Tag: History of the Museum

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Museum at War: a snapshot of the NHM during WWI | Library and Archives

The centenary of the First World War (1914-1918) has generated a great deal of new research. It has brought to the fore stories that have enabled us to learn a lot more about our country’s history, many of which had, until this point, been widely unknown.

Marking this four year period has focused the minds not only of individuals but also businesses and organisations, encouraging us to take a closer look at the affect the Great War had on ordinary lives. The Natural History Museum is one such organisation, and October saw the publication of A Museum at War: Snapshots of life at the Natural History Museum during World War One written by Karolyn Shindler (Library and Archives Associate).

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The lost art of cheque writing, a treasure trove for researchers | Library and Archives

The art of writing a cheque is somewhat of a lost one these days, what with direct debits and online transfers revolutionising the way in which we pay our bills. However discovering a box of cheque book stubs within the remnants of the Tring Correspondence (in the Natural History Museum Archives) has given me a vital source of evidence for tracing the history and finances of the Natural History Museum at Tring.

A selection of cashbooks, cheque books and maps laid out on a table by the author during her visit to the public Library and Archives reading room. On the left are two piles (unknown quantity), sitting inside an archive box with the lid removed. To the right are approximately 16 others loosely distributed on the table. All relate to Walter Rothschild and Tring Museum, and come from the Natural History Museum Archives collection. Reference number TM3/1. The authors phone, pencil, readers pass, pencil pot and 'reading room requirements' place mat can also be seen on the table
A selection of cashbooks, cheque books and maps relating to Walter Rothschild and Tring Museum (NHM Archives TM3/1)

Within the box there are surviving cheque stubs for the years 1895 through to 1897, a key period in the museums history. Lord Walter Rothschild (1868-1937) had begun to employ staff, furnish and expand his museum and of course, buy large existing collections of specimens from other private collectors and smaller ones from natural history dealers and suppliers, in order to enhance his own rapidly growing collection of zoological specimens.

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