order the original manuscript to view in our reading room.

Richard (Assistant Archivist)

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Posted by Richard on January 19, 2010 1:06 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 18, 2009

Shipwrecks and holiday reading

If you'd like to continue the literary shipwreck theme we started with December's item of the month, the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre has recently published some more online books with a shipwreck adventure theme. There's quite a chronological range, from Francois Raynal's Wrecked on a Reef (1880) to Crusoes of Sunday Island (1957), Elsie Morton's account of the Swiss Family Robinson style adventures of the Bell family.

Don't think you'll have to be glued to your PC to read them though - these books are all available as ePub eBooks, downloadable for mobile devices such as the iPhone or iPod Touch. So, if you're lucky enough to be getting one of these for Christmas you're all sorted for your maritime holiday reading.

Merry Christmas from everyone here at the Caird Library - we look forward to seeing you in the New Year.

Renee (Digital Resources Librarian)

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Posted by Renee on December 18, 2009 11:34 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Historic photographs and ship plans section: Christmas and New Year closure

This is just to notify readers and enquirers that the Historic Photographs and Ship Plans Section will be closed from 23 December 2009 to 4 January 2010.  

All enquiries should be made to either plansandphotos@nmm.ac.uk or in writing to the section c/o the Museum address. The curators will respond in the new year.

We trust that you all have a good holiday.

Jeremy (Historic Photographs & Ships Plans Manager)

Posted by Renee on December 18, 2009 11:30 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 10, 2009

Christmas and New Year last order dates

Just a reminder to our regular readers - the last day for ordering archive and other material stored offsite is Monday 14 December. Any material ordered after this date won't be available for viewing until Thursday 7 January.

Please see the website for a full list of last order dates.

Renee (Digital Resources Librarian)

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Posted by Renee on December 10, 2009 12:19 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 9, 2009

Library catalogue outage on Wednesday 9 December

The library catalogue will be unavailable overnight on Wednesday 9 December due to essential system maintenance. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Renee (Digital Resources Librarian)

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Posted by Renee on December 9, 2009 10:05 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

William Falconer's The Shipwreck

falconerplate.jpgDecember's item of the month is somewhat hard to categorise: part fiction, part autobiography and part instructional guide for sailors, William Falconer's poem The Shipwreck is a must-read for Patrick O'Brian fans. Fair enough, there's no Jack Aubrey character - but the combination of high seas drama and technical detail makes for a surprisingly compelling read.

If you'd like to take a look for yourself, stop in at the library (do check our Christmas opening hours) and ask staff to request it from the Rare Book collection. Or, you can read a digisitised version of the 1772 edition of The Shipwreck courtesy of Google Books.

Renee (Digital Resources Librarian)

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Posted by Renee on December 9, 2009 9:24 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

December 2, 2009

Last order dates for Crew Agreements

Due to staff availability, the last day to order Crew Agreements before Christmas will be Friday 11 December. If you order an agreement or logbook before this Friday the material will be ready to consult on Tuesday 22 December.

The next last order date after Christmas is Monday 11 January.

For other off-site material please check the full list of last order dates on our website.

Renee (Digital Resources Librarian)

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Posted by Renee on December 2, 2009 10:00 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 4, 2009

That interesting young female, Anne Jane Thornton

femalesailorillustration.jpgNovember's item of the month is a newly acquired item in the Archive and Library's collections: a broadsheet entitled 'The female sailor: a faithful history of the romantic and perilous adventures of that interesting young female Anne Jane Thornton', c.1845.

It's a popularised account of a woman who ran away to sea to find her lost love - a sad story, but also a lovely example of the way such stories were told and sold by sensationalist street publishers.

Renee (Digital Resources Librarian)


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Posted by Renee on November 4, 2009 2:12 PM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

November 2, 2009

Archive Journeys in November

Continuing our regular programme of Archive Journey sessions, November begins with Caird's Treasure Chest on Thursday 5th.  Sir James Caird was one of the National Maritime Museum's principal early benefactors and his donations helped to form the foundation of the Museum's collections.  The talk will provide a rare opportunity to view some of the manuscripts Caird collected for the Museum including a spy book written in 1582 and a series of documents signed by Samuel Pepys.  The session promises to offer a glimpse at some of our rarest documents and we hope to see you there.

The events in full are:

5 November - Caird's Treasure Chest
12 November - Pirates and Privateers
19 November - Nelson's Women
26 November - Sailor Chic

All the sessions are free of charge and there is no need to book.  Just come along to the E-Library at 2.30pm.

Richard (Assistant Archivist)

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Posted by Richard on November 2, 2009 10:43 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

October 29, 2009

Caird Library Christmas and New Year opening hours

With crackers and mince pies on the shop shelves for a couple of months, it's time for us to issue our Christmas and New Year opening hours.

Day Caird Library E-Library

Monday 21 December 
CLOSED
10.00 - 16.45

Tuesday 22 December
10.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 16.45

Wednesday 23 December
10.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 16.45

Thursday 24 December
CLOSED
CLOSED

Friday 25 December
CLOSED
CLOSED

Saturday 26 Decmber
CLOSED
CLOSED

Monday 28 December
CLOSED
CLOSED

Tuesday 29 December
10.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 16.45

Wednesday 30 December
10.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 16.45

Thursday 31 December
10.00 - 14.45
10.00 - 14.45

Friday 01 January
CLOSED
CLOSED

Saturday 02 January
CLOSED
CLOSED

Monday 04 January
CLOSED
10.00 - 16.45

Tuesday 05 January
10.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 16.45

Wednesday 06 January
10.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 16.45

Thursday 07 January
10.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 16.45

Friday 08 January
CLOSED
CLOSED

Saturday 09 January
10.00 - 13.00, 14.00 - 16.45
10.00 - 13.00, 14.00 - 16.45

Readers may request to view up to 15 manuscripts each day that the Caird Library is open. Requests to view manuscript and other off site items during the Christmas period should be received by 16.30 on Monday 14 December 2009. The Archive and Library online catalogues indicate whether items are stored on site or off site. Deliveries from our off site store will re-commence on Wednesday 06 January 2010. Please note that if you wish to view items on Tuesday 05 or Wednesday 06 January 2010, we need to have received your order by Monday 14 December 2009.

A full list of last order dates through to the end of January 2010 can be found at: http://www.nmm.ac.uk/researchers/library/visiting/library-last-orders.

Gareth
Reader Services Librarian

Posted by Renee on October 29, 2009 10:59 AM | | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

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