Online newspapers of the world

 

Online newspapers of the world

The last twenty years has seen an explosion of news content online. Many national libraries/ archives or state organisations have invested in creating digital content, and have placed the results online. Many commercial organisations have also created online content for current affairs/ news. A key feature of many websites is the rapid searchability of entire databases, which greatly enables research. Links to some of the larger indexes and databases are given below. (This list is not personally endorsed by me.) There are vast amounts of data, interactive for current news, or historic. The next twenty years will undoubtedly see more proliferation of news…

Examples of Online newspapers/ News Websites in separate counties

 

Index of global newspapers https://www.websiteplanet.com/blog/complete-index-of-newspapers-across-the-globe/

Online Newspapers in all Countries in the World  https://www.newspaperindex.com/

Foreign Newspaper Collections at the Library of Congress https://guides.loc.gov/foreign-newspapers/digital-resources

Integrum News Archive (Russia) http://www.integrumworld.com/news.html#070120296

China Daily (English) https://www.newspapers.com/?xid=4207&utm_source=google&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=uk-pm&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw6p-oBhAYEiwAgg2PgoJU2pY6wwqzTRNc40pVDPgVArPlYV47Vr8cQggfomGao8pN7k0iyBoCYq8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Examples of Historic newspapers online

Chronicling America https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/

British Newspaper archive https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/?ds_kid=43700028815541746&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw6p-oBhAYEiwAgg2PgoII44L5ROY4_o6lsT-cA2vAHphWSj8tJ292xPss_JWokDE-aXD4QhoCkZgQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

National Library of Spain https://www.bne.es/en/catalogues/digital-periodical-and-newspaper-library

Bibliotheque nationale de France  https://gallica.bnf.fr/html/und/presse-et-revues/presse-et-revues?mode=desktop

Newspapers by Ancestry https://www.newspapers.com/?xid=4207&utm_source=google&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=uk-pm&gad=1&gclid=CjwKCAjw6p-oBhAYEiwAgg2PgoJU2pY6wwqzTRNc40pVDPgVArPlYV47Vr8cQggfomGao8pN7k0iyBoCYq8QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

There are many hundreds of links to explore…

Edmund M B King

September 2023

Small advertisements in 19th century London newspapers

 Small advertisements in 19^th century London newspapers

 

Details taken from the Pinterest board – Extracts from old newspapers.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/edmundking/extracts-from-old-newspapers/

url links are to the images (usually the full text) of each advertisement.

To view the full text, highlight the url, right click, and open in a new tab. 

The list is in alphabetical order, normally by a ‘significant’ first word.

 

'Acrostic [poem]. Addressed to Mr. Grimstone on his incomparable Eye Snuff. (from Grimstone's Weather Almanack.)' The Universe, no. 42, 23 October 1846, p. 8.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495667905146/

'Board and Lodging. - A LADY... is desirous of receiving into her family THREE SINGLE LADIES. Sisters would be preferred.' The Morning Chronicle no. 16,476 7 February 1822 p. 1

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495675923052/

'Burgess's essence of anchovies.' Advertisement in The Weekly Intelligencer and British Luminary, no. 113, 26 November 1820, page 383.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495665434378/

Dr. Lea's Vegetable Balsamic Extract:... unrivalled as a Cure in all Cases of Coughs, Colds, Asthma, and all Pulmonary Complaints.' Full page advertisement in The Operative, no 26, 26 April 1839, p. 15.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495675417846/

East India Company invites tenders to build ships. The Star, no. 9,866, 12 October 1812, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495673472997/

Elkington & Co. Electro-Plated and Gilt Articles. Advertisement. English Chronicle no. 17,664, 28.12.1843, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495678117275/

Eye catching ads across two columns. Bold capitals.  The Hour (newspaper), no. 168, 4 October 1873, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495678725661/

[Advertisement for] The Daily News, a year after it started in January 1846. The Universe, no. 3, 15 January 1847, p.1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495668076489/

'Further Proof of the Efficacy of Blair's Gout and Rheumatic Pills.' The London Dispatch. No. 1, 17 September 1836, p. 8. Vignette illustration of a gout sufferer, with bandaged leg, in an easy chair.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495675264470/

