Entries from The Caird Library Blog tagged with 'rare books'
Cyclometrica Elementa Duo : the story of a hidden treasure
As part of our ongoing work preparing for the move into the Sammy Ofer Wing, I was recently working with the collection of Vice-Admiral Sir William Hannam Henderson (1845-1931). These papers were arranged by Admiral Henderson himself and were presented to the...
The Relation of a Wonderfull Voiage
May's item of the month is a rare English book, "The Relation of a Wonderfull Voiage", written by the lesser known explorer William Cornelis Schouten.This very rare English edition is part of the Archive and Library's rare books collection and tells a...
From Roanoke to Gravesend
It's a bonus month for Archive and Library research as we've published two items this month, and they really couldn't be more different. In the rare books corner we have an introduction to one of the stars of our collection:...
William Falconer's The Shipwreck
December'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 -...
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...
Archive Journeys in September
This month visitors to the Museum will have the opportunity to attend a number of Archive Journey sessions. Following the popular Polar Exploration sessions held in July we are holding 3 more events to coincide with the Museum's North West...
Forthcoming Archive Journeys
To coincide with the Museum's North West Passage exhibition members of the Archive team will be holding three Archive Journey sessions in July. We'll be talking about items from our Polar Exploration box and there will be plenty of opportunities...
Serendipity in the Archives
The unexpected discovery always having been a favourite topic of mine, I was excited to see that Archives for London are holding an event tomorrow evening called 'Serendipity in the Archives', that will "look at the role of chance in...
Herman Melville, 'Four Month's Residence Among the Natives'
September's Item of the Month is an 1846 first edition of A Narrative of a Four Month's Residence among the Natives of a Valley of the Marquesas Islands : or, a Peep at Polynesian Life, by Herman Melville, most commonly...
Summer Borbecu's
I recently held a barbecue and determined to ascertain the correct spelling of barbecue. I turned to the online version of Oxford English Dictionary, a personal favourite from our recently acquired resources, for guidance. It transpires that the word owes...
Journael ofte dagh-register, inhoudende een waerachtigh verhael vande reyse
June's item of the month is from our rare book collections: a journal of the voyage of eight Dutch ships to the East Indies, commanded by Cornelis Van Neck and Admiral Wybrandt Van Warijck.The journal contains detailed descriptions of the...
Relics of the Royal George
April's item of the month is about the loss of the HMS Royal George - the naval warship that mysteriously sank in Spithead while undergoing minor repairs. The rare book collection contains 27 small books describing the incident - each...
Archive Journeys in February
Some of you may have read previous posts here about our Archive Journeys sessions but might be a bit unsure of what they actually are. Well, Archive Journeys are a great way for Museum visitors and Library users to...
Opening of the Atlantic Worlds Gallery
Friday 30 November saw the opening of the Museum’s new permanent Gallery, Atlantic Worlds, focusing on the role that the Atlantic Ocean has played as a conduit for the movement of goods, peoples and ideas over the centuries. It really...
Peter Halkett's cloak-boat: genius
This previous item of the month is just too good to miss. Lieutenant Peter Alexander Halkett's design for a cloak-boat, held in our rare book collection, is a portable boat constructed of macintosh india-rubber cloth, with a paddle, umbrella sail...
A voyage to St Petersburg in 1814
November's item of the month is from our rare book collections: the account of a British naval surgeon's voyage to St Petersburg on board the Smyelyi, a 74 gun ship in the service of the Russian Imperial Navy. Highlights include...
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