Item of the month: Codrington College, Barbados. After a drawing by the bishop of Barbados

A post by University Archivist Jonathan Bush

This print of Codrington College, Barbados, was sketched by William Hart Coleridge (1789-1849), the bishop of Barbados and the Leeward Islands, and is one of the earliest examples of lithography by William Louis Walton (1808?-1879). The date of printing is uncertain, but likely to be shortly before the Slavery Abolition Act (1833), which abolished slavery on a gradual basis in most parts of the British Empire.

Continue reading “Item of the month: Codrington College, Barbados. After a drawing by the bishop of Barbados” →
0

eResource of the month: International Encyclopedia of Human Geography

Each month we spotlight one of our databases to highlight the range of resources available to our users.

On encountering the word ‘geography’ one tends to think of the physical world. At least, I do. I think instinctively of the location of countries around the globe and capital cities, followed perhaps by features of various landscapes then maybe aspects of climate and weather. Indeed ‘Physical Geography’ is a core first year undergraduate module here at Durham and the various programmes on offer are peppered with modules on topics like climate change, glaciers, landscapes, rivers, oceans, mountains and other physical features of the Earth’s environment. But geography is as much about humans as it is about the landscapes we inhabit and, indeed, ‘Human Geography’ is another core module taken by our first year undergraduates with its themes also running through the degree programmes on offer.

Continue reading “eResource of the month: International Encyclopedia of Human Geography” →
0

Cost of Living: How DULib can support you

A screenshot of the cost of living guide

We know the cost of living is an increasing concern for many of our staff and students, with the University providing a range of advisory and support services both centrally and through colleges.

We want to help to support you as much as we can, and so we’ve highlighted a number of services and initiatives that we already have in place, which we hope will help in the current financial situation.

These are available to all Durham staff and students, giving you free access to some of our amazing resources.

Continue reading “Cost of Living: How DULib can support you” →
0

Item of the month: Ye Peakrel, a Winster Christmas hodgepodge, 1878

A post by Collections Assistant Jennifer Leach

Content note: Historic material will reflect the language of the original creators. Voices, objects and images from the past can display attitudes, opinions and relate to events which may be viewed as biased and offensive in today’s society.

As Christmas is fast approaching, this month’s item shows how a family in 1878 brought some festive cheer to those around them. This is a humorous newsletter “Imprinted at Winster Hall, in the County of Derbyshire, at the private press of Llwellynn Jewitt, F.S.A”, sold for the princely sum of “Nowt!” for private distribution. The newsletter states that only 25 copies were printed so perhaps these were to amuse friends, family or neighbours in the Christmas season.

Continue reading “Item of the month: Ye Peakrel, a Winster Christmas hodgepodge, 1878” →
0

Book of Transumpt: conservation completed

completed conservation, bound sections, bespoke storage box

A post by Conservator Fiona Butterfield

I recently completed conservation treatment of a Book of Transumpt (1529-1553) that was started pre-pandemic.  The Book of Transumpt (B of T) is a large volume of more than 700 pages each approx 320mm h x 220mm w.  It is hand-inscribed (in Latin) in iron gall ink.  The pages were bound in a limp vellum binding.  It comprised 18 sections made up from 35 sub-sections.  In the original binding sections were predominantly sewn with linen thread and then attached to the binding with parchment tackets.

Continue reading “Book of Transumpt: conservation completed” →
0

Diwali 2022: 10 years and counting!

Member of the Hindu community saying prayers before goddess Lakshmi

A post by Charlotte Spink (Learning Coordinator) and Olivia Anderson (Graduate Intern)                                        

This year the Diwali celebrations at the Oriental Museum were extra special because 2022 marks ten years of partnership working alongside the local Hindu community.

Over that period the event has gone from being a small scale with a few Diwali lights, to being a spectacular, large scale public event with, at its peak, over 400 people attending.

Continue reading “Diwali 2022: 10 years and counting!” →
0

eResource of the month: The Churchill Archive

Each month we spotlight one of our databases to highlight the range of resources available to our users.

Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was one of the most important figures in British and Imperial history. The son of the aristocratic Churchill family of Blenheim Palace, he gained military experience as a soldier and war correspondent in India, Afghanistan, Sudan, South Africa, and in the trenches in France during the First World War.

Continue reading “eResource of the month: The Churchill Archive” →
0

‘Rockin’ around the Christmas (Wish) Tree…’

If you visited the Billy B last December or follow us on social media, you’ll have seen our lovely Christmas Tree opposite the Help and Information Desk, adorned with all the festive decorations you could want – twinkling lights, sparkling tinsel, beautiful baubles, and – the ultimate decoration for us – hand-made craft bees. 🐝

You’ll also have seen our very special gift tags hanging delicately from the branches, handwritten with wishes for items to be donated to local charities to help someone in need.

Continue reading “‘Rockin’ around the Christmas (Wish) Tree…’” →
0

Open Access Week 2022: A Conversation with Beyza Ustun

As part of our recent Open Access Week celebrations, Beyza Ustun, a final year PhD student from Durham’s Psychology Department, kindly spared time to discuss her recent research with the Open Research Team. Beyza’s PhD research focuses on the effects of prenatal flavour exposure on fetal and infant behaviours.

Your recent piece of research ‘Flavor sensing in Utero and Emerging Discriminative Behaviors in the Human Fetus’, has recently gained a lot of attention on the news, blogs, and social media. How would you summarise this piece of research in a nutshell?

We have shown the first direct evidence that babies react differently to various smells and tastes while in the womb by looking at their facial expressions. We found that the “laughter-face” facial reaction was significantly more often seen when exposed to carrot and the “cry-face” reaction when exposed to kale. This shows that fetuses in the last 3 months of pregnancy are mature enough to distinguish different flavours transferred from the maternal diet.

Image shows the “change in the fetus’ expression to “laughter-face” after tasting carrot.
Continue reading “Open Access Week 2022: A Conversation with Beyza Ustun” →
0

Powered by WordPress.com.

Up ↑