'Game List ... London, Middlesex and Westminster. KList of persons who have taken out a General Game Certificate at £4. 0d. 10d. each...' The Weekly News and Chronicle, no. 944, 30 September 1854, pp. 622-623.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669046753/

'Grimstone's Hair Regenerator'. An acrostic poem. The Censor, no. 3, 18 January 1846, p. 8.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495674953058/

 [Advertisement for] 'The Horary, or, Hourly Record for 1846.' [Diaries at this time were known by this name. Letts diaries are still published...] The Universe, no. 2. 13 January 1846, page 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495667640612/

Housemaids wanted. The Hour (newspaper), no 168, 4 October 1873, p. 8.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495678725669/

[Advertisement for] 'Illustrated work by George Cruikshank. In medium *vo. gilt edges, price 14s. George Cruikshanks's table Book. Edited by Gilbert a Beckett. List of steel engravings.' The Express [newspaper], no. 3, 3 September, 1846, p.1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669896400/

[Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce]. ‘Notice.’ [Avoid imitations.] The Universe, no. 11. 7 March 1846, page 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495667640604/

'Lloyds Illustrated Family Portfolio' [Advertisement]. The London Railway Newspaper, no. 5, 8 November 1845, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495674380182/

‘The London and Northampton Direct Atmospheric Railway Company Preliminary Announcement.' The London Railway Newspaper, no. 4, 1 November 1845, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495674379949/

E. Moses & Son Tailors. 'The Pleasures of Winter', a poem as an advertisement for E. Moses & Son, Tailors, of 154 Monories. The Censor, no.1, 4 January 1846, p.1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495674783151/

'Mudie's Library. All the best NEW BOOKS are furnished without delay from Mudie's Library...' The Express, no. 5,558, 1 June 1864, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495670301999/

'The National Review'. [Publication notice] The Weekly Chronicle, no. 985, 14 July 1855, p. 433.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669150227/

‘New and valuable Works published by John Snow.’ The Universe, no. 15. 14 April1846, page 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495667640596/

[Advertisements for] 'The Newcomes' and 'Hard Times' published by Bradbury and Evans. The Weekly News and Chronicle, no. 939, 26 August 1854, p.543.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669046740/

‘New London Hat Depot, 132 Kirkgate...Edward Rhodes respectfully announces to the Inhabitants of Leeds that ...the premises are now open...' In: 'The Northern Star and Leeds General Advertiser', no. 9, 13 January 1839, p.1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495675428258/

'A new Chester newspaper, ...entitled the Chester Herald.' The Star, no. 7,135, 11 January 1810, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495672677203/

'Newspaper and Advertisements Office. W. Martin', [moved premises to no. 8 Cornhill, plus list of newspapers circulated by them in the UK]. The Star, no. 7,135, 11 January 1810, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495672677203/

[Advertisement for] 'Norton's Camomile Pills.' The Weekly News and Chronicle, no. 749, 19 January 1851, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669046736/

Norwich and London Accident Insurance Association. Its cover is stated in many separate boxes, each stating one of its services, to draw attention of the reader. The Hour (newspaper) , no.1, 24 March 1873, p.1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495678725640/

'Notice to Advertisers. The number of [revenue] stamps issued by the authorities of the Stamp-office, during 1847 to The Express [was] 778, 714.' Assuming publication of 312 daily issues in 1847 [i.e publication six days a week], the number of copies sold each day was an average 2,496 copies. The Express, no. 576, 3 July 1848, p. 2.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669967012/

[Advertisement for] 'Works by Paul de Kock...' Penny Dispatch, no. 89, 7 August 1842, p. 2.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669830929/

[Advertisement by] Phillips and Company, Tea and Colonial Merchants. 'Duty off Tea!' The Weekly News and Chronicle, no. 934, 22 July 1854, p.449.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669046739/

[Advertisement for] 'Photographic portraits at half coloured or plain.' The Universe, no. 19, 30 April 1847, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495668076503/

'Regular Daily Sale of The Globe Daily Evening Newspaper for the month of August [1809]'. Some 2,500 copies per day. The British Press, no. 2089, 2 October 1809, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669199404/

