Archives & Collections, Library of Birmingham

An illustration of a panoramic scene - a gathering of properties in the background of the image. A gathering of buildings on a raised point including church spires. In the foreground, a more rarefied feel with open fields and haystacks - a train of cows in a field in the central foreground. The title of the panoramic is in the centre of the bottom panel along with the details of the publisher.

#BirminghamViews today is J. Lycett’s (not Joe) 1826 North View of Birmingham published by R.P. Stone of 13 New Meeting Street. Ref – WPS/Large Views Box #LibraryofBham

Coloured line drawing of three thin British wildflowers gathered. Each flower has a number printed below its stalk. Below the drawing is text indicating each flower with a number - 1: Traveller’s Joy, 2 : Meadow Rue, 3 : Pheasant’s Eye.

As spring is fast approaching, we thought we'd treat you to this illustration of Traveller's Joy, Meadow Rue and Pheasant's Eye from The Book of British Wildflowers by Jane London: theironroom.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/a... Ref: JL 43 #LibraryofBham

A poster. Text at the top of the poster reads Women’s Freedom League for Female Suffrage. Text below this indicates the meeting will take place at the Temperance Hall on 4 November 1913. The speaker will be Miss Nina Boyle. Free admission and an open-air meeting at the Bull Ring will take place at noon on the same day.

Celebrating #IWD2026, a poster for a meeting of the Women’s Freedom League for Suffrage at the Temperance Hall in November 1913. Ref - LE/Women/6 #GiveToGain #LibraryofBham #womensday

A book on a table, front cover facing. Title is Ethnicity, Religion and Muslim education in a changing world. Editors are Karamat Iqbal and Tahir Abbas. The front cover has a series of highly colourful geometric shapes on it. A blank wall behind the table on which the book is standing.

#SundayShowcase this week is this anthology bringing topics such as race, religion and identity to the fore, addressing challenges facing Muslim schoolchildren. Ref - L 52.41 IQB #LibraryofBham

A trade card. Writing at the top states Henry Moorley, Artist in Hair, Hair Cutter. A large oval shape in the top centre with a drawing of a memorial stone in it. Below this is writing highlighting Moorley as a manufacturer of ornamental hair with premises on Union Street. A series of framed objects and trinkets running around the oval shape - four on either side and two below. The objects are numbered.

#CityOf1000Trades - this trade card for Henry Moorley, hair artist and ornamental hair maker, Union Street. The key identifying each of the objects is nowhere to be seen. Ref - MS 4834/1275 #LibraryofBham

A sepia toned photograph looking down on to a street scene. A wide open expanse in the foreground with pedestrians and lamp posts liberally dispersed. A large building in the mid background with the facia Corbett’s Temperance Hotel between the various rows of windows. An advertisement hoarding attached to the roof of the building. A street leading off on the left of the photo and another on the right.

#PhotoFriday today is Corbett’s Temperance Hotel, Paradise Street. Opened in 1842 by Joseph Corbett as a boarding and coffee house. The hotel was demolished c.1888—89 to make way for the building of the Post Office. Ref: WPS Large Views #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

An illustration - a group of figures wearing working class clothing gathered around a large low-level table. A figure stood on the far left by a sign which reads Pea Soup one penny a basin. A figure stood on the other side of the table across from them with their head bent over a cloud of steam. Pillars and arched windows in the background.

#BirminghamHistory this illustration of a dinner stall in the Market Hall. Cheap food such as soup which was easy to make and consume was often purchased from street sellers. Ref - LS 12/Birmingham Scrapbook Vol.4, page 234 #LibraryofBham

A photograph of two young female figures stood outside of a building – they both have a hand on their left hips. They are wearing head scarfs and aprons to protect their clothing. Behind on the left, the door to building is open. A notice is pinned to the door.

#BlackCountry this 1907 photograph of women brick workers in Cradley Heath is from MS 4618 : Industry and Employment photographs collection (Black Country Workers) #LibraryofBham #Sandwelllibs #SandwellArchive

Dedication of the map to the Prince of Wales in the top left of the image. A map of the county of Cornwall on the Island of Jamaica, James Robertson, 1804. The map is beneath the dedication - coastal outline with the names of locations written along the line between the land and the sea.

#BlackBritshHistory #MapOnATuesday today is James Robertson’s map of the Island of Jamacia (1804) included in the Boulton & Watt Collection:
theironroom.wordpress.com/2022/10/17/b... Ref - MS 3147/31/84 – 86 (Accession 614066 – 614068) #LibraryofBham

Photograph of a large factory interior, an expansive shop floor. Large groupings of long metal poles laying on industrial trolleys. Two tall metal wheels in the top right of the photo. Large piles of equipment in the top mid centre of the photo.

