Hartley Special Collections

Part of a handwritten letter. Creamy pale yellow paper. Dark brown black ink

“I must in this season of mince pyes, add the good wishes that belong to it, which Kitty and you will trace to a better source than old custom…”
Lady Olivia Sparrow writes to Sir Arthur (later the Duke of Wellington) and his wife in 1807
@arascot.bsky.social #ArchiveAdventCalendar #FestiveFood

Handwritten letter on creamy yellow paper. The ink is brown black. You can see the address on the left hand of the page plus a seal.

We think Henry Temple (the future Lord Palmerston) was aged about six when, on 22 December, he wrote this letter about gobbling up "mince pyes" on "Christmass day" to his mother.
@arascot.bsky.social #ArchiveAdventCalendar #FestiveFood

Handwritten letter. Pale creamy paper with dark ink

"All the ponds, puddles, and ditches hereabouts are covered with ice...so that tomorrow I dare say I shall be able to skate without risking my life."
Harry, the future Lord Palmerston, writes from Harrow to his mother in November 1797
@arascot.bsky.social #ArchiveAdventCalendar #WinterSports

Photograph of a man on skis. He has 1 foot in their air. He may be smoking a pipe

Three ladies getting ready to ski. They are all wearing long dark skirts

The Adler family at Bretaye in the Swiss Alps from their undated, but probably early 20th century, photograph album.
@arascot.bsky.social #ArchiveAdventCalendar #WinterSports
Learn more in our blog on Winter wonders: sporting fun buff.ly/tbdh027

...Algernon Greville, the Duke's private secretary, reports that Charles Bentinck assisted in translating them. Arnemann offered to send 24 more cantos. Greville's sage advice was "I think it would be prudent to stop him in time." buff.ly/pJ6ok7H

"What is this about?"
Anyone find it difficult to make sense of these documents? The Duke and his aides had the same problem!
#WellingtonWednesday
Herr Arnemann of Berlin sent the Duke poetic verses in 1822 hoping for payment. The correspondence was in a challenging hand but...

Handwritten letter on pale yellow cream paper. The letter head is printed blue. The handwriting is in black ink

#OnThisDay in 1878 English portrait painter Flora Marguerite Lion was born. She had a long and successful career, known for her portraits of society figures, landscapes and murals.
In this letter she accepts the commission for a portrait of the late Rev Morris Joseph of the West London Synagogue.

Black and white photograph of Harold Lloyd with a pet great Dane at his Beverley Hills home. The great Dane is standing on its hind legs with its front legs resting on Harold Lloyd's shoulders. Its head is above Harold Lloyd's head. Harold Lloyd is holding the dog behind its front legs. He is smiling into the camera. In the background there is a section of a wall of the house with large, French windows and a brick-paved area in front.

American actor, comedian, and stunt performer Harold Clayton Lloyd with his pet great Dane in Beverley Hills in 1931 #EYAPets @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social
buff.ly/1densbN

Black and white photograph of a Welsh Guards orderly holding a sign declaring "silence", to quieten the crowd for the Prince of Wales' address at a wayside station called Winchelsea. The crowd consists of many adults and children waving flags. Photo dated June 1st 1920.

For #EYASilence here is a black and white photograph from 1st June 1920 of a Welsh Guards orderly silencing the crowd for the address of the Prince of Wales (future King Edward VIII) at a wayside station called Winchelsea in Australia. @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social

would like the best I believe would be... Harry a small tool box, Fanny a small writing box, Willy the same, and Lilly a little gold necklace. If these are too expensive, then Harry a Spanish Don Quixote, Fanny the same, Willy the Preceptor and Lilly an atlas…with a clasp.

Part of a handwritten letter. Beige coloured paper with brown ink.

Lady Palmerston writes a list of Christmas presents her husband might buy for their children in London. Dated “Saturday night, 23 Dec 1797”, this is a last-minute shopping spree! “With respect to the children’s presents the things they...
@arascot.bsky.social #ArchiveAdventCalendar #Presents

Leaflet yellow background with blue text "What you must know before you give blood"

Leaflet regarding AIDs and guidelines for ear piercers with a graphic image of someone with ear piercings

Leaflet blue back ground with pink and white text: AIDS - some questions and answers

Leaflet red background with with and black text: "HTLV III antibody; to test or not to test?"

Today, the World Health Organization is joining partners and communities around the globe to commemorate World AIDS Day 2025 under the theme “Overcoming disruption, transforming the AIDS response” #WorldAIDSDay
Images from the Papers of Sir Donald Acheson buff.ly/6fU6koX

Cataloguing the Rare Books collection: school prizes and the imagination One of the most interesting aspects of cataloguing a Rare Book collection is imagining the journey each item has taken from its publication to the Archives strongrooms, especially when the book has…

One of the most interesting aspects of cataloguing a Rare Book collection is imagining the journey each item has taken from its publication to the Archives strongrooms. Intrigued? Find out more in our most recent blog buff.ly/i8CYEnM

Cataloguing the Rare Books collection: school prizes and the imagination

One of the most interesting aspects of cataloguing a Rare Book collection is imagining the journey each item has taken from its publication to the Archives strongrooms, especially when the book has been donated to the library…

Black and white photograph of Sir Hugh Thomas Munro striking a pose outside the house. He has a moustache and is wearing a kilt, waistcoat and jacket as well as a sporran and tam o'shanter and is standing on one leg with one arm raised and the other on his hip. Behind him on the ground is the shadow of an unseen person, and further away, a man is sitting on a garden bench bending over talking to a small child. The day is sunny and one of the very tall windows of Lindertis House is open at the bottom.