Robert Warren's Blacking [verse advertisement]. The Star, no. 10,300, 1 March 1820, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495673472797/

Robert Warren's (Easy and Brilliant) Blacking. An advertisement in the form of a  poem entitled ‘Management; or, raising the wind’, Common Sense [newspaper], no. 20, 12 December 1824, p.1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495678622482/

Royal Humane Society. Advertisement for the recovery of the persons apparently drowned or dead. The New Times, no. 6,069, 7 February 1822, p.1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495678347693/

'The Royal Mails set off from the above offices every Evening...' The British Press, no. 3659, 5 September 1814, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669433036/

'Scale of Charges for Advertisements.' The Weekly Chronicle and Register, etc no. 1607, 22 June 1867, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669150256/

The Star and Evening Advertiser no. 2,544, 8 October 1796. Colophon, showing names of Agents and Distributors.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495672222503/

'Take warning in time. Griffiths's cough lozenges.' The Weekly News and Chronicle, no. 749, 19 January 1851, p. 1.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669046731/

'Treloar's cocoa nut fibre warehouse 42Ludgate Hill'. The Express, no. 1,361, 4 January 1851, p. 7.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495670087629/

 'Walker's Patent Phoenix Stove', accompanied by an engraving of a seven-storey ceramic stove. The London Railway Newspaper, no. 6, 15 November 1845, p.8.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495674397196/

William Tweedie. Temperance books and pamphlets published by William Tweedie. The Weekly News and Chronicle, no. 940, 2 September 1854, p.559.

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495669046741/

‘The New Willcox & Gibbs Silent Sewing Machine.' Sentences and phrases run vertically down the column...The Manchester Times no. 987, 11 November 1876, p. 7

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/505599495676257792/

 

 Edmund M B King

St Albans

May 2022

 

 

British Library Collection Care blog 2 December 2013

02 December 2013

Read All About It #1 - What’s in the Papers?

“Life is a series of hellos and goodbyes, I’m afraid it’s time for goodbye again, Say goodbye to Colindale. Say goodbye, my baby…” [with apologies to Billy Joel]

So. The Newspaper Library at Colindale finally closed its doors to the public on 8 November this year, having first opened them to readers more than eighty years ago. Like many of you, we’ll miss the old place for all sorts of personal reasons – for the things we discovered there, the friends we made there, the experiences we shared there.

But professionally, being charged with preserving its vast collection and keeping it available, we can’t be too sad, because we know that, by closing its old doors, we are opening a new one and taking a massive, exciting step towards a better, more stable future for the collection and a much improved experience for those who want to use it.

 The reading room at Colindale, c. 1970                                                   

The sun’ll come out, tomorrow…

The Colindale building opened in 1905 for the storage of newspapers, which means today that we have a double collection care whammy – a very vulnerable collection (let’s face it, newspapers were never meant to be kept for hundreds of years) stored in a very inappropriate building. The main enemies of organic material – light, temperature, humidity and particulates – were unable to be controlled as efficiently and cost effectively as we needed to at Colindale to ensure the future of the collection. This unsuitable and unstable environment was catalysing the natural deterioration process of the organic materials that make up the collection, which means we need to take urgent action.

 Sunlight falls on the Colindale collection

For example, there are over 450 windows in the stacks at Colindale – one at each end of every range – which has allows sunlight to do its damage visually and chemically over the years. Sometimes open and sometimes closed variously across the six floors of storage, they also make the temperature and humidity difficult to control and the fluctuations in these in particular are contributing to the condition of the collection.  Solar gain is augmented by old radiators in between every second window, part of an original heating system that can’t be controlled centrally or sensitively.

 Sunlight falling on the shelves at Colindale in North London

What’s in the papers?

For our readers and users, what’s in the papers is what it’s all about. The content of our Newspaper Collection is a rich and vibrant source of information that draws researchers from all over the world. But for those of us whose job it is to care for the collection and keep it available, what’s literally in them (what they’re made of), is more important, because it has a significant impact on their life expectancy and our management of it.