For this week’s blog, to mark the centenary of ICI and as it’s British Science Week, we look at the history of its IMI metals division at the Kynoch Works, Witton: theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/03/02/i... Ref - MS1422/28/7/4/4 @ScienceWeekUK #LibraryofBham

A microscopic image of four or five grey silverfish - grey scales. They possess a carrot shaped, tapered body, two long antennae and three distinct tail like bristles at the rear.

#Silverfish as part our Integrated Pest Management, we’ve found very small numbers of grey silverfish in the storage areas – they can live in much lower humidity and can climb walls. They also feed on paper and books so not great for an archive: tinyurl.com/GreySilverfish #LibraryofBham

A book on a table - the front cover of the book facing on. Title at the top of the front cover is Breaking Their Chains. Beneath this is a photograph of an assembled crowd wearing clothing of the Edwardian period. Beneath this is the sub – title of the book - Mary Macarthur and the chainmakers' strike of 1910. Author’s name below this in the bottom right - Tony Barnsley. Behind the desk on which the book is resting are two doors on the left, a closed cupboard on the right and a tower of boxes in the far right of the photograph.

#SundayShowcase #GoAllIn2026 Today’s choice is Breaking Their Chains: Mary Macarthur and the Chainmakers' strike of 1910 by Tony Barnsley. For two months, hundreds of women chainmakers in the Black Country went on strike and won a minimum wage. Ref: L 99 BAR #LibraryofBham

Hand drawn illustration - an angelic figure in the top foreground holding a large scroll descending some distance to ground level - text at the top of the scroll reads – Bordesley & Deritend adjoining Birmingham. Belove this, a list of merchants and proprietors. At the bottom of the scroll, pieces of manufactory including a barrel, wicker baskets and urns. Behind the scroll is the frontage of a large building. A church bell tower in the back right of the drawing.

#CityOf1000Trades Bisset’s 1800 Poetic Survey Round Birmingham is one of the earliest examples of a Birmingham trade directory. Find out more about directories here: theironroom.wordpress.com/2020/07/20/t... #LibraryofBham

An ice cream seller stands on the left of the photo close to his portable stall. Two young boys are resting on the stall and eating ice cream. In the background is a building with a large stone frontage. A small crowd of people are gathered on the top right of the photograph.

#PhotoFriday is this photograph of an ice cream seller in the Bull Ring in 1895. Arguably, one of the first fast foods of the time. Ref - Bull Ring 377 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

Lithographic print. A scene of disarray - a large crowd gathered outside a three storey Georgian house on the left of the print. Small groups of people gathered at each window throwing objects down on to the ground. People in the crowd are helping themselves to belongings. A tree on the far right of the print. Beneath it, another group of people who appear drunk - a large opened barrel nearby.

#BirminghamHistory The Sacking of Dr. Priestley’s House at Fair Hill, Sparkbrook on 14 July 1791. An angry crowd attacked his house during four days of affray now known as the Priestley Riots. Priestley left for a new life in America shortly after. Ref: WK/B11/8187 #LibraryofBham

The Queen Elizabeth steam ship dominating the foreground of the photograph. Both funnels emitting plumes of steam. The New York skyline in the background. Skyscrapers, smoking chimneys. The Empire State Building in the mid background of the photograph.

#BirminghamHistory 2026 is the centenary of ICI. The Metals Division (IMI) was based at the Kynoch Works, Witton. Amongst many things, the company made boiler tubes for the Queen Elizabeth steam ship. Ref: MS 1422/28/7/4/4 #LibraryofBham

Birds-eye view of Birmingham city centre in the foreground panning out to the surrounding suburbs to the north of the city. In the left foreground, rooftops moving across to a square with a fountain in it. Directly behind, a large Victorian municipal building. To the right of this on the other side of the square, a Grecian style building with symmetrical columns. A mass of buildings and streets behind the buildings in the foreground.

#BirminghamPanoramic Birds - Eye View of Birmingham, 1886 with accompanying index identifyng. Several of the building are still standing today! Christ Church - No.19 on the index was unfortunately demolished not long after this panoramic was created. MAP/660538 #LibraryofBham

Front page of an inquest report for Auguste Durieux. A typed form with additions for the name of the deceased and the date and time of the inquest inserted using ink.

#WW1 This inquest dated 15 August 1917 for Auguste Durieux, a Belgian soldier lodging in Birmingham. Prior to this, he asked to be sent home - expressing he wasn’t doing enough for the war effort #LibraryofBham

A group of men in army uniform - caps and trench coats stand in front of the archway entrance to a building. The men have their canes and sticks raised aloft above their heads.

#HRAExhibitions Drop in and see our new WW1 hospitals in Birmingham exhibition on Level 4 if you’re passing by the library: theironroom.wordpress.com/2023/11/20/m... #LibraryofBham

A book on a table with the front cover facing towards the camera. Title of the book at the top of the front cover is My First 80 Years. Beneath is a panel with a photograph of a young male figure looking downward. He is wearing a shirt and tie, and his left hand is resting on his cheek. Below this, the words – Prof Kopan Mahadeva. A wall behind the table on which the book is resting and a tower of paper cups to the left of the book.

