The Athenaeum is not noted for its inclination to radical, left wing politics so the gathering of sixty Proprietors and their guests in the Library might have seemed like the start of a revolution. Instead however they had gathered to listen to a tour de force when Andrew, one of our professional cataloguers held his … Read more
On Thursday 23 February the eighty proprietors and guests who sat down for the Library Dinner received a surprise gift. At each table place there was a scroll tied with green ribbon that contained a copy of one of the Athenaeum Library treasures, ranging from a page of Magna Carta to a Hannah Glasses’ cookery … Read more
I recently wrote an article that was published in ARC magazine in December and have the pleasure of sharing it with you below: Revealing a hidden gem Giants of industry, commerce, politics, arts and literature have graced the grand winding staircase to the stately library and many of them left papers relating to their triumphs … Read more
Exploring the Athenaeum Library The Library of the Athenaeum is one of the hidden treasures of Merseyside. For more than 200 years the library has accumulated a body of books and archival material which is unequalled in private hands. For most of that time the collections have been accessible only to the 500 hundred ‘Proprietors’ … Read more
Roll up, roll up!! We have another open day on Sunday 11th September and tickets are selling out fast. Due to this exciting event taking place shortly, I thought I would write a little teaser piece on one of the archives that will be on display, Miss Mabel Rich’s scrapbook. This is no ordinary scrapbook, … Read more
The Curious Cuttings of Charles Hutton Lear This week in the archives we have been sorting through a collection of drawings, paintings, prints and letters produced by or relating to the accomplished Liverpool-based artist Charles Hutton Lear (1818-1903). The collection is eclectic and ranges from folders stuffed full of ephemera (including receipts and library tickets) … Read more
The archives have been very busy this past month. We have been working on our new database which has enabled us to start cataloguing our collections. We have started with the Athenaeum’s own collection including minute books, accounts and building plans. It doesn’t mean we haven’t been finding any special and unique treasures though! In … Read more
Sir Francis Walsingham’s Letter-Book. This month we discovered a 17th century copy of the letter-book of Sir Francis Walsingham taking us through the years 1569-73 and 1581. It includes copies of not only letters from Walsingham but also letters to him from key Elizabethan figures such as William Cecil (otherwise known as Lord Burghley) and … Read more
OPEN DAY TRIUMPH On May 7 we held an Open Day, which we were required to do as a part of the response to the Heritage Lottery Grant. The main focus was on the Library and the work going on there. Our 150 visitors were given an introductory short talk on the origins of the … Read more
We have been busy within the archives in the past couple of weeks culminating in the open day on Saturday. What a brilliant day! In the lead up to the day we had many discussions on the amount and type of archives we should get out and how to display them. Luckily I had help … Read more