Guest post: Conserving the Collingwood Archive

This post comes from Devin Mattlin and Joanne Hoppe, MSc Conservation Practice students at Cardiff University, and conservation volunteers at Glamorgan Archives. Both have been working on the Collingwood Archive conservation project as student conservators thanks to the generous support of the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust. 

Earlier of this year we had the fantastic opportunity to help conserve a collection of diaries and sketchbooks from the Collingwood Archive held at Special Collections and Archives, Cardiff University. The Collingwoods were a world-famous family of remarkable artists, archaeologists, and writers from the Lake District. W. G. Collingwood was John Ruskin’s secretary and biographer, and a friend of Arthur Ransome, author of Swallows and Amazons and a suspected double agent. The archive spans 60 boxes and comprises a treasure trove of distinctive materials largely inaccessible to research and the public – thousands of letters and correspondence dating from the 18^th century (including letters from E. M. Forster and Beatrix Potter), diaries, sketches, personal recipe books, photographs, illustrated story books and outstanding landscapes of the Lake District.

Study of English Costume, possibly by one of the Collingwood children, c. 19th century

 

Diary of Dora Collingwood (1886-1964), before conservation work

In 2017, Cardiff University’s Special Collections and Archives was awarded their second successive grant from the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust to conserve key items from the archive, and we were delighted to be selected as part of our MSc Conservation Practice course to give them a hand. This was a great opportunity to learn new skills in paper conservation and to work with Lydia Stirling, an Accredited Conservation-Restorer, at Glamorgan Archives. The objects in question dated roughly from the late 19th to the early 20th centuries and consisted of several diaries, sketchbooks and a recipe book. The ultimate goal of the conservation work was to stabilise the objects for responsible and appropriate display, and allow access to researchers and the public in the Special Collections and Archives Reading Room.

A Sketchbook of British Costume

One of the first objects we treated was a sketchbook of British Costume (c. 19^th century) written in iron gall ink which, if left untreated, can rust through paper. This was confirmed with iron (II) indicator paper, as seen in the figure below – the paper turns a pink colour if iron (II) is present.   After removing the dirt from the surface using a smoke sponge the pages were labelled in pencil and the threads used to originally sew the pages together were removed. To stabilise the iron gall ink, the pages were placed into four different water baths for 10 minutes each: water, calcium phytate, water, calcium bicarbonate. The calcium phytate reacts with the iron to form iron phytate compounds, which progressively slows down the iron corrosion. The calcium bicarbonate bath stabilises the paper by reducing its acidity, because as paper ages it becomes more acidic and thus more brittle. After the last water bath the wet pages were placed between blotter paper to dry. Once the pages had dried flat, the book was rebound using waxed linen thread.

Iron gall ink testing showing a positive result

Joanne stabilising the iron gall ink in various water baths

Collingwood Diaries

Many of the Collingwood diaries were falling apart and needed repairing due to the broken metal staples that were used to bind the pages together. To treat this type of damage we first removed the staples with a spatula, cleaned the surface and numbered the pages (once unbound, the sequence of the pages could be lost). Treatment of the holes involved shaping a piece of Japanese repair paper to the size of the hole by placing the original page on a light box with a sheet of plastic and the repair paper on top. The repair paper was then shaped to match the hole by using a needle and was then applied to the hole with wheat starch paste. A layer of thin Japanese tissue was then applied over the repair which was also treated with wheat starch paste to make it stronger. Tears in the paper were also repaired in the same way. Once all the repairs were done, the diaries were rebound, and the covers were reattached by adding mull (a type of bookbinding cloth) to the edge where the spine attaches and then adhering the repaired cover to that cloth strip.

Surface cleaning the pages of the diary

Devin rebinding the diaries onto specialist tapes

The boards are revealed under the original leather cover

However, one of the diaries could not be treated in the same way because it had a leather cover, unlike the others, which were paper. The spine on this diary had almost completely fallen off, so we made the decision to authentically restore it using new leather. First, the original cover was cut and lifted to expose the boards underneath. The repair leather was then shaved with knives to make it as thin as possible, so it would bend easily and fit under the original leather. Once the piece was sufficiently thin enough, it was saturated with wheat starch paste and then fitted onto the spine and under the lifted original leather. The original leather was then adhered on top.

Finished spine with the repair leather

 

The Collingwood Celebratory Conference

After we had completed the work we were delighted when the project team invited us to talk about our experience at the Collingwood Archive Celebratory Conference. Here we were given a fantastic platform to present our journey with the archive to a large audience of over 40 delegates from across the world, and share what conservation is and how archives are cared for. We were so grateful to the project team for this opportunity to communicate with many different heritage stakeholders, an essential skill that will be invaluable as we embark on our careers in conservation.

