50 objects 30: Railway Regulations

Amongst our collections on transport history are numerous books of rules and regulations for railway staff. We have a range from different railway companies across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and the British Railway rule book of 1950 which pulled these together and superseded the regulations set out by individual companies.

The different editions of the same company’s rules show changes over time, and some volumes are annotated or have extra sections pasted in, showing how an individual copy of the rules was used and updated by its owner. It’s also interesting to compare the rules across companies; differences may reflect differences in the work, or organization, of particular companies.

Regulations tell us a great deal about life on the railway, such as the type of work that was done; the equipment that was used to do it; the duties and responsibilities of different types of staff; the difficulties caused by bad weather; the dangers staff and passengers could be exposed to if things went wrong; the necessity of having synchronized time across the railway network.

 

Here is a selection of excerpts from various rule books.

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Many editions of these books were designed for issue to individual staff members, and contained a declaration to be signed showing that the worker understood, and agreed to abide by, the rules therein. Here is an agreement from the front of the Eastern Counties Railway rules and regulations of 1857, signed by John Mason. He has incorrectly had his name entered in the space for his job title.

 

 

In addition to these general-purpose books, we hold a few more specialized examples, including instructions from Great Western Railway to its staff who worked with horses. There are standard rules such as the requirements for staff to be on duty when rostered and to maintain their uniform in a good condition, and in place of instructions for maintaining the engines or signals in good working order, there is the insistence on proper cleaning and drying of harness and collars.

The welfare of the horses themselves was of course paramount, and there are detailed instructions on the care of the animals; the need to report illness, lameness, or unsatisfactory feed; the need to ensure good working conditions by limiting the amount one horse should pull, and by covering slippery ground with gravel; the instruction that horses at work must be kept “in a cool and quiet state”.

In addition this collection holds regulations concerning the telegraph system, the traffic around a shipping port, and other aspects of railway life.

50 objects 29: Poems of Sir Walter Raleigh

Sir Walter Raleigh (c.1552 – 1618) is well-known for his connections with the court of Queen Elizabeth I and for his voyages of exploration, and is popularly credited with introducing potatoes and tobacco to Britain. He was, less famously, a scholar and poet. In 1813 his poems were published with a critical introduction; Special Collections at Brunel holds a second edition of this work, which was transferred to Brunel from the Shakespeare Authorship Trust.

 

This copy of the book is of great interest not simply for the texts it contains, but also for the light it can shed on the past; on the way it was used, and on the ways in which former owners interacted with the text.

 

The work is bound in a nineteenth-century gold-tooled leather binding, with more modern repairs, together with an edition of the poems of Robert Southwell which was printed separately in 1817. The binding would have been done on the orders of an early owner of the works, and may reflect his or her taste and budget as well as current fashions.

 

Handwritten names and notes throughout the book show that there have been several former owners or users; two people with the same surname added their names, indicating that perhaps the book was given or bequeathed by one family member to another.

 

Some of the notes are simply correcting the text, commenting on it, or marking passages of particular interest to the reader. One of the most intriguing additions is a lengthy Raleigh quotation, copied out, and captioned “Quoted by the father of a missing pilot, 1941”.

 

The source for this is a letter written by the said anonymous father to The Times, hoping the quotation would bring comfort to others as it had to him.  The book’s owner, under the quotation, has added “This is supported by the conclusions in psychotherapy as expanded by Marcus Gregory”, and has made notes elsewhere about psychotherapy, showing another of his or her interests as applied to Raleigh’s works.  Marcus Gregory published several  works on psychotherapy in the 1930s; it is not clear which one is referred to here.

 

One former owner studied a place where Raleigh lived, and added pencil sketches to this copy of the poems. The drawings are of Myrtle Grove, a house near Youghal in Ireland, and of yew trees in the garden there. Raleigh lived at Myrtle Grove in the 1580s and legend has it that the first potatoes in Ireland were planted there.

The drawing of the garden seems to be copied from a print in The Illustrated Guide to Sir Walter Raleigh`s House by Samuel Hayman (Youghal, 1861), shown here; further research on the annotations in the edited poems could reveal more about the interests of former owners, and about the information they had access to.

