‘Sourcing the Archive: new approaches to materialising textile history’ Conference

Thanks to @KathrynHannan who alerted us to what looks like a really interesting conference! Details below.


Pasold Conference, 7-8 November 2013 & 11th January 2014

‘Sourcing the Archive: new approaches to materialising textile history’ 

Registration open.

Keynote speakers:
Professor Carolyn Steedman, University of Warwick
Dr Solveigh Goett, Textile Artist and Researcher
(January speaker tba)
Extra conference date, 11 January 2014

The 2013 Pasold Conference, jointly organised by Goldsmiths Department of History and the Goldsmiths Textile Collection will explore how tacit knowledge of material and affective relationships  can be traced through the words we think with (Lakoff & Johnson 1999, 2003) with a view to asking: how can  our engagement with textile sources extend our knowledge of the past?  What can textiles communicate that other sources cannot? Building on a range of recent events which encourage engagement with the materiality of textiles, textile archives and/or the relationship between textiles and other historical sources the Conference will seek to identify textiles’ unique contribution to the advancement of historical understanding and practices.

The Conference will include an exhibition in the Constance Howard Gallery and a display, and optional handling session, of material from the Goldsmiths’ Textile Collection, ‘an eclectic, international treasure trove of textiles’.

We are delighted to announce that the call for papers produced such an abundance of exciting proposals that we have arranged a second stage of the Conference, with support from Goldsmiths Department of Design, on January 11 2014. ‘Fashioning the Archive: new approaches to materialising textile history’ will build on the November sessions, addressing the same questions but with an emphasis – though not an exclusive focus – on dress-related papers. Details are yet to be finalised, but confirmed speakers are listed with the November programme. There will be a further accompanying exhibition and opportunity to access the Goldsmiths’ Textile Collection. Day rates are available for both stages of the Conference, but there is a January fee waiver for those registering for both November dates.

For all enquiries, please email Vivienne Richmond at: v.richmond(@gold.ac.uk).

Archives and White Gloves Myth

After The Great British Bake off featured The John Rylands Library of the University of Manchester, the inevitable tweets about white gloves appeared:

The answer is, no! The standard Google images of people handling manuscripts don't help either

So, I was pleased to see the University of Reading's clear, informative post on the subject - here

And the National Archives blog post - here

You can also watch a video from the British Library on how best to handle manuscripts without white gloves - here

Fran Baker, one of our contributors to The Boundaries of the Literary Archive collection works at The John Ryland's Library. Fran's chapter discusses Dickens' editorial influence on the manuscripts of Elizabeth Gaskell which can be found at the library. Fran's posts for the John Ryland's Library blog can be found - here

Emily Dickinson's Music Book Digitised

Emily Dickinson's music book has been digitised by Harvard and can be accessed - here

The full brilliant post by the Houghton Library Blog on the history of music books and this one in particular can be found - here

"Music books or “binders’ volumes” were extremely popular during the years 1830-1870. These personal collections of bound published sheet-music titles were assembled by young women primarily during their adolescent years, when musical training and accomplishment was sought after as a reflection of cultural refinement and gentility.

[...]
The average binder’s volume contains 35 to 45 pieces of music. At just over 100 pieces, Emily Dickinson’s music book is uncommonly large. The book’s content tells us a great deal about her musical interests. Most binders from the period contain a majority of vocal music and only some instrumental numbers. In contrast, eighty percent of the Dickinson book is devoted to instrumental music, indicating Emily’s keen engagement in the piano repertoire of her day.

While the music book contains a majority of popular waltzes, marches, quicksteps, theme and variations, and instrumental operatic arrangements, many of considerable difficulty, there are also notable groupings of traditional Irish and Scottish dance tunes and ballads, political songs, and in particular, minstrel music which are rare in binders’ volumes."

Emily Dickinson's Electronic archive can be found - here

A call for papers for on Emily Dickinson’s Reading Culture - here

Poetry Foundation's page on Emily Dickinson - here

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)

BY EMILY DICKINSON

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.