#SundayShowcase today is My First 80 Years by Professor Kopalapillai (Kopan) Mahadeva (1934–2023), prominent Sri Lankan born academic, engineer, author and poet associated with Birmingham universities who resided in the city. Ref – LF 78.1 MAH #LibraryofBham

An advert for Barnett’s Perfumery. Text at the top of the page in a banner highlighting a laboratory of flowers. A list of the different scents of perfume beneath this. The words Barnett’s Perfumery in the middle of the advert with a circular design behind. Below this, a listing of different sachet scents. Details of the location of the stores beneath this. A large elongated rose bower along the right of the advert. A solitary classical female figure in the bottom right.

#CityOf1000Trades today is this July 1890 advert for Barnett’s Perfumery located at 45 Moor Street with their laboratory of flowers. Ref - The Owl, LF 08.2 #LibraryofBham

Apologies, there has been a misprint re. the reference. The correct reference is: Ref – AX 310, Birmingham Vol. 26 (143710)

The front of a property - a grand Victorian townhouse. Two doors at ground level between a large window – a Juliette balcony above this and then another set of windows above this. Two further attic windows above this. Two ornate columns on either side of the property framing it from the properties on either side.

#PhotoFriday today is this 1902 photograph of the front view of a house on Bennetts Hill in which the artist Edward Burne Jones was born. Ref - WK/B11/216 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

An illustration of a long line of terraced properties. Under each property is the name of the proprietor, their service and the property number.

#BirminghamPlan This 1871 elevation of the north side of Colmore Row shows buildings between Livery Street and Church Street with names of proprietors and business services. Ref - LS 922 #LibraryofBham

Title page of a book - The Alcoran of Mahomet translated out of Arabique into French by the Sieur Du Reyer, Lord of Malezair and the resident for the king of France at Alexandria. And newly Englished for the satisfaction of all who desire to look into the Turkish vanities. London printed, Anno Dom, 1649.

#Ramadan2026 One of the oldest editions of the Quran in our collections - the Alcoran of Mahomet ‘translated out of Arabique into French and newly Englished’, 1649. Reference - 094/1649/2 #LibraryofBham #BhamMosque

A photograph of a male figure wearing a tuxedo. His right hand is in his pocket and a hat in his left. The name Fred Barnes at the bottom of the page beneath the photograph.

For #LGBTplusHM26, we’re looking at Fred Barnes (1885 - 1938), a star of the variety halls. He is buried in St. Saviour’s churchyard, Saltley: theironroom.wordpress.com/2022/02/28/f... Ref - Midlands Amusement, 20 June 1910. LF 28.09 #LibraryofBham #birminghamlgbt

A programme for the 1993 year of the rooster celebrations. Text at the top of the page is - To Celebrate The Year of the Rooster - Free Admission - All Welcome. Beneath this, an illustration of a rooster on the right of the programme. Rooster is standing on a clump of foliage and bark. To the left, Chinese text. Event details and times at the bottom of the programme.

Happy #YearOfTheHorse to all. If you’re in Birmingham this weekend, why not join the celebrations: www.birminghamhippodrome.com/calendar/chi... Here’s a programme from 1993. Ref - Ephemera/Festivals/23 #LibraryofBham #brumhippodrome #chinesebham

A large school hall with vaulted windows on the left and wood panelling on the right. A successive line of candelabra style lights hangs down from the ceiling in the middle of the photograph. In the foreground a group of schoolboys on top of each other in a scrum. A large crowd covering the width and right-hand side of the hall are watching on. A collection of chairs with no one sitting on them is in the centre of the photograph.

#PancakeDay the students of Westminster School celebrating the day in 1903. The tradition known as ‘The Grease’ - up to 300 boys scrambling for possession of a pancake. Stone Collection Box 171/Print 20. #LibraryofBham #wschool

A view of New Street from the Town Hall, 4 September 1929. A large building on the left of the photograph with the facia Employers Mutual Assurance above a long line of awnings. A busy street scene in the foreground with vehicles and pedestrians. The photograph is divided into two parts by another street in the background.

Today's blog looks at some of the highlights of the 81 new archival accessions we took in during 2025. Every year we take in new archival material relating to the history of Birmingham, offered to us by organisations and individuals: theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/02/16/n... #LibraryofBham

A handwritten note torn into three pieces. The top left piece forms part of headed notepaper which carries across the top of the part in the top right of the photo. The piece in the bottom of the photo is much larger and consists of handwritten words in ink.

The pieces of the letter reassembled although with some noticeable tears on either side of the top of the letter. Noticeable creasing of the letter.

#BehindTheScenes our Conservator is still busy repairing the building plan for St. Agatha's, Sparkbrook. Here’s another Before & After. Ref - BBP 14796 #LibraryofBham