November, 2012 | The British Newspaper Archive Blog - Part 2

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The Art of Good Manners and Etiquette on New York Tramcars in 1909

We’re BIG fans of good manners and etiquette at the BNA. In particular, we can talk all day about the strange (and annoying!) behaviour of people on buses and trains. Indeed, when we do eventually get round to appearing on ‘Mastermind’, this will be our specialist subject. So, we totally loved this story about the adverts taken out on tramcars in 1909 by “The New York Women’s League for Right Living” (is that not a truly wonderful name for an

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The Man Who One Day Decided to Walk Round the World Wearing an Iron Mask and Pushing a Pram…

There are some very strange stories lurking in the Archive – many of them just waiting to be rediscovered by some modern-day curator of stories… Our current favourite is the mysterious report about the man who, as part of an exotic bet, decided to walk around the world wearing an iron mask, while pushing a perambulator…as one does. As you read this report about ‘Iron Mask’, as he was known, the tale becomes ‘curious and curiouser’, with all sorts of

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The Execution of Dr Crippen – Pentonville Prison, London, 23 November 1910

On 23 November 1910, the physician and salesman Dr Crippen was hanged at Pentonville Prison in London. The first criminal to be arrested via wireless communication (Crippen was apprehended on the SS Montrose as it arrived in the St Lawrence River), Crippen was found guilty of murdering his wife, Cora – although doubts as to his guilt have recently been aired. Back in October, we posted two stories on the blog about the trial of Crippen and his alleged accomplice, Ethel

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Victorian Shipping News – ‘Weel Done, Cutty-Sark!’

Launch of the Cutty Sark in Dumbarton on 22 November 1869 The famous tea clipper, ‘Cutty Sark’, was launched by the wife of Captain George Moodie, on the River Leven at Dumbarton on 22 November 1869. To celebrate the day, we’ve posted several stories about the ‘Cutty Sark’. The Archive contains dozens of stories about the ‘Cutty Sark’, so you can follow the story of her life from her launch right up to her ‘retirement’ as a display ship. Oh, and

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Birthday alert for 1-name writers! Voltaire – born in Paris on 21 November 1694

A newspaper article from 1893 that summarises the life and achievements of Voltaire The philosopher and writer, Voltaire (aka Francois-Marie Arouet) was born in Paris on 21 November 1694. To celebrate the day, we’ve gone all panglossian and have posted a story from the Archive that reports on the life and achievements of Voltaire. We really enjoyed reading this article, which offers a terrific, whistle-stop tour of Voltaire’s amazing life – much like the fast-paced odyssey in ‘Candide’ itself. There

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Using Ancient Greek Philosophers and Emperors to Sell Health Pills – Copywriting for Newspaper Adverts in 1842

Reading the adverts in the newspaper archive provides you with a fascinating insight into days gone by – truly, some of the adverts are wonderful. Our current favourite is the advert that uses the famous ‘Stand out of my light’ encounter between the jar-dwelling Diogenes and Alexander the Great, in order to sell health pills. Such an in-depth knowledge of ancient Greek philosophers seems to suggest that early Victorian copywriters were rather erudite characters who had benefitted from receiving a

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Death of Leo Tolstoy – Astapovo Railway Station, 20 November 1910

 ‘There are millions of people on the earth and many suffer. Why, then, are you all around me?’ – Leo Tolstoy to his doctors On 20 November 1910, Leo Tolstoy died of pneumonia at Astapovo Railway Station. We thought we’d mark the day by posting two articles from the Archive about Tolstoy. The first story is a report on Tolstoy’s death, while the second article is a summary of his life which suddenly segues into an advert for ‘Willow Blend,

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‘Letter From an Officer in the Crimea’ – a ‘Camp Above Sebastopol’, Saturday 27 January 1855

It’s amazing the letters that sometimes find their way into newspapers. This despairing and incredibly moving letter, written in January 1855 by an officer (known only as ‘M.M.’) serving at a ‘Camp Above Sebastopol’ during the Crimean War, is one such example of a letter you might not expect to see in a newspaper during wartime. Having to thaw the ink before being able to even write this letter, the officer reports the starvation and horrific conditions endured by the

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The British Newspaper Archive Is ‘Highly Commended’ in the ‘Big Data Project of the Year’ at the IT Industry Awards

We are delighted (and massively proud!) to announce that The British Newspaper Archive, as a partnership with The British Library and brightsolid online technology, has received ‘Highly Commended’ in the category of Big Data Project of the Year at the IT Industry Awards last night. We were pipped at the post by HMRC. The ‘Big Data Project of the Year’ is within the Project Excellence Awards category, which is heralded by BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT as: ‘Presented to

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The Day When the US Tax Authorities Found Al Capone ‘Touchable’

With tax evasion and avoidance in the UK news so much at the moment, we thought readers would be interested in reading this BNA press release based on two stories in the Archive about the trial of Al ‘Scarface’ Capone for tax evasion. ********************************** In 1931, the penalty in the US for tax evasion was 11 years in prison Eighty-one years ago, American gangster Al Capone was found guilty of 5 of the 23 income tax evasion charges he faced

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