Getting enough of the right fibre

Newspaper is made from cellulose fibres and up until the mid/late 19th century, the most common source for this was recycled textiles, or rags (largely, but not exclusively, from cotton and linen). Rag papers have lovely long, strong fibres of pure cellulose and, although all cellulose-based papers produce acid-based by-products through natural degradation, kept in the right environment (more of that later), and handled appropriately (more of that, too), they will stand up naturally well to the challenges of time and use.

But cotton and linen rag was not a sustainable source for newsprint, and a shortage of rags combined with an increased demand for paper led to development and use of wood as the primary source of paper pulp – and inadvertently presented us with a major preservation headache… 

Wood

The problem that wood pulp papers give us is that wood contains lignin (amongst other things), a complex polymer that binds the cellulose fibres into a cohesive structure. And the trouble with lignin is that it’s light sensitive. It will degrade and discolour on exposure to light, weakening any paper that contains it.

If you leave a newspaper in the sun for just a few days you’ll see the start of this degradation process by the discolouration of the exposed pages. Leave it longer and the pages will become brittle and will physically break when handled.

 Wood fibres (here on the left) provide a weaker bonding matrix than rag fibres

Brittle newspaper can be virtually unmanageable. If you’ve ever requested a newspaper item and have been advised that it is not able to be issued for preservation reasons, frequently (but not always) it will be because the item is too vulnerable to loss of content and further damage as a result of brittle paper:

 These volumes of regional papers from 1908 show the effect of brittle paper. Sometime brittle paper affects only certain areas of the page (often the outer edges) and only parts of a volume, but some are brittle throughout and their weakened pages detach readily. Handling is difficult and loss of content inevitable. Neither of these volumes would be available for issue under normal circumstances

When you realise that of the approximately 282,000 bound volumes of newspapers currently at Colindale, over 90% are published after 1850 and fall into that window where rag pulp was starting to be superseded by wood pulp, you get an idea of the scale of the challenge we face in trying to preserve the collection and keep it available.

Stopping the rot

Another challenge we face is 'red rot'. Atmospheric sulphur dioxide absorbed into leather bindings over many years oxides to form sulphuric acid which dissolves the leather to red powdery material of no physical strength. While leather degradation by red rot can’t be reversed, the rate can be slowed by improving the environmental conditions in which volumes are stored and reducing their exposure to natural light.

  
 These volumes of Scottish papers were originally quarter bound in blue leather, but the leather on the spines where the spines are exposed to the atmosphere, has been seriously degraded by red rot

 

 We can see that the leather on the spine has completely degraded away, exposing the spine lining which was glued up using a hot-melt glue. The kettle stitch and cords are exposed and continued use will result in this volume completely disbinding

Size Matters

Brittle paper and red rot are common conditions that we have to dea l with, but these are often compounded by the size of many of the items in the collection.

“…and my pocket sonnets are yours, Miss Marianne!”  Thus Mr Willoughby confirmed the gift of his teensy little bound volume of Shakespeare sonnets to Marianne Dashwood in the film version of Sense and Sensibility.

Imagine the alternative newspaper version:

“…and my bound volume of the Argus, Clarion and Trumpet Jan-Dec is yours, Miss Marianne! You fellows bring her on up! Steady...Curses, mind the lintels! This bookcase shall have to be rebuilt to accommodate her. And the reading table much extended and reinforced…she’s of monstrous size (no, no, not you My Love…!)"

 

 Left: This is one of our smallest volumes, the Birmingham Stock Exchange Monthly Investment List. The volume here is dated 1910 and, no taller than a pencil, measures 14cm x 8.5cm and weighs only 100g

Binding newspapers into volumes was a practical way of keeping them together and protecting the pages from physical damage as well as, to some degree, harmful light and particulates. But this means that we have many items in the collection that are of significant size and weight, which makes handing very difficult. This can lead to physical damage of stable material and significant damage to unstable material.

By contrast, this volume of the Alloa Journal & Clackmannanshire advertiser 1895 [left-most volume below], while still not the largest volume in the collection, measures 82.5cm x 61cm and weighs in at an impressive 17.51 kg.

 In the example above the text block, over time and with use, has dropped out of its binding under its own weight. With both boards detached the text block is no longer properly protected. It is not only suffering damage but is increasingly difficult to handle.