Devin and Joanne sharing their conservation experiences at the Collingwood Archive Celebratory Conference, April 2018

We would like to thank Lydia Sterling, Alan Vaughan Hughes and the National Manuscripts Conservation Trust for the opportunity to work with such a unique collection. Through this experience we practiced our paper conservation, bookbinding, and communication skills. It was also interesting to see beautiful artwork and to get a glimpse into the lives of the Collingwood family and the Victorian era. Our favourite items had to be an article pasted into the recipe book discussing how onions are so underrated, and a Cadbury’s advert from 1881!

Article on the medicinal and cleaning properties of onions, from Edith Collngwood’s (1857-1928) recipe book, c. late 19th century

Cadbury’s advert, from Edith’s recipe book, 1881

Guest Post: Safeguarding the Adrian Gibson Collection

This guest post is courtesy of first year Architecture student Theodora Stefan, who has been working on the collection of architectural historian Adrian Gibson (d.2006) as part of a CUROP project with the Welsh School of Architecture and Special Collections and Archives.

As a first year architecture student at Cardiff University, I have been studying the complex relationship between photography and architecture. I have been particularly fascinated by the evolution of photography and its recognition as ‘art’ in its own right, and so I was delighted to have the opportunity to work with the Welsh School of Architecture and the Special Collections and Archives team on a summer research placement, ‘Scoping and Safeguarding the Adrian Gibson Collection’.

Architectural historian Adrian Gibson (1931–2006) was the foremost authority of his time on the study of timber-framed buildings, and his collection of 20,000 photographic slides was donated to Cardiff University in 2017. As well as images of historical timber-framed buildings, there are photos of archaeological digs, and nine A3 portfolios of intricate drawings and notes by Adrian Gibson and Cecil Hewett. For a student, and indeed anyone interested in historic or photographic architecture, this collection provides a truly unique resource.

However, like most new donations, the descriptive information is minimal and inconsistent, and in some cases lacking entirely. My role is to analyse the collection and create an electronic list of the contents. I have also been tasked with improving the physical storage of the slides, which are currently in random order in metal filing cabinets. Many are dusty and inappropriately packed in acidic paper packages secured with deteriorating elastic bands, jeopardising the sustainability and accessibility of the collection for immediate and future research. Part of my role will also involve repackaging the slides in acid free boxes, thus ensuring their survival, while my list and analysis will provide an essential insight into the contents of the collection for current and future researchers.

Passionate about archaeology as well as vernacular architecture, Adrian Gibson managed to create a truly beautiful and diverse collection. The slides are evidence of his extensive journeys throughout Britain as well as Europe, showcasing his never-ending enthusiasm and desire to travel, analyse and employ a comprehensive recording system. He photographed the finest construction details and facade embellishments as well as creating a visual record of impressive interiors and surviving timber framing systems. At the start of the programme I envisioned that I would primarily work with slides containing information about timber frame buildings mainly from Essex, Sussex and Wales, and was initially completely unaware of the real potential and complexity of the collection.

Nevertheless, once I started recording and transferring the metadata I became aware of just how elaborate, comprehensive, and incredibly diverse the collection is, addressing subjects such as Romanesque, Gothic, Classical Revival and English Baroque architecture as well as early medieval and Anglo-Saxon architectural remnants. In addition, I uncovered multiple packages of slides visualising famous megaliths such as Pentre Ifan, Carreg Sampson and Cortan, with many depicting distinct points of interest and view angles of these prehistoric architectural forms.

The collection is stored in five filing cabinets containing up to 4000 slides each. The challenge is to sort out each drawer, copying the metadata written on the packages, counting the slides and ordering the misplaced ones. This is surprisingly a refreshing and intellectually stimulating activity, as each and every package has its own points of interest, and the research process that follows the sorting and the description is something that truly enriches my architectural knowledge.

Last week, for example, I came across multiple packages with technical drawings, sections, plans and elevations of one of the oldest surviving architectural complexes in the UK. The medieval barns located in Cressing Temple, near Braintree in Essex, were once owned by the Knights Templar. This exquisite example of English vernacular architecture was carefully recorded and investigated by Adrian Gibson, offering me an extensive insight into timber framing construction and the assembly process, as well as the geometry of both the Barley and Wheat Barn.

