February, 2013 | The British Newspaper Archive Blog - Part 2

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‘Horse Meat for London’ – a Newspaper Story from 1948

Newspaper report on the opening of a new slaughterhouse in Langport to meet demand for horse meat in London – October 1948 With all the hullaballoo regarding horse meat at the moment, we thought we’d post this topical news story from 1948 which reports on an anticipated big demand for horse meat in London. View this page for free! You can read the newspaper page on which this story appears for free – just click on the image below or

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Charles Darwin – born in Shrewsbury on 12 February 1809

Letter to a newspaper (in 1882) from Darwin’s friend, Admiral John Lort Stokes, describing Darwin’s workaholic routine (and sea sickness!) while aboard HMS Beagle Charles Darwin was born in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, on 12 February 1809. There are 100s of stories about Darwin in the Archive, but we really like this letter written by his friend, Admiral John Lort Stokes, who sailed with Darwin on HMS Beagle. Through highlighting Darwin’s workaholic routine (and sea sickness!), Lort offers a fascinating insight into

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Sir Samuel Plimsoll, inventor of ‘the Plimsoll Line’

Newspaper report from 1898 on the life and achievements of Sir Samuel Plimsoll On 10 February 1824, Sir Samuel Plimsoll, ‘the Sailors’ Friend’, was born in Bristol. The MP for Derby, philanthropist and social reformer had an amazing life, including a period of destitution in London, when he failed in business as a coal merchant. Today, he is mostly remembered for inventing ‘the Plimsoll Line’, which is a set of measurements and symbols on the side of ships indicating how

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‘The Origin of the British Museum Library’

Newspaper article from January 1900 reporting on the origins of the British Museum Library – to celebrate National Libraries Day 2013 ‘Thought in cold storage’ – we’ve always loved Herbert Samuel’s pithy (yet profound) definition of what a library is. To celebrate National Libraries Day 2013, we’ve posted below a story about the origins of the British Museum Library, which later evolved into the marvel that is the British Library. In particular, we love the description of the ‘absolute stillness’

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Volcanoes: 18th Century Reports in Newspapers – Blog #7 by Edmund King

Volcanoes: 18th century reports in newspapers Volcanoes have such a powerful impact upon our minds and on the environment around us. Reports are numerous in The British Newspaper Archive. One of the earliest mentions of volcano in the BNA recounts how a very large bird was suffocated by the ‘sulphurous vapours’ emitted by Etna.  “…’tis conjectur’d that the sulphurous vapours of that volcano suffocated him…”   Newcastle Courant – Saturday 08 July 1721 Image © THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. ALL

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Changing History: Exploring the Origins of the Modern Cat Fancy

We’re endlessly fascinated and impressed by all the different types of researchers who are gracefully prowling around the Archive. Truly, all human life is here. Just recently, Amanda Bright, an ailurophile from Toronto, tweeted to tell us about the research she is doing on the origins and history of the modern cat fancy. Amanda was already familiar with the Newspaper Library at Colindale from the time when she lived in England, and had previously carried out some research there. So

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The Whereabouts of Richard III’s Remains – as Reported in the ‘Leeds Mercury’ of Saturday 17 September, 1825

We’re fair interested in the Richard III news story that is being reported at the moment. Mike Plant, a visitor to the Archive, has suggested that the researchers might have saved themselves some time if they had first looked for Richard III in the BNA. So thanks to Mike, here’s a story from the ‘Leeds Mercury’ of Saturday 17 September 1825, which provides details of where Richard III was buried. ‘A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!’ –

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The Original Concrete, Pulhamite – Blog #6 by Edmund King

Pulhamite A review was recently printed in the Alpine Gardener of September 2012 of the book:  Rock Landscapes: The Pulham Legacy by Claude Hitching and Jenny Lilly. This prompted reminiscences on the part of myself and my wife (a keen gardener), as we had seen in 1999 the magnificent Pulhamite garden at Waddesdon manor, which had been restored. As the Waddesdon website says: “The garden was designed to surprise and delight the Baron’s guests at every turn. In his day, a garden tour would

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The History Department at Sevilla FC Buys a BNA Print for Its Football Museum

‘A newspaper is a paper bird flapping in the window of history’ – Carlos Romero, Director of the History Department at Sevilla FC Back in October 2012, we published a story on the blog about how the History Dept at Sevilla Football Club had discovered an article in the BNA that proved their club was much older than had previously been thought. Indeed, the newspaper article proved that Sevilla FC was the oldest football club in Spain, and the club

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‘Ovaltine Brings Morning Freshness and Vitality’ – Classic ‘Ovaltine’ Advert from 1938

We do love the classic newspaper advertisements contained in the British Newspaper Archive – the graceful designs of these adverts are just great to look at. Last week, we posted a wonderful ‘Guinness is good for you’ advert. This week, we’ve posted a classic advert for that ‘supreme restorative beverage’ called ‘Ovaltine’. Gloucestershire Echo – Wednesday 19 January 1938 Image © Northcliffe Media Limited. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD. http://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0000320/19380119/063/0006

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