In March 2024, we provided our first work in progress update. Now, it's time for the team to share what we've been working on over the past six months. In addition to our routine tasks, such as supervising visitors and handling remote enquiries, the team has been engaged in several noteworthy activities. Notably, in September, we embarked on a joint cataloguing project, and a separate blog post detailing this initiative will be published soon.
Archivist Rebecca:
In my previous update, I mentioned that I was dedicating significant effort to contributing to a book about the Second World War through Jesuit Archives. I’m pleased to report that the draft has been completed and, after submission to peer reviewers, the Jesuit publishing house IHSI has agreed to move forward with its publication. However, there is still substantial editing work to be done before the project is fully finished.
An unexpected development occurred when I was asked to return to Guyana in May to oversee the packing of archival material which I had assessed the previous August. The material arrived in the UK this August, and fortunately, clearing customs was smooth. The collection is now in quarantine and being evaluated by our conservators. I’m looking forward to starting work on this valuable collection and exploring ways to make it accessible to researchers.
During my time in Guyana, I had the opportunity to record an interview with Fr Compton Meerabux SJ, which will be a valuable addition to our expanding collection of oral histories. Additionally, I’m pleased that I’ve finally completed the transcript for an oral history recording from last year—a task that took quite some time to finish.
Relics before (l) and after (r) repackaging
Over the summer months I also dedicated a considerable amount of time to repackaging relics. It was rewarding to reorganise the disarrayed boxes of relics into neatly labelled new boxes, each containing relics individually and securely stored. This will make it much easier to locate specific relics in the future. Although I haven’t completed this task yet, I hope to finish it by the next update.
Lastly, I spent the past month preparing the annual budget. While it’s an essential part of archival administration, it’s not my favourite task.
Mary Allen, Deputy Archivist:
Since my last update, I have increased my hours so that I now work three days in the office and one from home. Unfortunately, I did not complete my aim to have repackaged and uploaded to Calm the first series of the Martyrs’ Cause collection, but I have managed to catalogue a few smaller collections of personal papers, and most recently have been assisting with the sorting of a large collection of personal papers that was recently accessioned. We have had the first two of three instalments of the Farm Street Church exhibition to celebrate 175 years of the Church, the last instalment of which will be held towards the end of the month. I mentioned in my previous update that I had been transcribing an oral history interview, which I am happy to report has been completed and another one started.
Much of my time over the last couple of months has been spent working on website design – something I enjoy but am completely unqualified for! However I felt that our website needed a refresh, and we have been looking to move the Jesuit Collections website in-house so have created a new website from scratch. Both tasks have been time-consuming, but I believe the end results have been worth it.
Lucy Vinten, Assistant Archivist and Rare Book Cataloguer:
In our last ‘Work in Progress’ blog, we had just launched the new Jesuit Books Provenance website, which documents discoveries we make about the former owners and users of our 16th and 17th century books. This has now been live for 6 months and has had an encouraging response from other rare book specialists and academics working in the field. I have continued to add to the website as I catalogue and photograph the books and find traces of former owners and users of books.
As part of the cataloguing process, I measure the books very carefully, using the book measurer (my favourite tool which looks a little like the contraption used to measure children’s feet, but much bigger and made of plywood) which gives accurate measurements of the often very irregularly shaped books. We send these measurements off to the Bodleian Library’s box making service who make bespoke boxes for each book. We have recently had the second delivery of boxes, and around 250 books are now boxed. Keeping the books in boxes has many advantages, protecting each book from wear and tear, and supporting books that are fragile. The boxes provide a microenvironment which is good for the longevity of books, and also provide protection from water damage – important now that we have installed a misting fire suppressant system.
An exciting development has been linking up with the Institute of English Studies (IES) at the School of Advanced Studies at the University of London, which specialises in the study of rare books and runs the London Rare Books School. Together with the IES we have just submitted a funding bid for a PhD project based on our Rare Book Collection. I am keeping all my fingers and toes crossed that we get the funding, as it will be such a fascinating collaborative project which will considerably advance what we know about our books and increase accessibility to some of our most interesting resources.
My auxiliary role as delivery driver has increased. Luckily I rather enjoy this more unusual aspect of the role! Last month I drove to Heathrow to collect 32 boxes of archives from the British Jesuits in Guyana and took them immediately to the National Conservation Service’s studios in Upper Heyford. These are housed in a bomb-proof Cold War bunker on an old nuclear airbase, still redolent of that era with the runways still in place and chain link fences and check points which I found fascinating to see. The NCS will quarantine the archives, then do a condition report on them so we can decide what conservation or preservation work needs to be undertaken on them.
Archive Volunteers:
We are grateful for the invaluable contributions our incredible volunteers bring to our work. Over the past six months, Claire, Stuart, Jane, and Victoria have assisted us in cataloguing newly opened personal papers, creating a blog post, and calendaring several bound volumes of manuscripts. Their dedication has significantly advanced our cataloguing efforts, and we extend our thanks for their hard work and commitment.
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We hope you enjoyed discovering a bit about the work we are currently engaged with. Please contact us if you would like to know more about any of these areas of work.
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