By contrast, among many intriguing examples of Romanesque vestiges from France, I came upon the Jumièges Abbey, a mid-7th century monastic assembly that was reconstructed in the 11th century following extensive deterioration caused by Viking raids. The remaining yet majestic stone ruin depicts a former impressive Romanesque abbey held in high regard by the famous William the Conqueror, whose origins can be traced to Normandy. This week, I encountered multiple 17th and 18th century English halls, designed in either Adam or Wren style, as well as a 13th century property, bearing the name of Stokesay, which was once owned by one of the most powerful wool tradesmen of medieval England, Lawrence of Ludlow.

The collection has not only enhanced my architectural knowledge, but also my historical awareness as a result of researching the historical context of these rare architectural examples, which is appropriate, because this form of art is designed to be embraced and integrated in society, leaving us the opportunity to interact with history itself and all its conundrums. With 12,148 slides already completed, I can’t wait to see what I will discover next, since I am only halfway through the recording process. I am sure though that in the weeks to come, I will encounter many more intriguing pieces of architecture that are endowed with a vivid historical past.

Potent Ink and Political Satire

Today, I want to talk about cartoons. Come again? Is this librarian a complete Looney Tune? That may well be a matter of opinion, but the subject of this post has certainly got me animated, so by the Power of Greyskull, let’s turn our attention to the renowned cartoonist:

J. M. Staniforth’s signature, Cartoons: originally published in the “Western Mail”, (Cardiff,Western Mail, 1908)

Joseph Morewood Staniforth was an editorial cartoonist best known for his work in the Western Mail (Cardiff’s daily paper), the Evening Express (Cardiff’s evening paper), and the News of the World (the Sunday paper).

Portrait of J. M. Staniforth, Cartoons: originally published in the “Western Mail”, (Cardiff, Western Mail, 1908).

I initially became aware of him through the work of Professor Chris Williams, who has been diligently documenting and digitising the wartime newspaper cartoons of this unique artist. It seems we have here in Special Collections and Archives possibly the only copy of Football Cartoons & Rhymes compiled by Staniforth and a writer named Idris, and when Chris asked to see it, judging from the title, I presumed he was researching some traditional banter ready for the impending Rugby Six Nations!

Rugby cartoon detail from J. M. Staniforth, Football cartoons & rhymes, (Cardiff, Western Mail, c. 1903)

However, I was soon to discover just how exceptional Staniforth’s work was, and indeed still is to anyone interested in the social, political, and cultural history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The fourth son of a saw repairer, Staniforth was born in Gloucester on the 16 of May 1863, and later grew up in Cardiff. At 15, he left school to train as a lithographic printer for the daily newspaper the Western Mail, whilst studying art in the evenings at the Cardiff School of Art which was initially established in rooms above the Royal Arcade in Cardiff city centre. Built in 1858, it is the oldest arcade in Cardiff, and, interestingly, the birthplace of our distant relative, Cardiff’s Free Library, set up through voluntary subscriptions above the St. Mary Street entrance to the arcade. But I digress! So back to the school of art, where another soon to be famous artist, the sculptor William Goscombe John was also learning his craft. Originally working with paint, Staniforth soon developed his technique in inks whereby with a fine pen and ink, he would compile his cartoon on paper which was then photographed onto a metal bloc used in the printing process. The Western Mail claimed to be the first regional newspaper to adopt this technique. He began drawing cartoons bearing his tell-tale monogram for the Evening Express and on occasions, for the Western Mail, where his skills as an illustrator were quickly spotted by the Mail’s editor, Henry Lascelles Carr, who swiftly transferred him to the editorial team. Following Carr’s takeover and restyling of the Sunday News of the World in 1893, Staniforth’s cartoons were given prime-place on the front page of every issue. By 1900, his cartoons were a regular feature in the Western Mail.

‘Martyrs of the Arena’, Cartoons: originally published in the Western Mail: Vol II, (Cardiff, Western Mail, c. 1910)

The News of the World and the Western Mail were amongst the first newspapers to use cartoons as a means of political and social commentary rather than purely comic distractions. Sir Francis Carruthers Gould is generally regarded as the first cartoonist on a British daily newspaper, drawing as he did for the Pall Mall Gazette from 1888 followed by the Westminster Gazette, and some examples of his work can be seen here in Special Collections. Staniforth, nevertheless, came to the fore just five years later, and by the early 20^th century, the News of the World was selling over one million copies every week! Its circulation almost tripled by the time of Staniforth’s death in 1921 and was considered to be the largest in the world. The Western Mail too was a leading regional newspaper, its scope however was far from provincial in its aim, as the self-styled national newspaper of Wales, to report on the key national and international events of the day. Despite its conservative leanings, its readability and tempered journalism attracted a broad readership including Liberals, Nonconformists and Trade-Unionists. Thus, the potential reach of Staniforth’s continuous crop of cartoons was infinite.