Next post: Paper, paper everywhere, and not a page to read…

We know our newspaper collection is a brilliant resource for many different people for all sorts of reasons, and it’s crucial to us that we continue to make as much of it available as possible. In our next post, Building a Future, we’ll look at the steps we’ve taken over the years to provide content where originals are too fragile, including conservation, microfilming and digitisation; the effect on the collection of the current building and the preservation justification for moving; and we’ll look inside the new building and explore its benefits and advantages.

For more information on the newspaper moves programme see our Newspaper Moves web page.

Sandy Ryan

Posted by Christina Duffy at 09:22:08 in Conservation , Newspapers , Paper , Preservation , Preventive conservation , Research , Science

Tags: Colindale , Newspaper Library , Newspapers , Paper Fibres , Read all about it , Red Rot , Wood

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Conservation , Newspapers , Paper , Preservation , Preventive conservation , Research , Science

British Library Collecion Care blog - 13 January 2014 - Building a Future.

BL Collection Care blog

13 January 2014

Read All About It #2 - Building a Future

This is the second in a series of blog posts discussing the challenges of caring for the national newspaper collection - how we’ve worked to preserve it and keep it accessible in the past and how we are going to do so in the future.

The national newspaper collection is on the move. Its current home at Colindale is no longer fit for purpose – either as a repository able to offer long term sustainability to the collection; or as a facility for readers to experience the modern, dynamic newspaper and news service that we want to offer. This recent BBC News report paints a vivid picture.

We know the collection is vulnerable, and if we don’t act now to move it into better conditions, we risk more of it falling into such bad condition that we will be unable to issue it without increased damage or loss, if at all.

Our survey says…

In 2001, as part of a three year project to survey all of the Library’s collections on all of its sites, we surveyed the newspaper collections at Colindale using the PAS (Preservation Needs Assessment Survey) methodology. The results showed that the newspaper collection is the most vulnerable of all of the Library’s collections and gave us a statistically sound picture of the state of this national collection. Our results showed that 34% of the collection at Colindale was unstable – 19.4% in poor condition, 14.6% unusable.

We know that improved storage is the best way of preserving the whole collection for the long term, and our new Newspaper Storage Building (NSB) is undergoing its final testing as I type.

However, this is just the latest – and most ambitious – effort to strike a balance between the long-term preservation needs of the collection and our duty to make it available to users.

The ties that bind

  

When reader facilities were added to the original Colindale repository in 1932, a bindery was also created on the 3rd floor. Here, new legal deposit intake was bound, and older papers were conserved – pulled down, de-acidified, repaired and re-sewn and re-bound. Treatment and binding styles varied depending on the age, type and size of newspaper - machine sewn; hand-sewn on tapes or cords, buckram and leather, half and quarter; finished in foils, mostly, but occasionally gold leaf.

As the conservation and binding of newspapers proved to be less and less cost and time effective over the years, benefiting only a small part of a vast collection, the bindery was closed in 2001. However, because of the work that was done, there are many thousands of volumes in perfectly good condition today that otherwise wouldn’t be.

Below, the bindery at Colindale in full production in the 1980s.

 Newspapers ready for sewing, by machine and by hand

 Forwarding and finishing

Lights! Camera! Microfilm!

We know that not everyone is a massive fan of microfilm. From a user point of view it has few of the advantages of digital and it’s not the real thing. But for the long term preservation of content it has proved its worth and without the large-scale microfilming programmes undertaken in the 1970s and onwards, a significant portion of our content would simply be unavailable today in any form.

 Microfilming at Colindale began in the 1950s. In 1971 a dedicated microfilm unit was completed. At its height the unit operated 20 cameras and the BL produced (internally and externally) approximately 13 million frames of newspaper content annually

For we are living in a digital world, and I am a digital girl...(sorry, Madonna)

We still copy newspapers today, to increase access to content and to preserve the originals, but the format tends to be digital rather than microfilm. For instance the Library is working in partnership with DC Thompson Family History to digitise 40 million pages of 19th and early 20th century newspapers and make them available on the British Newspaper Archive website. Interestingly, where we can’t scan the original newspapers, the microfilm we created over the last 50 years is proving an invaluable alternative scanning source.

