09/12/2011
Yesterday I was given the opportunity to visit the archives at the University of Exter's main campus, where I was shown around by Christine Faunch, Head of Archives and Special Collections. There is quite a lot of interaction between our two institutions, since both UCF and Exeter are part of the Comined Universities of Cornwall. Tremough Campus, where the University College Falmouth and University of Exeter Cornwall Campus' archives and special collections are based, is the Hub of the CUC, and degrees are offered here by both UCF and Exeter.
Coming from a very new service that has been running for about three years, it was fascinating to see a very much established HE archive. One of the most important collections at Exeter is the incredibly rich collection of twentieth-century literary papers by writers associated with the south-west of England. Among these writers are Ted Hughes, T S Eliot, Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Mauier, and many more. At Tremough we hold archives associated with our physical location. I feel it is really important to keep archives within their own conext as far as possible, for example by keeping them in the place they were created. They would not have the same poignancy and meaning if they were relocated to somehwere else in the country, unless there was some connection with their original owner. It seems so appropriate to hold the papers of Daphne Du Maurier, for example, in the South-west where many of her books are set. While I was at Exter, I was shown a note book for 'Rebecca' by Du Maurier. It was incredibly fragile, so much so that it can't be opened, although a surrogate of one of the pages has been made and is on display. This notebook, I was told, had been used in a plagiarism case against Du Maurier, to prove that the work was original, and so is a very important piece of her history.
One collection of regional and international importance is that of Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998. The collection contains manuscripts and typescripts, letters, photographs, and copies of books. Hughes moved to Devon in 1961 and remained there until the year of his death. Only a couple of days ago it was announced that a memorial stone was to be dedicated to Hughes in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey. The memorial, though many miles away in London, recognises and appreciates the idea of place as an important context. It was designed by a Devon stonemason, and has been placed at the foot of the memorial to TS Eliot, mentor to Hughes and another writer with close links to the south-west. The works of others associated with Ted Hughes are also kept at Exeter, for example several beautiful works by american artist and sculptor, Leonard Baskin. Baskin lived for nine years in Devon, near Hughes, and illustrated his work 'Crow'.
Three of Baskin's prints and a watercolour are on display at the University's state of the art reading room, as well as a writing desk belonging to Daphne Du Maurier. What struck me whilst going around the Old Library, where the archive service is based, is how visible the service is. There are several pieces of art from the collections on display, as well as items from the archives and manuscript collections. The most obvious and unavoidable presence is the Bill Douglas collection, which has two galleries absolutely crammed with artefacts and ephemera. It is one of Britain's largest collections relating to the history and prehistory of cinema, begun by Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell. And of course here at Tremough, we have our own Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell collection, containing annuals dating back to the 1940s, Hollywood picture albums, and a range of extraordinary novels that have been made into films.
I think our service at Tremough would really benefit from having a stronger presence, particularly among students. Granted, Exeter has had much longer to set itself up as a first-rate resource, yet a few simple ideas here could boost the number of students coming to see us. One issue is that we are very hard to find online: with only a link in a tiny font at the bottom of the 'Library Services' page, its no wonder people don't know we're here. As a service, we can provide unique primary sources which you won't find anywhere else. We could also try to get some of our records on display, just in a simple free-standing cabinet. We have some really great pieces visually, like photos from the Wildworks or Kneehigh Theatres, and sketchbooks by Tom Cross, painter and former principle of the Falmouth School of Art. Really eye-catching displays could be put together to draw people into the service, and its something I'd really like to have a go at and be in charge of, passing on the responsibility to my successors! Of course, it would take many years to get anywhere near the scale of the Exeter main campus archive service, but we are an important little resource nonetheless, and it would be great to see that reflected by increasing numbers of users.
Yesterday I was given the opportunity to visit the archives at the University of Exter's main campus, where I was shown around by Christine Faunch, Head of Archives and Special Collections. There is quite a lot of interaction between our two institutions, since both UCF and Exeter are part of the Comined Universities of Cornwall. Tremough Campus, where the University College Falmouth and University of Exeter Cornwall Campus' archives and special collections are based, is the Hub of the CUC, and degrees are offered here by both UCF and Exeter.
Coming from a very new service that has been running for about three years, it was fascinating to see a very much established HE archive. One of the most important collections at Exeter is the incredibly rich collection of twentieth-century literary papers by writers associated with the south-west of England. Among these writers are Ted Hughes, T S Eliot, Agatha Christie, Daphne Du Mauier, and many more. At Tremough we hold archives associated with our physical location. I feel it is really important to keep archives within their own conext as far as possible, for example by keeping them in the place they were created. They would not have the same poignancy and meaning if they were relocated to somehwere else in the country, unless there was some connection with their original owner. It seems so appropriate to hold the papers of Daphne Du Maurier, for example, in the South-west where many of her books are set. While I was at Exter, I was shown a note book for 'Rebecca' by Du Maurier. It was incredibly fragile, so much so that it can't be opened, although a surrogate of one of the pages has been made and is on display. This notebook, I was told, had been used in a plagiarism case against Du Maurier, to prove that the work was original, and so is a very important piece of her history.
One collection of regional and international importance is that of Ted Hughes, Poet Laureate from 1984 until his death in 1998. The collection contains manuscripts and typescripts, letters, photographs, and copies of books. Hughes moved to Devon in 1961 and remained there until the year of his death. Only a couple of days ago it was announced that a memorial stone was to be dedicated to Hughes in Poet's Corner at Westminster Abbey. The memorial, though many miles away in London, recognises and appreciates the idea of place as an important context. It was designed by a Devon stonemason, and has been placed at the foot of the memorial to TS Eliot, mentor to Hughes and another writer with close links to the south-west. The works of others associated with Ted Hughes are also kept at Exeter, for example several beautiful works by american artist and sculptor, Leonard Baskin. Baskin lived for nine years in Devon, near Hughes, and illustrated his work 'Crow'.
Three of Baskin's prints and a watercolour are on display at the University's state of the art reading room, as well as a writing desk belonging to Daphne Du Maurier. What struck me whilst going around the Old Library, where the archive service is based, is how visible the service is. There are several pieces of art from the collections on display, as well as items from the archives and manuscript collections. The most obvious and unavoidable presence is the Bill Douglas collection, which has two galleries absolutely crammed with artefacts and ephemera. It is one of Britain's largest collections relating to the history and prehistory of cinema, begun by Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell. And of course here at Tremough, we have our own Bill Douglas and Peter Jewell collection, containing annuals dating back to the 1940s, Hollywood picture albums, and a range of extraordinary novels that have been made into films.
I think our service at Tremough would really benefit from having a stronger presence, particularly among students. Granted, Exeter has had much longer to set itself up as a first-rate resource, yet a few simple ideas here could boost the number of students coming to see us. One issue is that we are very hard to find online: with only a link in a tiny font at the bottom of the 'Library Services' page, its no wonder people don't know we're here. As a service, we can provide unique primary sources which you won't find anywhere else. We could also try to get some of our records on display, just in a simple free-standing cabinet. We have some really great pieces visually, like photos from the Wildworks or Kneehigh Theatres, and sketchbooks by Tom Cross, painter and former principle of the Falmouth School of Art. Really eye-catching displays could be put together to draw people into the service, and its something I'd really like to have a go at and be in charge of, passing on the responsibility to my successors! Of course, it would take many years to get anywhere near the scale of the Exeter main campus archive service, but we are an important little resource nonetheless, and it would be great to see that reflected by increasing numbers of users.
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