J. M. Staniforth, Cartoons: originally published in the “Western Mail”: Vol II, (Cardiff, Western Mail, c.1910)

It is estimated that Staniforth drew over fifteen thousand cartoons over the course of his career, which coincided with one of the most tempestuous eras in modern history. 1898 – 1921 was not only a defining time in the history of the South-Wales coalfield and Labour relations, but in imperial and international affairs generally. Major domestic and international events such as the ‘Great Strike’ of 1898, the Boer War, The Great War, and the growing industrial unrest in the coal-fields, were keenly observed on the regular platform provided by Staniforth’s pen.

Viewed in this context,  the scope of his cartoons is even more substantial. Some were published as single volumes, samples of which we are fortunate to hold as part of the Salisbury Library, such as Cartoons of the Boer War (Cardiff, 1902), Cartoons of the Welsh coal strike, April 1st to Sept. 1st, 1898 (Cardiff, 1898), and Cartoons of the Welsh revolt (Cardiff, 1905).

J. M. Staniforth, Cartoons of the Boer War: Vol. II, (Cardiff, Western Mail, 1902)

And that’s not all folks! Staniforth compiled a collection of nursery rhymes, and drew numerous picture postcards, funny and factual. These too are being digitised by Chris Williams on the sister site – Cartooning the Road to War.

J. M. Staniforth, Staniforth’s Nursery Rhymes, (Cardiff, Western Mail, 1902)

Let’s not forget that Staniforth was a trained artist. As a loyal member of the South Wales Art Society since its foundation in 1888, he regularly exhibited work at their annual exhibition, securing his own 3 week showing at a Cardiff gallery in 1916. He designed the costumes for the National Pageant of Wales held in 1909, including the famous dragon-encrusted dress worn by the Marchioness of Bute as ‘Dame Wales’. Staniforth was also commissioned to paint eleven panels depicting various themes from Shakespeare’s plays (the largest of which is 2m high, 1.2m wide) for Howells School for Girls, in Cardiff. These are currently being restored by specialist conservation architects and painters, and will be reinstated at the school in April this year.

Staniforth’s Romeo and Juliet at Howells School for Girls, Cardiff, courtesy of Michael Davies of Davies Sutton Architects.

 

Restoration work being carried out on Staniforth’s Romeo and Juliet at the workshop of specialist painting conservator, Rachel Howells (courtesy of Michael Davies).

Staniforth’s last cartoon appeared in the News of the World on the 11 of December, 1921. He passed away six days later due to ill-health. Tributes to the man and his work swamped the papers during the following weeks, casting him with the likes of Hogarth, Gillray, Leech and Tenniel. The then Prime Minister, David Lloyd George, observed the tremendous loss of ‘one of the most distinguished cartoonists of his generation’. Certainly, there is some weight behind Peter Lord’s assertion that Staniforth was ‘the most important visual commentator on Welsh affairs’. His unique portrayals offer an immediate and acute observation on some of the most historic and radical political and social events of the industrial and pre-war era. While historians may value the printed text over the sketch, visual sources can provide direct access to historical moments, capturing the initial pulsations of key events in our history. As Staniforth himself explained: ‘a good cartoon should be very acceptable… small though it be, it is a power of far reaching effect’. And so the moral of this blog-post is: never underestimate the potential of cartoons. They may be mere fun on the surface, but beneath their inky contours lies something far more meaningful. That’s all folks!

To see more of Staniforth’s work, visit:

http://www.cartoonww1.org/

http://www.roadtowarcartoons.org/

http://www.postwarworldcartoons.org/

 

 

 

 

 

Art and Architecture across Europe – Marburger Index

The Voyager library catalogue now describes one of our largest microfiche collections in SCOLAR, the Marburger Index. This is a collection of photographs and pictures of art and architecture, collected from many German and  other institutions across Europe, containing 1.8 million images. The subjects covered by the collection include painting, sculpture, crafts, buildings and more; it covers all historical periods,  and there is a searchable database index which refers to the images on the microfiche. Our microfilm/fiche readers feature scanning software, which allows digital images to be saved to a memory stick. This is the largest of SCOLAR’s image collections, but we hold hundreds of thousands of other pictorial and illustrated materials, ranging from rare books to newspapers to archives.

Digital scanner