“What are you able to build with your blocks? Castles and palaces, temples and docks.” (from Block City by Robert Louis Stevenson)

 The new storage building, with the main void at the back and the support building in front

Well, what we’ve been able to build with our blocks is a brand new storage facility for the national newspaper collection at Boston Spa, known lovingly as NSB – Newspaper Storage Building (we love to tell it like it is!). This state-of-the-art building will secure the long term future of the collection. In a complete (improved) reversal of storage fortune for the collection, it will be stored in the dark which will protect it from the damaging light levels that were unable to be controlled at Colindale.

The temperature will be 14⁰C and relative humidity 55%, a vast improvement on what was able to be achieved at Colindale. More importantly, it will be maintained at a steady level which overall will provide an environment for the collection that will slow down the rate of deterioration. Crucially, the oxygen level is purposely low at 14-15%, eliminating the risk of fire (ignition is impossible). The ingest and retrieval of newspapers is automated, which means in turn that the storage can be high density.

Lying down on the job

Not us – the collection! If you read our first post, you’ll know that the collection varies in size enormously, from volumes no bigger than a pocket diary to volumes weighing nearly 20 kg. Storing these large and heavy volumes vertically is causing physical damage, particularly where the boards are no longer attached and providing support, so in the new building the collection will be stored horizontally in stacks which will ease the pressure on the bindings and stabilise the text block. A ‘stack’ consists of a bottom board, a stack of volumes, and a top board. The boards and the stack are secured by straps. The stacks are stored on huge carrier trays in the storage racking, each holding various permutation of stack sizes.

It all stacks up

We’ve set a maximum stack height of 400 mm for each stack. Volumes will be grouped together by condition and stacked by size, with bound volumes being alternated spine to foredge to provide a stable stack with an even weight distribution. In order to do this, we’ve undertaken a massive data gathering exercise, determining the size of every item in the collection and assigning a condition rating of good, poor, or unusable.

Size

The collection was divided into seven sizes or footprints, relating to the board sizes on which items will be stacked. Footprint 1 is any volume up to 380 mm (h) x 310 mm (w), while footprint 7 caters for volumes between 820-1012 mm (h) x 680-770 mm (w) – we have several hundred of these. 

It’s a wrap

Knowing the condition of each item in the collection is important if we are to direct our resources appropriately and effectively. For this project, it was even more crucial because of the handling and transport logistics involved in moving from one building to the other. To protect items that are particularly vulnerable, we are shrink-wrapping those in poor and unusable condition.

 A stack of three shrink-wrapped volumes, being tested for stability

 One of the giant cranes is lifted into place. These will run up and down each aisle delivering carrier trays through a sealed air lock to the work stations in the support building

 The workstations in the support building

 Stacks being built in a dedicated test facility

It’s no small undertaking to move such a large and vulnerable collection half way up the country, so in our third post on this topic we’ll spend some time with Moves Manager Sarah Jane Newbery to find out what the challenges are – and how it’s all progressing.

For more information on the newspaper moves see: www.bl.uk/newspaper-moves and follow us @BL_CollCare.

Sandy Ryan

Posted by Christina Duffy at 09:57:45 in Bindings , Books , Conservation , Digital preservation , Digitisation , Materials , Newspapers , Preservation , Preventive conservation , Science

Tags: Boston Spa , Colindale , Microfilming , National Newspaper Collection

Imperial Gazette and Westminster Journal

Starting life in the 1740s as the Westminster Journal, the newspaper had combined by January 1813, with the Imperial Weekly Gazette, and the longer title: Westminster Journal and Imperial Weekly Gazette. From January 1814, the titles were reversed to be: Imperial Weekly Gazette and Westminster Journal. 

For issue number 3997, 3 January 1818, the circulation note underneath the banner reads:

"Circulating through Westminster, the City, and Borough of Southwark on FRIDAY afternoon; and delivered in every principal City, Town and County, within 120 miles of London."

The publication note reads: "(issued each) Saturday morning - (the newspaper) Established seventy five years and universally patronised."

Each front page has a duty stamp (of four pence?). by this time, regular articles included a front page Editorial, Parliament Poetry, Religion, Law, Crime, Theatre, Foreign Intelligence, letters to the Editor.

