Archives Assistant Stephanie Basford-Morris reflects on cataloguing her first archive collection, as part of her course in Archive Administration at Aberystwyth University. From the start of my course this had been an assignment I was really looking forward to, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. I was lucky with the collection itself, which is a personal … Continue reading A personal perspective – cataloguing the papers of Marian Henry Jones
Author: Richard Burton Archives
A Personal Vest : Running at Swansea in the 1930s
With the TCS London Marathon taking place this Sunday on the 23rd April, we thought we’d rummage through our sporting collections and discover the history of this old 1930s running vest! Running vest of W.A.Rees, Swansea University College Harriers [UNI/SU/PC/7/8] The vest is white cotton with forest green stripes, embellished with a red dragon embroidered … Continue reading A Personal Vest : Running at Swansea in the 1930s
Christmas cards from the Coalfield
Assistant Archivist Felicity Grey looks at the Christmas cards held at the Richard Burton Archives as a means of exploring our collections relating to the South Wales Coalfield.
Gower Through Time
An archival collection documenting the history of Gower has been excitedly uncovered by Archives Assistant (and Gower native!) Sarah Thompson. The Chapman collection offers a unique insight into Gower through time. Spanning over half a century (1900-1955), the Chapman collection was created by the Antiquarian Donald Le Cronier Chapman. Chapman was a Lloyd’s agent for … Continue reading Gower Through Time
What next for Digital Preservation? 3 Takeaways from iPres 2022
In September, delegates from across the globe travelled to Glasgow for the 2022 iPres conference on digital preservation. Thanks to the generous support of the Digital Preservation Coalition, our Assistant Archivist Simon Mackley was able to attend the conference and find out more about the latest developments in the field. In this blog post, Simon … Continue reading What next for Digital Preservation? 3 Takeaways from iPres 2022
Collections Care in the Archives – preserving the then for the now and for the future
Archives are often portrayed as being held in ‘dusty’ conditions, such as dark, dingy basements - but this is actually something that are deliberately avoided! Archive services are very conscious of the conditions required to ensure the long-term preservation of collections, and aspire to have state of the art facilities with latest technology. 'The Archives … Continue reading Collections Care in the Archives – preserving the then for the now and for the future
‘Take me as you find me … I am not ashamed of being myself’
This month for LGBT+ History Month, we are pleased to launch the newly catalogued Amy Dillwyn Collection (ref. DC6). Amy Dillwyn (1845-1935) was a pioneering female industrialist, novelist, social justice campaigner, and, according to Professor Kirsti Bohata, ‘a queer writer of international significance’’. Photograph of Amy Dillwyn and dog from the papers of David Painting, … Continue reading ‘Take me as you find me … I am not ashamed of being myself’
Explore Your Archive 2021
In case you missed it 20-28 November 2021 was Explore Your Archive week! The Explore Your Archive campaign takes place every November and enables services to showcase treasures from their collections, promote their holdings and to help people discover more about archives generally. The main message of the campaign is that archives are for everyone, … Continue reading Explore Your Archive 2021
Landscape, environment and archives – History Day 2021
This year's theme is environmental history so, along with other archives, museums and libraries participating in this year's History Day on 4 November, we're discovering how our collections can be used to research the impact of industry on nature, landscape, climate change and much more. The Lower Swansea Valley Project In the 1960s an innovative … Continue reading Landscape, environment and archives – History Day 2021
Back to School: Archives & Adult Learning
Archives Assistant Stephanie Basford-Morris reflects on her experience of going ‘back to school’ as an adult with a distance learning MA Archives Administration course, and highlights material giving an insight into adult learning over the decades in the Richard Burton Archive collections. Do you remember the particular joy of buying new stationary for back to school? This childhood … Continue reading Back to School: Archives & Adult Learning