This post gives a taste of the kinds of information that can be gleaned from a study of the book as a physical object. Many books have more secrets waiting to be discovered.

50 0bjects 28: The Ladies Home Journal

A post by Graduate Trainee, Becky Tabrar

The Ladies Home Journal was an American monthly lifestyle magazine which was established in February 1883. By the turn of the century it was the leading women’s magazine in the US, and reached one million subscribers in 1903. Within our collection we hold editions spanning from 1939 to 1961, and studying the Journal allows us an insight into the attitudes and opinions of the time.

Persistent themes can be seen throughout the editions we hold; the most prominent of which is sexism. Advertisements frequently urge women to look their best for their husbands, as seen in an advert for Lady Esther cosmetics in the July 1939 edition, which states ‘the wrong shade of powder can turn the right man away’. Women are also advised on the best methods of keeping an orderly home. An Annual Report to Housewives, featured in the July 1961 edition, advertises the newest domestic appliances available, but exclusively addresses women. The article advises the reader to ‘ask a user what service she gets before you buy’; the assumption being that only women will ever use the domestic appliances. Moreover, adverts for domestic products universally feature women, and even when only a hand is shown, nail polish is used to ensure femininity is represented.

A typical representation of women in the adverts of the Ladies Home Journal

An advert from the Journal in 1945.

Another frequent theme is consumerism. Since the late 19^th century, shopping had been changing from a functional role for women, to a leisured and respectable activity. Companies began to see women as the ‘chief purchasing power’ for households and the adverts seen in the Ladies Home Journal reflects this. In fact, the journal itself was enforcing the link between women and consumerism, which was further strengthen by technological inventions in the domestic sphere, allowing women to spend less time on the household and more time shopping. The most frequently advertised items in the Ladies Home Journal include new domestic appliances, make up products and cleaning products.

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However, apart from tracing overarching themes through the editions, we can also gain information on the reaction of the American public to specific historical events. An article in the July 1945 edition documents the shocked reaction of the American public to the discovery of extermination camps following the collapse of the Third Reich. It claims that a cynical world, which has lost morality, and is obsessed with power, was to blame, and urges the world to return to religion. Similarly, reactions to the signing of the United Nations Charter can be seen in the September 1945 edition, whereby an article surmises that the agreement signed at San Francisco will not eradicate greed, but ‘can keep the peace when the inevitable threats of war arise again’.

Though attitudes differ, the special features of the Journal are still recognisable in today’s magazines. Each month a novel segment was included, and Eleanor Roosevelt, like celebrities today, was a regular columnist, answering queries from financial woes to the most fashionable hairstyle. Similarly, interviews with Hollywood celebrities were a frequent trend, along with fashion segments. In later editions, ladies could receive advice from a medical column, and letters of readers were published within the magazine.

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50 Objects 27: A History of Uxbridge

A post by Graduate Trainee, Becky Tabrar.

Included within our local history collection are nine volumes of The Victoria History of The County of Middlesex by the University of London Institute Of Historical Research. They are part of the Victoria County History project which was established in 1899, with the aim of producing a complete encyclopaedic history of each county in England. The project is still ongoing, and so far the histories of thirteen counties have been completed. The topics covered are varied and include natural, political, religious, economic and social histories.

Some of our Victoria County History volumes

Volume Four of the Middlesex history is dedicated to the ten ancient parishes in North- West Middlesex, of which Hillingdon is one. It contains fascinating information on the development of Brunel University London’s home town Uxbridge, which we have summarised into a short history below.

The frontispiece from Volume four.

Originally Uxbridge was a hamlet under the administration of its parent parish, Hillingdon. The earliest evidence of settlement within the Parish dates to the Palaeolithic era. A Roman road ran through the middle of the old Parish, and Roman pottery was found in Uxbridge in 1959, near Cowley church. It is believed the place names of ‘Hillingdon’, ‘Colham’, ‘Cowley’ and ‘Yiewsley’ originate from Saxon family names, while it is believed ‘Uxbridge’ derives from the original hamlet’s proximity to a bridge crossing the river Colne.

