UCL Special Collections

CFP: 'Difficult Collections' Special issue of 'Paper Trails' @uclpress.bsky.social. Focus on challenges of working with troubling heritage collections (colonialism, eugenics, representation, etc). Proposals: 31/01/26; Submissions: 31/05/26. Details: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-coll... #GLAM ##HistorySky

A dark blue background with a cyan blue circle containing the words ‘Interested in working in museums, galleries, archives and libraries? Don’t have a degree and not sure where to start? Applications are now OPEN for The new Curators Project 2026! Link in bio.’.

Applications are now open for The New Curators Project 2026! Deadline: 8pm 22 February.

This annual project – offers 10 paid places for east Londoners aged 18-24 who do not have a degree but are interested in working in the cultural heritage sector.

Apply now: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-coll...

Promotional graphic for an event titled ‘UCL Collections and Wikidata: An exploratory workshop.’ The Wikidata logo appears in the centre over a faint patterned background collected from the UCL's Ethnography Collections. Event details at the bottom read: ‘2:30–5pm, 3 Dec’ on the left, and ‘Malet Place, London, WC1E 7JE’ on the right.

Are you a UCL student or staff member curious about Wikidata?

Join us on 3 Dec for a fun, hands-on workshop where you’ll explore what Wikidata is and make your first edits using data from UCL’s Ethnography Collections.

Come start your Wikidata journey with us!

2025 marks the 60th anniversary of UCL's Small Press collections. UCL has collected widely in this area of independent radical publishing to preserve the outputs of these activities. The collections comprise 4,500 periodicals and 20,000 pamphlets. Watch a new celebratory video at lnkd.in/eAhT7M6t.

Drawing of the back of a skeleton. The Boenst have been labeled with numbers, matching names written along the edge of the page.

Title page of Pharmacopœia Londinensis Or the New London Dispensatory.

Happy Halloween! 💀🎃 What could be scarrier than a skeleton whose bones bend in unnatural ways?

This drawing of a skeleton is from the 1696
Pharmacopœia Londinensis. While the skeleton may look unrealistic, the bones are accurately labelled.

Event: SYMPOSIUM AND BOOK LAUNCH: Metropolitan Crossings: Art, Displacement, and the Making of Modern London (1930s–1970s) In person and Online SYMPOSIUM AND BOOK LAUNCH Metropolitan Crossings: Art, Displacement, and the Making of Modern London (1930s–1970s) Ben Uri Gallery and Museum 108a Boundary Road, St John’s Wood, L...

UCL Research Institute for Collections Fellow, Dr. Liz Bruchet and Ming Tiampo will be presenting at this symposium next week. Their paper will focus on 'Slade Overseas Students and Conjunctures of Global Activism' and will draw on records from our College Archive. benuri.org/events/80-sy...

Coming soon to British Online Archives — Witchcraft and Magic in England, c. 1400–1920.
Featuring rare records from The National Archives, British Library, UCL, and The Folklore Society.
Register your interest: buff.ly/YBeFCF1

Poster for an event titled 'Community Knowledge Spaces: UCL Student Periodicals and Wikidata'. The background shows pages from Pi Magazine, UCL's historic student publications. The centre features the Wikidata logo with event details: 'Tue 4 Nov 2025 | 12–4pm, UCL Main Campus (Garden Room), Gower Street, London WC1E 6AE'.

Join us on 4 Nov for a workshop with @wikimediauk.bsky.social and discover how this project used historic student publications to support research, teaching, and public engagement. You'll also have the chance to see the original material and get hands-on training processing historical documents.

Inscription reading "Dedicated to my ever loving wife Nausea Diderot".

Title page and title engraving of Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences. Title image is a full page engraving, packed with various figures staring at a central figure of a woman bathed in light.

We love inscriptions, though "Nausea" is an uncommon name to find! This inscription is from vol 1 of Denis Diderot's 1751 Encyclopédie. It is a later addition, as it is on late 19th/early 20th century paper added when the book was rebound.

Who added the inscription, and why? Suggestions welcome!

We continue to wave a small handkerchief at the world: Coracle Press @ 50 Join us to celebrate 50 years of Coracle Press!

In 2025 UCL Special Collections celebrates 60 years of collecting small press. This year also marks 50 years of publishing by Coracle Press @coracle.bsky.social

Join us for a birthday bash!

12 November
17:00 - 20:00

Free & open to all / booking essential.

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/we-continu...

A collection of publications by Monitor Books.

@uclspeccoll.bsky.social has appointed Monitor Books as the inaugural Small Press in Residence as part of celebrations marking 60 years since UCL’s Small Press Collection was established. Read more here: www.ucl.ac.uk/library/news...

Happy National Poetry Day! For more information on the @uclspeccoll.bsky.social Poetry Store visit www.ucl.ac.uk/library/spec...

Poster reading "Open Morning. October 23rd 10-12pm. UCL Bloomsbury, South Junction Reading Room, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT." At the top of the poster is an image of a cartoon of Father Thames presenting children representing water born diseases to a female figure representing London. In the bottom left corner is a logo reading UCL Special Collections.