On Page 4 of issue no. 3999, 17 January 1818, the advertisement for Atkinson's Fluid for the Growth of Hair, praised its efficacy in florid verse.

An eye-catching puff for Turner's Inestimable Blacking, is in an 'Acrostical Code'. It appeared in issue no. 4017, 23 May 1818, page 3. The verse is of mediocre quality, but it certainly catches the attention.

Editorials were frequently on the front page, often on religious/ moral topics, such as: “Effects of the Crusades on the Morals and Manners of Europe” (21 November 1818); or, “On the Contemplation of the Supreme Being (3 April 1819); or, “On the Fallacy of Human Enjoyment” (17 July 1819).  However, the paper did criticize the clergy of Durham for not ringing church bells, to respect for the death of Queen Caroline (24 November 1821).

The arrest of Mr. (Richard) Carlile was reported in issue no. 4025 (28 August 1819) for “…the publication of a seditious libel in a pamphlet called Sherwin’s Political Register, …For an article entitled: “.. a letter to Lord Sidmouth, calling on his Lordship to bring to justice the Yeomanry Cavalry and Magistrates of Manchester, for the murders committee by them at the late meeting of that place…” ( i.e. the ‘Peterloo massacre’).

It took two months for the news of Napoleon’s death, on 7 May 1821, to reach Europe. The matter of his last illness and death were detailed in the 7 July issue, in a ‘Postcript’ column. 

The popularity of Queen Caroline was reflected in the many columns of coverage of her last illness and death (11 August 1821); and of her funeral procession (18 August 1821.

From the tone of many articles, the paper saw itself as enlightened, but from the point of view of an essentially upper class outlook. Conservative in spirit, it reported weekly foreign news and domestic crime in much detail, the paper continued in this manner for many years. 

The 'Museum Britannicum'/ British Museum octagonal stamp is on the front page of issue 3997, 3 January 1818. It is likely that this stamp was applied only to the first issue in this bound volume.

There are multiple 'Museum Britannicum'/ British Museum  stamps listed in: 

Libraries within the library: the origins of the British Library's printed collections / edited by Giles Mandelbrote and Barry Taylor. (2009), Appendix I: Identification of Printed Books acquired by the British Museum, 1753-1836, Stamping Dies and Inks, General Stamps.  

Stamp type [I e], page 418, seems a good fit with the one stamped on issue no. 3997. 

The British Museum was not known at this date to acquire recently published newspapers, either by copyright or by purchase. However, the purchase of issues of this title remains a possibility. 

Evidence of this kind offers some insight into the early times of newspaper acquisition by the BM, even if the origin of the acquisition is not fully explained. 

Edmund M B King

October 2018. 

The Great Exhibition of 1851 and the Crystal Palace

The Great Exhibition and contemporary newspaper reports

The amount of literature about the The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of all Nations is vast.  Paxton’s design of the building attracted as much attention as the Exhibition itself. This blog offers a brief glimpse of newspaper reports published during the run-up to the exhibition, to its opening and description of its contents, as contained within the British Newspaper Archive (BNA). The Illustrated London News led the way, with detailed descriptions of the plans for and the construction of the Crystal Palace in the second half of 1850, and early in 1851. The magazine Punch also provided many cartoons satirising the whole show, and particularly the leading role of Prince Albert. 

Articles in contemporary London and Provincial newspapers are innumerable. A search for ‘Crystal Palace’ in the BNA, filtering on the years 1850-1859 yields nearly 9,000 pages of results. For the year 1851 alone, the number of pages is 1,423. Placing ‘on’ the filter for illustrations, one retrieves ten pages of results. Many newspapers created special supplements, giving copious details of the forthcoming exhibits, and of the building itself. As early as February 1851, the Reading Mercury sacrificed half of its normal front page of Advertisements, so that the ‘View of the Exterior [i.e. Interior] of the Great Exhibition’ could be reproduced.  

