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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 2h

We played host to our pals from Sampad last week for a teacher training day exploring how our resources play a part in developing an awareness of cultural and community identity amongst future generations #LibraryofBham @sampadarts.bsky.social

A desk in an archival search room. Two people stood on the top left of the table and another sat on the top right. All three are holding documents which are liberally dispersed across the table and the one behind it. Lights in the ceiling above the tables, a pillar is between the table the figures are by and the one behind it. A window in the far right of the photograph.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 11h

The smallest books in the #ShakespeareCollection are a set of miniature complete works in a dedicated case made in honour of actress Helen Terry in 1904. Books measure 38 x 55 mm and bookcase 100 x 100 x 150 mm. Ref: S 190.4 (182986) #LibraryofBham @shakespearebtrust.bsky.social @efernie.bsky.social

A miniature bookcase consisting of two shelves, both full of books. Three volumes stand upright in front of the bookcase.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 1d

Good news - the Sutton Coldfield electoral registers are now available to view here. Earliest is 1851 and then there is a gap until the Burgess Rolls start in the 1880s #SuttonColdfield #LibraryofBham

A photograph of two shelves of navy blue books

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 1d

#MapOnATuesday We’re going back to 1785 this week with Thomas Hanson’s Plan of Birmingham. Interesting demographic details provided by the map include the town had 9,500 houses and 52,250 inhabitants. Ref – MAP/72831 #LibraryofBham

Circular legend in the top left of the map contains the following text - Plan of Birmingham surveyed by Tho. Hanson, 1785. In the top right of the map, another legend - this one oblong, provides information on the demography of the town including details such as the town had 9,500 houses and 52,250 inhabitants. The map is a series of parallel lines running across one another identifying streets and roads. The bulk of this activity is in the centre of the map whilst the periphery is less detailed and chiefly consists of the outlines of fields. Blocks of grey appear at intervals indicating the use of land for commercial, industrial and agricultural purposes.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 1d

Join us for the annual Chris Upton Memorial Lecture on Mon 3rd November at 5.30pm tinyurl.com/UptonBaskerv... Professor Caroline Archer-Parré will be giving her talk: Inhuming and exhuming: John Baskerville’s death, burial, and post-mortem life #LibraryofBham @typetweets.bsky.social #BaskervilleSoc

Image 1 : A book - front cover facing on. Cover is a reproduction of a painting depicting a male figure wearing the traditional eighteenth-century garb of a gentleman - wig with curled up sides and frock coat with neckerchief. Title of the book at the top of the page is John Baskerville: art and industry of the Enlightenment. Names of the editors beneath this on the left of the cover.

Image 2 – Two books resting on a table, both front covers facing on. Title is A History of Birmingham in the top left of the front cover. An illustration of a bustling square – Georgian and early Victorian architecture. A group of people carrying a jardinière in the bottom left of the picture and a horse and carriage in the right. People populating the various corners of the illustration. A bookcase behind the table on which the books are resting.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 2d

#GrainPhoto The Pete James Memorial Lecture is this Thursday, 16th October, 6.30 PM – 8.00 PM at the Birmingham School of Art tinyurl.com/GrainPhoto. Between 1989 and 2015, Pete (1958-2018) was the Curator of Photography Collections here at #LibraryofBham #grainphotohub

A copy of a book on a table. Title of the book is Coming To Light - Birmingham’s Photographic Collections. Beneath this a photograph of a male figure with a camera in his hand which is over his right eye. He has a thin cigarette or cigar in his mouth. He is looking straight out towards the camera. Behind the table on which the book stands is a trolley on the left and a doorway behind this. A large cushion rests on the right of the book with a window behind it.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 3d

#SundayShowcase today is A Murder for Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant. A sleuth resident in the imaginary Birmingham suburb of Bigglesweigh investigates a murder in an investors’ network. Ref - L 51.3 PEN #LibraryofBham @blackhistorymonth.org.uk #MelPennant

A book on a table, front cover facing on. Title of the book at the bottom of the cover is A Murder For Miss Hortense by Mel Pennant. Above this, the silhouette of a female figure casting a shadow across the bottom right of the front cover. The figure has a handbag in her left hand and a dripping flower in her right. A flash of yellow behind the silhouette in the top centre of the cover.

Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 4d

#CityOf1000Trades today is this trade card for Thomas Jones & Sons, manufacturers of horticultural buildings based at Bradford Street and Cheapside. Ref - MS 4834/1276 #LibraryofBham

An illustrated trade card. At the top of the card is a drawing of a large glasshouse with a domed roof. Beneath this is text identifying the services of Thomas Jones & Sons, manufacturers of horticultural buildings. To the left an illustration of a three paned glass window and a very ornate pair of French windows on the right. Beneath this, another line drawing of a large glasshouse.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 5d

#PhotoFriday this week is of Mrs Mabel Harris’ establishment at 22 Weaman Street photographed c 1930. Purveyor of many delectables including tea, coffee and cocoa. A very fine window display there. Ref - MS 4557, Box 5 #LibraryofBham @Brumpic

A female figure stood in the doorway of a shop on the left of the photograph. She is wearing a full-length dress made of fabric from the late nineteenth century. Her hand is on her right hip and the other holding the window frame of her shop window. The shop window is packed with examples of sale goods. A sign in the middle window advertises coffee, tea and cocoa. Above the shop window are hoardings either side of a window advertising cigarettes.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 6d

As if by #Magic, it’s Henri De’Seevah - The Friendly Magician of 136 Harvington Road, Weoley Castle. Included in Abracadabra - the only magical weekly in the world, published in Birmingham (Vol 1. No. 13 April 27, 1946). Ref - L 08.3 / 8410 #LibraryofBham #MagicCircleHQ

An advertisement. On the left, a line drawing of a male figure wearing a top hat peering from behind a sign advertising Henri De’Seevah. On the right, details of services and the Magician’s address.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 7d

#NavyHistory Our printed collections include copies of the Navy List like this one from June 1815. The list is an official record of naval officers, their ranks and the ships they were appointed to. The first list was published in 1814. Ref - B 359.30942 #LibraryofBham #NatMuseumRN

A page in a book - title at the top is The Navy List. Beneath this a listing of commissioners of the office of Lord High Admiral. Below this, a listing of the flag officers of his majesty’s fleet.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 8d

#BirminghamHistory We were sad to hear of the passing earlier this year of Dr Marie Rowlands, eminent historian of Catholicism in the Midlands. Also writing texts on the industrial heritage of the West Midlands tinyurl.com/DrRowlands Ref: WK/B11/8651 #LibraryofBham @rcbirmingham.bsky.social

A street scene - an underpass with a mosaic dedicated to JFK in the foreground. On the left, the Catholic cathedral of Birmingham designed in the Victorian Gothic style. On the right, a1960s office block. A public transport bus in front of the building.

The front cover of a book. Author’s name at the top is Marie B Rowlands. Beneath this is the title – Men and Masters in the West Midland metalware trade before the industrial revolution

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 8d

#MapOnATuesday #Harborne this week is this 1907 Harborne Tenants Ltd plan for the Moor Pool Estate developed between 1907 and 1912 as a garden suburb, designed by architects Martin & Martin. Ref - Medical Health Officers Report, 1908 L 45.11 #LibraryofBham @moorpoolht.bsky.social

A housing development plan with a series of avenues and thoroughfares linking between each other in the top centre of the map. A peripheral road circumnavigates the estate in the bottom of the plan. In the bottom left, a scale and compass along with the caption Harborne Tenants Ltd. In the bottom right, details regard the firm of architects and their office location.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 9d

#PowerAndPride2025 tinyurl.com/BHMOct25 Local photographer Herbert Walters’ collection-Portraits of Black Britain (MS 5183/3) has become available on birmingham.access.preservica.com/archive. Photographs mostly taken in Birmingham and London between 2008–2022 #LibraryofBham @blackhistorymonth.org.uk

A group of people assembled outside the Library of Birmingham. A young female figure in the forefront of the photo is wearing a face mask and holding a banner with the words Black Lives Matter on it. She is also wearing a face mask. People surrounding the figure are also holding placards and wearing face masks. In the background, the reflective quality of the windows on the ground floor of the library reflects the buildings and scene across the road from the library.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 10d

#SundayShowcase #PowerAndPride2025 tinyurl.com/BHMOct25 this week is Black Success by Tony Sewell. Discover how the Windrush generation thrived and the lessons these stories offer for young Black people. Ref: Black & South Asian History Collection 305.896 #bhmuk #LibraryofBham

Two copies of a book on a table. Title of the book is Black Success by Tony Sewell. A quote from the CEO of Civic Future beneath this.
Behind the table the books are resting on is a bookcase. A tall metal cabinet on the left and a door on the right.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 11d

#CityOf1000Trades today is this trade card for John Stokes, coal and coke dealer based in 1852 at the Old Wharf which at the time was a pivotal industrial site on Paradise Street for coal distribution from the 18th century onwards. Ref: MS 4834/1280 #LibraryofBham

An illustrated trade card. Text at the top of the card reads – Old Wharf, Birmingham. Beneath this is a line drawing of the exterior of a building. A central three storey block with two extensions with archways for vehicles and pedestrians on the left and right. Numerous horses and carts circling around the building. Beneath the illustration is text highlighting that John Stokes, coal and coke dealer operates from the premises.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 12d

#PhotoFriday this week is this photograph of Aston Cross Library in 1913. One of the Carnegie Libraries erected at the expense of Andrew Carnegie. Opened in October 1903, the library unfortunately closed in the 1990s. Ref: WK/A7/90 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic #Aston

The exterior of an austere three storey building built in the late Victorian Gothic style. Above the first tier of the building is a facia with the words Public Library Reading Rooms written on it. A public notice between the two large windows at ground level relating to library regulations. A lamppost in the centre of the photograph in front of the building. Tram cable wires above the building in the top centre of the photograph.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 13d