Happy St Andrew's Day!
This photograph of Sir Hugh Thomas Munro comes from an album complied by Nona Kerr around 1904 #Scotland #StAndrewsDay
buff.ly/1j3TAnq

A blurry colour photo of two astronauts on a mock up of the Martian desert

Today is #RedPlanetDay, commemorating the launch on 28 Nov 1964 of Mariner 4 - the first successful flyby of Mars - giving us the first photos from another planet - all I could find in our archives was this burry photo of the Martian desert (MS1/Phot/19/284) - answers on a postcard...

Printed letter describing ships being blown ashore by the wind.

Printed letter describing houses having had roofs and chimneys destroyed but no loss of life.

#OnThisDay in 1703 Southampton residents were beginning to clear up after the Great Storm which had crossed Britain during the night. This description of its impact appeared in ‘The Storm’ a collection of accounts compiled by Daniel Defoe and published in 1704.

Advert for Behind the Scenes exhibition and tour on 15 December

Colour photograph of strongroom. Metal shelving filled with labelled boxes

Have you ever wondered where we store our rare books and archives? We have specialist strongrooms for the purpose: if you'd like to see them why not book onto one our our free tours taking place on 15 December 2025.

Handwritten letter. Beige grey paper. Brown ink. You can see the paper has previously been water damaged.

"He is a fine young man, perfectly well educated, took his degree last year at Cambridge, & of independent fortune."
Colonel Pakenham seeks a commission for his nephew who sounds like quite a catch! buff.ly/tWXRev7
#WellingtonWednesday

Handwritten letter.

"Mr Williams has I know, been most solicitous to obtain the high distinction of painting the portrait of Your Grace. But the Corporation feel, than an artist of the first class alone, should have that honour."
This cutting letter from the Mayor of Dublin to the Duke dates from 1822. buff.ly/JWJvvQq

Part of a handwritten letter. Grey beige paper with brown black ink. The paper has previously been water damaged.

Lieutenant Moriarty of the Royal Navy, resident of Fareham, Hampshire, is hoping for a promotion from the Duke. Unfortunately Wellington doesn't remember him; his reply, somewhat hard to decipher, reads "Don't remember. Don't know him. Cannot recommend him."
#WellingtonWednesday buff.ly/t0LRndc

Photograph of Guin and Miriam Batten in their graduation robes at their Honorary Graduation in June 2001. They are wearing the silver medals they won in the quadruple sculls at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

#OnThisDay in 1892, Pierre de Coubertin first publicly proposed reviving the Olympic Games. Here's a 2001 photo of Miriam and Guin Batten with their graduation robes and Olympic silver medals from the 2000 Sydney Olympics quadruple sculls. They both were members of the University Boat Club.

David Kossoff – University of Southampton Special Collections Posts about David Kossoff written by lcn1c13

#OnThisDay in 1919 the British actor David Kossoff was born. Among other roles he played Alf Larkin in TV sitcom The Larkins.
Find our more about his life and the collections we hold relating to him in our blog post:

21st November is World Television Day – we hold the papers of TV writer Norman J. Crisp under MS199 - he wrote episodes for `Dixon of Dock Green', `Dr Finlay's casebook, `Secret army' `Compact' and more... @explorearchives

A shelf of books on the Nuremberg Trials in the Parkes Library.

Today marks the 80th anniversary of the opening of the first of the Nuremberg Trials, which led to the conviction of 19 of the most influential Nazi leaders. Southampton's collections include books on the trials and papers from the subsequent Nuremberg Military Tribunals.

LibGuides@Southampton: Library Exhibitions and Events: Looking Back, Looking Forward The University of Southampton Library offers a varied programme of events and exhibition across its sites.

development plans, alongside new digital content and alumni memories of the Hartley Library, part of our Hartley History Postcard collaboration with ODAR, the Office of Development and Alumni Relations. buff.ly/fIQbYqh

Black and white photograph of students standing in front of the Hartley Library. They are in one line with arms linked. There are sandbags behind them.

Black and white photograph of Turner Sims extension to Hartley Library. The photograph was taken at night and it atmospherically lit

Colour photograph. Aerial view of the University of Southampton Highfield Campus

Looking Back, looking Forwards: Hartley Library transformations has now launched in the Level 4 Gallery at the Hartley Library and runs until 16 January 2026.
The exhibition includes an exciting selection of items from our Archives and Special Collections from pre first world war to our latest...

Our Behind the Scenes tour will include a chance to visit our conservation studios and hear about the amazing work the team to to preserve and conserve our collections.
@unisouthampton.bsky.social @uosengagement.bsky.social @historyatsoton.bsky.social

Official programme for the funeral of the Duke of Wellington on 18 November 1852, listing the details of the procession to St. Paul's Cathedral.

The Duke of Wellington's funeral was held #OnThisDay in 1852 at St. Paul's Cathedral and was the first large-scale service to take place under the iconic dome. Below you can see a copy of the programme for the funeral, and you can find out more about it from our blog post here buff.ly/mPuCwv9

Handwritten letter. Creamy buff coloured paper with brown black ink sent from 68 Paradise Street, Liverpool on 28 April 1864

Letters regarding loss of ship Lord Raglan, departed from Liverpool in 1863, & regarding a passenger, Mark Bernstein. Mrs Bernstein wished to remarry and the synagogue required proof of the death of her first husband
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