Reading Mercury - Saturday 08 February 1851 page 1

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000369/18510208/001/0001

 

The same illustration of the Interior was reproduced in the Gloucester Journal of Saturday, 22 February 1851, on page 5. The scene is entirely imaginary: the Exhibition did not open until 1^st May 1851. However, we see the throng of people on the ground floor, and galleries are also well populated. The great length of the building is conveyed by the semi-circular window in the distance, to the west. The nature of the roof glazing is conveyed to the viewer, together with the cast iron columns and cross supports, all of which were bolted together. 

Gloucester Journal - Saturday 22 February 1851 page 5

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000532/18510222/019/0005

  

The same illustration was reproduced over a month later by the Sussex Advertiser, 11 March 1851. 

Sussex Advertiser - Tuesday 11 March 1851 page 2

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000257/18510311/002/0002

 

Provincial newspapers were quick to write accounts of the opening of the Exhibition of the 1 May 1851. On page 4 of the Chelmsford Chronicle of the 2 May 1851, we see the Royal Procession; on page 2 of the same issue, a headline: “The Great Exhibition” was supplemented with the by-line: “State Opening by Her Majesty”. The language of the article seems somewhat self important to us today.

Chelmsford Chronicle - Friday 02 May 1851 page 4

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000225/18510502/010/0004

 

Chelmsford Chronicle - Friday 02 May 1851 page 2

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000225/18510502/010/0004

Only a day later, on the 3 May, the Exeter and Plymouth Gazette published the same illustration as appeared in the Chelmsford Chronicle the day before, with the caption: ‘The Royal Procession in the Crystal Palace’. 

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette - Saturday 03 May 1851 page 4

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000267/18510503/009/0004

 

The order of the Royal Procession, printed in detail, shows how carefully regulated it was (this is still true today for Royal ceremonies). Paxton, Henderson and Fox led the way, followed by the Exhibition Commissioners, and then Queen Victoria’s ministers, and the Bishop of London, and the Archbishop of Canterbury. 

Exeter and Plymouth Gazette - Saturday 03 May 1851 page 4

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000267/18510503/009/0004

On the 3 May, in its Supplement, the Bristol Mirror and Times, printed a view of the exterior of the Crystal Palace. We can see much activity outside the façade of the building, carriages arriving with their royal occupants, and conveying other dignitaries. As the building was adjacent to Rotten Row, we see soldiers on horses and many people who had assembled to watch the proceedings .

Bristol Times and Mirror - Saturday 03 May 1851 page 9

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000981/18510503/085/0009

 

Descriptions of the exhibits were many and varied. On the 17 May, the Bristol Times printed a whole page on the Great Exhibition, and Showed an Equestrian statue of the Queen. There was a description of this statue further down the same page.

Bristol Times and Mirror - Saturday 17 May 1851 page 3

Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/BL/0000981/18510517/023/0003

You can obtain other images about the Great Exhibition from many sources. One of the most sumptuous of contemporary publications was Dickinson's ComprehensivePictures of the Great Exhibition of 1851. This was a series of brillinatly coloured chromolithographs. From these, you have a sense of almost being there with the visitors, exploring the many displays of the Crystal Palace, seeing the array of colours and strange objects, both inside and outside the building.

Finally, on October 11th, almost too soon,  it was over. Over six million (6,039,195) people had visited the Exhibition.  £75,557/15- had been spent on refreshments. The quantities of food consumed was prodigious: 60,698 cottage loaves; 68,428 pound cakes; 934,691 bath buns; 1,046 gallons of pickles; 33 tons of hams; 33,432 quarts of milk; 1,092,337 bottles of Schweppes soda water, lemonade and ginger beer. Receipts for the Exhibition amounted to £506,100. Expenditure was £292,794. The difference was £213,305. For an enterprise not intended to make money, it proved very successful at doing so. (This account is drawn from the First Report of the Commissioners for the Exhibition of 1851.) A very detailed account of what was done with the surplus funds is printed in the  Survey of London: Volume 38, South Kensington Museums Area. 1975. Chapter 4. The Estate of theCommissioners for the Exhibition of 1851.

The Crystal Palace had to be taken down after the Great Exhibition ended. What happened next is equally well known, and the events that led to the building of the Sydenham Crystal Palace in 1854, and the newspaper reports that covered its genesis, will be described in another blog,

Edmund M B King

January 2015