#Rackhams - Selling all the ‘loveliest things in the world’, included in the Birmingham Sketch - magazine of the Sporting, Social and Commercial Life of Birmingham, August 1964. Reference - LF 08.2. What are your memories of the shop? #LibraryofBham #houseoffraser

An advertisement, a colour illustration - an escalator snaking vertically across the centre with figures positioned on it. Text written along the length of the escalator - How Nice All The Loveliest Things in the World Can Be Found at Rackhams. Lines running horizontal across the advert signifying the floors of a department store. Each slat populated with figures and activity. At the bottom of the advert, text promoting the shop. The word Rackhams in bold print in the bottom right.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 14d

For this week’s blog, Archivist Nicola opens the page on the work she has been doing to safely move the archives and local studies collections from Sutton Coldfield Library to the Library of Birmingham - theironroom.wordpress.com/2025/09/29/s... Image Ref: BCU/13 #LibraryofBham #RoyalSutColTC

A page of a book. The writing is from left to right across the page. The words are written in ink. The page appears to have been subject to some time of erosion due to the passage of time as the book is of some considerable age.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 14d

#BirminghamArts The Faery Calendar drawn and written by Birmingham artist Bernard Sleigh (1872 – 1954). Engraved on wood by Ivy A. Ellis. Do we believe in fairies, children? Ref - LS 6/287915, Local Authors Collection #LibraryofBham

Woodcut illustration titled July Hamadryads. A forest scene, female figures on the left and right of the illustration appear to emerge from the trees. Both are naked - the figure on the left offers up her hands in prayer while the figure on the right has her head bowed looking down at three rabbits in the immediate foreground of the illustration. In the centre of the illustration are a group of naked figures dancing in a circle. In the top centre is a male figure - half man, half goat blowing into an instrument composed of reeds.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 15d

The Edgbaston Priory tennis club is celebrating its 150th anniversary and seeing as today is #NSHD2025, here’s a photo of Wimbledon Champion Dorothy Round winning the club trophy against World No 1 Antia Lizana in 1937. Ref - WK/E1/1215 #sportinghistory #EdgbastonPriory #LibraryofBham

Photograph of a tennis match viewed from above. Two female players are in action on the court on the left of the photograph. The umpire is in his chair on the right of the photo. A pavilion in the back centre with crowds surrounding the court on all sides. A wooded area in the top left of the photograph.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 15d

#MapOnATuesday this week we bring the 1908 Population map of Birmingham highlighting the move away from city centre habitation to more hospitable suburban living. Ref - Medical Health Officers Report, 1908 L 45.11 #LibraryofBham

A map showing the wards and districts of Birmingham. A thick line in the middle of the map surrounds those wards classified as part of the city centre. Each ward and district are named and have a corresponding number. Wards and districts have a colour shading. A key beneath the map indicates what the different colours signify.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 16d

#BirminghamHistory Why not join our pals from the Birmingham People’s History Archive on Saturday for a free living history event at All Saints Church, Kings Heath: bpha.online #LibraryofBham #birminghampha

A flyer for a Birmingham People’s History Archive event. Decisions and Consequences event on Saturday 4 October. Details of the schedule beneath this. A reproduction of a photograph of a CND march below this on the left of the flyer. More text about the event and amenities to the right of the photograph and beneath.

Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 17d

#SundayShowcase this week promotes two new additions to our #VCH collection for Staffordshire - a volume on Burton Upon Trent and another on Tamworth and Drayton Bassett, both edited by Nigel J. Tringham. Ref - AQ 942.464 and 469 #LibraryofBham @vchlondon.bsky.social

The title pages of two books resting on a cushion. The tome on the left is the History of the County of Staffordshire volume on Burton Upon Trent and the other on the right is a volume on Tamworth and Drayton Bassett, both edited by Nigel J. Tringham.

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Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham @theironroom.bsky.social · 18d

#CityOf1000Trades Charles Reeves was operating from the Toledo Works, Charlotte Street from 1853 having previously been located in Bartholomew Street. The company’s swords won a prize at the 1851 Great Exhibition. Ref – The New Illustrated Directory (1858) LF 06 #LibraryofBham

A coloured illustration of the exterior of a factory. The front of the factory is in the immediate foreground of the illustration. A sign stating Toledo Works is above the entrance and another sign below the highest row of windows says Charles Reeves. Pedestrians walk past the front of the building, a horse and cart in the road by the entrance. Below the border of the illustration, the words - Charles Reeves. Behind the frontage of the building is a large courtyard on the right and a series of working huts on the left. Three chimneys in the background of the illustration marking the far border of the premises. Above the illustration of the factory is the insertion of a cartouche showing three figures engaged in shooting guns. The cartouche is supported by the artistic representation of the stems of a plant. Above this, the following words - Toledo Works. To the left of this, the words - Charlotte Street, Birmingham and to the right - Air Street, Piccadilly, London.

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