ARCHIVE NEWS

A History of Cakes and Ale

9 FEBRUARY 2024

February 13th is Shrove Tuesday - which for Stationers means celebrating the centuries' old tradition of Cakes and Ale, established by bookseller John Norton in 1613. Here archive intern Beth Debold explores the history of this tradition.

Main image:  Delivery note for baker Thomas Averley's 'penny cakes' in preparation for Cakes and Ale, 1685. Stationers' Company Archive, TSC/D/11/05

Cambridge Bookbinding 1450-1770

15 DECEMBER 2023

A fascinating new book by Liveryman Dr David Pearson, accompanied by a series of lectures, explores the history of book-binding in Cambridge.

'New directions in the study of the Book Trades '- call for papers

4 DECEMBER 2023

Interested in exploring new research avenues in the history of print? Want to contribute to the discussion? Then check out the call for papers for 2024's annual Print Networks/Centre for Printing History Conference, Unfinished Business: Progress, Stasis and New Directions in the study of the Book Trade since Peter Isaac, Newcastle University, 9-10 July 2024.

All images on this page: ‘Print taken from an original Joseph Crawhall II woodblock’, Crawhall (Joseph II) Archive, Special Collections, Robinson Library, Newcastle University, UK

A special visit to the Archive...

28 JUNE 2023

A very special visit from stars of the stage and screen Claire Bloom, Joseph Mydell and Bruce Alexander was the highlight of the week for the Stationers’ Company Archive.

Main photograph: Clustered around the Stationers' Register entry for Shakespeare's Folio are (l-r) Liverman Margaret Willes, Bruce Alexander, Claire Bloom, Joseph Mydell, Master Moira Sleight, and archivist Ruth Frendo

A visit to the Royal College of Music Museum

20 JUNE 2023

On June 13th, Court Assistant Carol Tullo and I visited the Royal College of Music Museum. Carol, who is the current Chair of the Library and Archive Committee, organised the meeting through the Musicians’ Company Junior Warden The Hon Richard Lyttelton, after last February's joint event The Shape of Music Copyright re-established closer working links between our two Companies. On the day, we were hosted by Stephen Johns, Artistic Director of the RCM, and Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, Museum Curator and Chair of Music & Material Culture. 

Queen's College First Folio comes to Stationers' Hall

25 MAY 2023

On Thursday 18^th May, Stationers’ Hall was host to a very special guest: an edition of Shakespeare’s First Folio which once belonged to the great eighteenth-century actor and theatre manager David Garrick.

Main image shows Queen's College Librarian Dr Matthew Shaw and Court Assistant Professor Tim Connell with the First Folio. Photograph © Ben Broomfield for Queen's College Oxford

May events at St Bride Foundation

9 MAY 2023

Stationers and anyone with an interest in print history will be excited to learn of two upcoming events at St Bride's Foundation. On Thursay 11th May, at 7-8.30pm, designer and author Marcin Wichary will give a talk on the history and creative potential of typing keyboards. And on Thursday 25th May, 7-8.30pm, representatives of five printing institutions from across Britain and Ireland get together to discuss their histories and collections. For full details, see below.

A tribute to Robin Myers

4 MAY 2023

The death of our Honorary Archivist Emeritus, Robin Myers MBE, on Monday, 1 May 2023, was a huge blow to the loyal community of Stationers, historians, archivists and friends which grew up around her during her long and active life. It’s fair to say that, without her tireless promotion of the Stationers’ Company Archive, this blog wouldn’t exist, so today we’re taking a moment to remember her remarkable contribution.

The Stanhope Stereotypes

20 APRIL 2023

One of the joys of working with archives is the fact that there's always more to learn. While sorting through unacatalogued material in the Stationers' Company Archive this week, I was excited to uncover a few buried gems. Researching them, I found out about the printing technique of stereotyping; about the third Earl Stanhope, one of the nineteenth-century innovators who developed the technique; and about Herbert Smart, the Liveryman who brought them into the Company in the 1980s.

Women's histories in the Stationers' Company Archive

8 MARCH 2023

International Women's Day is the perfect occasion to think about the many women, both celebrated and unseen, who have contributed to the history of the Stationers. This year, we seized an early opportunity to reflect on these women at our Gender, Archives and Inclusion study day, held on the 24^th of February at Stationers’ Hall.

Main image: some of the participants on the 24th of February.  Left to right: Clarissa Angus (National Archives), Ryan Prince (Young Stationer), Abira Hussein (UCL), Lizzy Baker (Tyne and Wear Archives), Caroline Duroselle-Mellish (Folger Shakespeare Library), Katie Aske (Northumbria University), Ellie Sheppard (Stationers’ Bursary recipient), Ruth Frendo (Stationers’ Company Archive), Aislinn O’Connell (Young Stationer), Beth Debold (PhD student, University of Newcastle/Stationers’ Company CDA)

Romeo and Juliet: A Stationers' Company production

14 FEBRUARY 2023

This Valentine’s Day, we look at the Stationers behind the publication of one of the greatest love stories of all time: Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

Main image: Frontispiece of Giulietta e Romeo by Luigi da Porto, 1530. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Meeting Ana Garcia Perez, our conservation student at West Dean College

1 FEBRUARY 2023

On the 30^th January, I was delighted to accept an invitation to a Scholars’ Lunch at West Dean College, an annual event where the College invites bursary-givers to come and see the work they’re funding. Over the years, the Stationers’ Foundation has bestowed Major Awards and Francis Mathew Scholarships to several conservation students at West Dean. I was eager to meet the current award holder, Ana Cristina Garcia Perez, and learn more about the training provided.