The first recorded use of the name ‘Uxbridge’ is in the 12^th century, and the hamlet was represented in Edward I’s first parliament in 1275. By 1328, Uxbridge was the major settlement in the parish of Hillingdon, and by the medieval period was an affluent market town. At the intersection between Windsor Street and High Street was the centre of the town. As is still the case today, it was home to the market house and St Margaret’ chapel (original built in 1275, and later rebuilt in the 15^th century). The present market house dates from the late 18^th century, while the oldest part of St Margaret’s Chapel, the North Tower, dates to the late 14th century.

Further connections between the medieval market town and todays Uxbridge are still visible. The 16^th century Treaty house, which is now the Crown and Treaty pub, was used as a venue for negotiations between King Charles I and Parliamentarians during the English Civil War. The inside retains original features, though only a single wing of the 16^th century mansion remains. Similarly, the building of the Three Tuns pub originates from the 16^th century, and is grade II listed. There is a monument on Cross Street overlooking what was formally known as Lynch Green to remember three protestant heretics who were burned there in 1555. The three men were not from the local area, but were used to set an example to the people of Uxbridge, and ensure they conformed to Catholic ideology. The memorial was established four hundred years later.

By the late 1700’s insanitary conditions in Uxbridge meant the high street was widened by fifty two yards to the South West, and a new market house was built. By 1790, the town consisted of houses neatly lining both sides of the high street, with a few shops, including a chair factory, a malt house, a brewery, a mill, Higgenson’s bank and the market house. By the 19^th century Uxbridge, aided by its proximity to the Grand Union Canal and it lining the route from Oxford to London, became one of the most important market towns in Middlesex, and was the main producer of flour for London. Even Kingsmill bread originated from Uxbridge!

Becoming increasingly autonomous, Uxbridge split from the Parish of Hillingdon in 1894, and formed the civil parish of Hillingdon West, which later became the Borough of Uxbridge.

References:

R.B. Pugh, The Victoria History of the Counties of England: Volume IV (13 Vols, London, 1971).

C. M. Hearmon, Uxbridge: A Concise History (Hillingdon Borough Libraries, 1982).

 

50 Items 26: Library Art Collections

A library performs many functions; it is a place of study, of discussion and debate, of collaboration and conference, or simply a warm respite from the winter winds. However, one role the Brunel Library performs you may not have noted is that it is also a palace of art.

Central concourse, looking east, late afternoon sun by Alan Bennett

The Library walls are ornamented by the Brunel University Collection of Artworks, a 700 item strong assemblage of prints, paintings and sculptures that have been amassed by the university over the course of its history.

 

Their placement in the Library seems appropriate. Intense work demands occasional distraction and taking a break and refreshing the self through enjoyment of art makes sense. Picasso apparently claimed that “The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls” so a five minute break looking at the Olympic Poster collection must at least give our insides a buff. Art also engenders creativity “A work of art is above all an adventure of the mind” (Eugene Ionesco). Allowing the mind to wander could bring new insight and perspectives.

The Library by Olwen Jones

 

The University displays its collections in offices, administrative buildings and public spaces across the campus. In the Library you will find several interesting series and types of images. A favourite is the linotype The Library, one of the first things you will encounter upon entering the Library at the Welcome Desk. It is painted by the painter and printmaker Olwen Jones and depicts a cosy room lined with books and featuring an inviting chair. As mentioned, a number of prints belong to the Olympic Poster Collection, which is comprised of framed colour screenprints and lithographs from an international selection of artists. For example, the colourful Olympic Objects by German artist Otmar Alt created for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. The poster illustrates a menagerie of abstract animals in primary hues. Certainly looking at these visuals gives new perception into the creativity of the human mind.

Munich Games 1972 Olympics Poster by Otmar Alt

One of the key collections the university holds is by the painter Alan Bennett, who painted several images of the university campus since the seventies to the present day. The Library holds several of these paintings and they evoke a pleasing glimpse into life outside the Bannerman walls. This is hardly scratching the surface of the many painting, prints and designs that can be explored.

 

Altogether these painting that grace our walls should not be overlooked in the primary pursuit of knowledge, but included as one of the many reasons to visit the Library.