British Studies: Day 14

As I have mentioned several blogs earlier, we have attended the V&A.  While I did not get to attend the David Bowie exhibit, I did today get to see the Beatrix Potter archive at the Blythe House.  It is a storage facility of the Victoria and Albert and as such is quite old- it use to be a post office and savings bank.  By the 1970s it was computerized and taken for storage and increasingly they wanted to increase their reserves.  The V&A originally kicked off around 1837 when schools studied design and the subject became large, thus the British Archive formed with a collection valued around 52 pounds.  In 1851, there was a great exhibition and the public was allowed to attend.  In 1851, a South Kensington branch began and then the suite we were at today.  It really started because of ambitious curators who were acquiring a wider selection of material- sculpture, paintings- and by the 1860s-1870s they became "one capacious handbag."  Textiles, wood, metal, illustrations, and more.  The archive and registry holds records of management roles, staff records and documents, freedom info, data protection legislation, and in the old schools of archive they were taught records with management practice.  So IT, records, database, and collaboration.  Nowadays, they face challenges such as print/electronic records, as was decreed the thing to do and thus more print has ensued, and the cataloging of the archive online.  Record retention is something archives has in their veins and the online catalog allowed the public to see what is available even before it is properly cataloged.  We were show a few books, including a 19th Century registrar with a request from Queen Victoria for a stain glass repair, as well as correspondence of William Morris's tapestries.

Peter Rabbit Illustration.

Alexia , an archivist of arts and design, talked to us about the importance of design to the collection.  They were set up in 1978 and with a lack of records of design and new design courses being offered with people needing research, they began collecting British-based artists & designs, making sure not to step on other cultures designs.  So they have clothing, furniture, textile, and other styles handy.  the collection does not, however, include fine art or architecture.  They aim for 5-15 items a year to collect, with 2 staff members to do so, and mainly do this from donation or gifts.  There are 400 individual archives, which can be seen in print and the online catalog- interestingly enough they are in a consortium.  Alexia showed us an interesting fashion designer of the 1920s named Lucile, the prints were lovely, and another example of fashion from the 1950s where they predicted 1980s trends, which included knitwear.

Francis talked to us about Beatrix Potter, as she is a specialist of children's literature and has her MLIS.  There are 100,000 Potter items.  The 1920s man collection came from a husband and wife team, Enid and Leslie Linder(of whom Andrew Whiltshire talked extensively about his family's connection and the importance of these two to the Beatrix Potter codex, a written piece that Leslie translated and crafted the history of the famous author) and how the collection changed houses a few times before settling.  Since the Linder's play a large part in the collection, there are a few of their books and personal effects here as well.  Parts of the collection are on long term loan, such as the Peter Rabbit Letters(from the states).  The most impressive was a 1901 copy of Peter Rabbit.  Growing up with the stories, it was great to listen to an in-depth history of their finding.  There was also an interesting Alice in Wonderland adaptation/reimagining and over 2000 botanical studies, such as butterflies beneath microscopes.  Andrew Whiltshire was able to shed light on the interest of the Linders on Beatrix Potter, often draw by the wife and the overall works being purchased quickly(they had plenty of money to do it), and thus his theory was that their work on the gathering of the collection and the codex inspired works such as The Tale of Beatrix potter by Margaret Lane, Letter to Children from Beatrix Potter by Judy Taylor, Tales of Beatrix Potter ballet, and Miss Potter starring Ewan McGreggor.


Then this evening I spoke on behalf of the class.  I hope to post my speech soon, but as it is almost 11:20, I will need some sleep before Cardiff tomorrow.