Join us on October 23rd for our Bloomsbury Open Morning! We'll be looking at items from our collection related to sewers & clean water in C19th London 🚰

To book your free ticket, visit:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ucl-specia...

#londonhistory #londonwater

The top half of this promotional poster has a yellow background with a UCL Special Collections logo on the left and black text featuring 'What's so Special about UCL Special Collections?, 12–2 PM, Tue 14 Oct, Culture Lab, UCL East’. The bottom half shows a photo of people engaging with displays of archival documents and a presentation in a modern teaching space setting.

A unique, free pop-in event to celebrate World Food Day. Come along on 14 Oct to explore our fascinating collections and discover the stories behind food and daily life through the ages at UCL East in Stratford.

Book your ticket on tinyurl.com/UCLSpecCollF... now!

#worldfoodday

Two University College London branded coffee cups and saucers sitting on a desk

We are grateful to Professor Timon Screech for gifting these two coffee mugs and saucers that used to be in the academic staff common room. They will be added to the College Archive.

Yes! And if you want to explore Orwell as a social commentator and journalist, check out our free online schools resource: Orwell in the Archive www.ucl.ac.uk/library/coll...

Originally scheduled to close 31 August, the display has been extended and still open for a few days!

A group of ephemeral items displayed against a blue background in a glass case. Door to a reading room in the background.

Last chance to see!

Our #display of 'spinless' objects from @ucl.ac.uk Small Press Collections is on display @senatehouselib.bsky.social until 9 September, and can be see as part of the excellent Spinless Wonders #exhibition there.

Free and open to all! On display in the 4th floor membership area

We're proud to be home to the George Orwell Archive and there are various ways you can access the collection for yourself:

Finding aid: www.ucl.ac.uk/library/digi...
Information on how to visit us: www.ucl.ac.uk/library/coll...
Digitised collections: ucl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/co...

"All Animals Are Equal": UCL marks 80 years of George Orwell’s Animal Farm Celebrating the 80th anniversary of Orwell’s Animal Farm, UCL Special Collections reminds you that we have a treasure trove of historic archives free and open to all to explore.

The 80th anniversary of George Orwell's Animal Farm was just a few days ago, and @uclnews.bsky.social has an article about its publication and legacy.

You can read it at: www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/au...

#GeorgeOrwell #AnimalFarm

Photograph of cat drinking from a saucer. The corners of the photograph are broken.

The Little Folks cover model isn't our only Edwardian cat. The Sir Fred Clarke Archive also includes a slightly damaged photograph of a cat drinking from a saucer.

Shelfmark: FC/7/36

Cover of Little Folks Magazine. In the centre of the page is a circulate photograph of a black kitten

Today is International Cat Day, so please appreciate this distinguished feline from the cover of Little Folks magazine!

Little Folks featured stories, songs and poems for children and encouraged submissions from readers.

Shelfmark: LAURENCE HOUSMAN COLLECTION 321

#InternationalCatDay #BlackCat

Spineless Wonders and 60 years of Small Press at UCL The 1960s was a period of unprecedented access to affordable printing technologies for writers, artists, and activists; commercial offset printing had become more economically viable and workplace tec

A small exhibition of material from the @uclspeccoll.bsky.social Small Press Collections is on at @senatehouselib.bsky.social until 31/8, complementary to their excellent Spineless Wonders. If you can't make it to SHL, here's a online guide to all the exhibits: sway.cloud.microsoft/tWg56jeuiFaQ...

Grateful to have attended #ISCHE46 @ische-news.bsky.social in Lille. My reflections on 'Teachers, Teaching and a Fragile Sense of Hope' are now on the @uclspeccoll.bsky.social blog: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-coll... #TeacherTraining #Eugenics #Hope #Imperialism #EduSky

A selection of small, ephemeral items by Beau Geste Press, displayed in an exhibition case against a blue background. Items include two matchboxes and a selection pf paper ephemera made of both white and purple paper.

During July and August, ‘spineless’ items from our Small Press Collections are on display ‪@senatehouselib.bsky.social‬ and can be seen as part of the wider Spineless Wonders exhibition there.

Free & open to all!

Many thanks to our friends at Senate House for having us!

Image by Christos Fotelis

Glass case featuring many images of books and archives on display. Above the display hangs three posters.

Our exhibition on 19th century sanitation is now open at the Cruciform Hub! It covers the debate over water & sanitation in the lead up to the 1875 Public Health Act.

If you have a UCL card, drop by and see it!

For more info: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-coll...

@uclhealthlibraries.bsky.social

The New Curators Project 2025 participants are launching their exhibition titled "The Best of Newham" tomorrow. Join us to celebrate with free local food, craft and games. Just show up – everyone’s welcome!

Tue 10 Jun, 5-7pm
East Ham Library, 328 Barking Road, E6 2RT

We selected 10 items, some of which needed to be digitised specially, wrote contextual information, a glossary, translations, transcripts and we made 4 short films to accompany the items' images. Take a look! www.ucl.ac.uk/library/coll...

Our first of this series of free resources looks at Jewish migration immediately before, during and following the Second World War. www.ucl.ac.uk/library/coll...

This was produced in collaboration with the UCL East Schools Engagement team, who have created some short films that explore contemporary experiences of migration from within the university community.