Some hazards are obvious, like swords and crossbows. Other hazards are less visible, as the hazardous element is incorporated, deliberately or not, into the object.[1] More everyday items like a book or a film cannister may seem innocuous, but they …
This blog was written by Dr Edward Taylor, Library Assistant at the House of Lords Library. I recently gained the opportunity to volunteer for the Collection Care team at the Parliamentary Archives. One of my tasks was to audit a …
This blog was written by Zoe Voice, Preventive Conservator. Introduction Welcome back for part two of our series on transparent papers. In the last post, we took a look at what transparent paper is, how it’s made, what examples we …
This blog article was written by Zoe Voice, Preventive Conservator. Introduction Transparent Papers, particularly those found in archives, are a material that can look quite intimidating to handle due to their often-poor condition and brittleness.[1] However, the plans drawn on …
The Elizabeth Tower and the Palace of Westminster are decorated with beautiful and symbolic imagery – representing the values, history, and identity of UK Parliament. In this blog post, we’ll take a closer look at the national plant emblems on …
As the New Year approaches, we will once again hear the bongs of Big Ben ring out across London as midnight strikes. While renovations are taking place, the Great Bell is currently only rung on special occasions such as Remembrance …
There now hangs a print of the rolls of Acts of Parliament – inspired by the Act Room – above the large research table in the reading room of the Parliamentary Archives. This was a new addition on my most …
The Parliamentary Archives holds a collection of glass plate negatives dating from c.1900 that were purchased from Edward Farmer, a commercial and technical photographer, in 1972. Our latest project has been to digitise this archive and make the images available …
The Collection Care team is involved in many of the digitisation projects at the Parliamentary Archives, particularly when the items to be digitised are fragile to handle or need long-term archival packaging or rehousing. In the case of the Stone …
Thomas Bower (Collection Care Assistant) writes about an on-going academic project we've been helping with. Over the summer, members of the Collection Care Team at the Parliamentary Archives have contributed to a nationwide research project to explore the DNA of …
