Hello again, intrepid readers! I'm Archive Assistant Niimi, and I have once again battled through the stray jungle leaves of the archive room to present you with more interesting materials. As with the Spring issue, you can click on the pictures to view the images in higher quality and the letters are transcribed in the alt. text. If you have any questions or queries about the archive please feel free to email me at day-goughn@theleedslibrary.org.uk. On with the report!
War Work - World War One
This letter to librarian D. A. Cruse is a fascinating insight into the public’s thoughts on the home front of the First World War. In it, the writer informs Cruse that they've left Leeds to do ‘war-work’ at the National Physical Laboratory. The writer asks whether it would be possible for their share to be used by another who’d value it in their absence, adding:
‘Perhaps I am asking something quite unheard-of and impossible, but so many unheard-of things are happening just now that I have some hope.’
This sentiment is relatable to many of us after Covid lockdowns, I think! This letter is also a perfect example of why you should date and sign your correspondance clearly (for the sake of future archivists if nothing else). Thankfully the references to 'the war' and the other letters this was found with dated it to World War One, but the writer's first name wasn't so lucky - I'm still not sure whether it's Maureen or Norman Campbell!
Library Stamps
My second find for this issue is a rare non-paper based item! I discovered it in a then-uncatalogued box which, to my delight, was full of old Leeds Library stamps and etching plates. This particular stamp was used to produce Leeds Library bookplates in the 1950s-60s. You can see as much in the book on the right, which was acquired by the Library in 1951. The degree of ink-staining present on the stamp indicates it was well-used, and rightfully earned its retirement. That does mean it's hard to trace when it was first bought, however. I’m still attempting to find the earliest book it was used in, so if you visit the Library and find it in a book released before 1950 please let me know!
A 1941 Etching Plate
As a bonus highlight for this month, I wanted to include this lovely etching plate I found in the same unexplored archive box as the above library stamp. Etching plates have been used to print images in bookmaking for hundreds of years, taking its name from the etching pens used to draw the image onto the metal. This one was produced for Librarian Frank Beckwith's 1941 pamphlet about The Leeds Library's history. As you can see in both images, the plate depicts a photograph of the front of the building from the late 1930s. The windows and door on the leftmost side of the image is actually the old entrance to the Library, now disused! You can also see the rather imposing-looking iron gates guarding the Library's entrance, which remained in place until 1960.
That's all for this issue's highlights - but as always, I'll be back with more soon! If you're interested in our archive materials, feel free to contact me at day-goughn@theleedslibrary.org.uk. The Leeds Library provides free access to our archive for researchers of all kinds, and I would be delighted to hear from you.
All images courtesy of The Leeds Library.