Hartley Special Collections

Photograph of Nehru and Lady Mountbatten, both holding programmes. They are standing outside a doorway, with “Smoking prohibited” above it, so possibly a cinema or theatre.

#NoSmokingDay, first marked in the UK on Ash Wednesday in 1984, is now always on the second Wednesday in March.

Can any one spot why we've shared this photograph of Jawaharlal Nehru and Edwina Mountbatten today?

A new term and a new VC Newly appointed Professor Sir Christopher Snowden is the tenth Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton. Just as the University is the successor to the Hartley Institution, Hartley College …

The University of Southampton is looking for a new President & Vice Chancellor. Our 2015 blog, when Professor Sir Christopher Snowden was newly appointed as the 10th VC, reflects on former post holders buff.ly/PevuIIv Interested in applying? A recruitment pack is available online: buff.ly/iWuvh3A

The Schnorrer and the Parvenu: Jews, Tailoring and the Performance of Respectability The Parkes Institute are delighted to have Jonathan C. Kaplan-Wajselbaum deliver a lecture titled ’The Schnorrer and the Parvenu: Jews, Tailoring and the Performance of Respectability’.

Jonathan Kaplan-Wajselbaum has been a regular visitor to our searchroom over the last year and is giving a talk titled 'The Schnorrer and the Parvenu: Jews, Tailoring and the Performance of Respectability’ at Avenue Campus today and online at 6pm! @parkesinstitute.bsky.social

Letter from Wm Cobbett to His Grace the Duke of Wellington. It is handwritten on pale creamy paper in dark brown black ink. It is dated 26 August 1828.

#OnThisDay pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer William Cobbett was born in Farnham, Surrey in 1763
The Wellington Papers include correspondence with and about him including his reply to James Tuffnell regarding the wheat crop and his "abuse of [his] sect"

Thank you for letting us know

Image of Charlotte Chamberlain from the University Fine Art Collection. She is wearing a dark jacket and a pale blouse.

She is wearing a dark blue gown with a copper coloured collar. She has a blue top and holds a folder

Grace Ford (nee Lister) seated on porch of house in Massachusetts, 1922 [MS58/A657/121] . There is a rocking chair behind her.

Annie Yorke from: Lucy Cohen Lady de Rothschild and her Daughters 1821-1931 (1935) Cope 95 MON

#InternationalWomensDay #IWD2026 #GiveToGain
Imagine a gender equal world. A world free of bias, stereotypes, and discrimination. A world that's diverse, equitable, and inclusive. A world where difference is valued and celebrated. Together we can forge gender equality.

It's International Women's Day - we share a blogpost about one very impressive woman whose papers are held at Southampton - Anne Baring, who worked as the Education Officer for the Council of Christians and Jews: buff.ly/J2sfDu4 @exploreyourarchive.bsky.social @parkesinstitute.bsky.social

Celebrating Women: Anne Baring

March is Women’s History Month, so we celebrate yet another impressive woman whose papers are held in the Archives and Special Collections at the University of Southampton – Anne Baring. (Cecilia Maureen) Anne Baring (1922-2011) was the daughter of Richard Baring and…

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British Science Week starts today #BSW26 - so feel free to check out our STEM collections: buff.ly/B36LkJv @ScienceWeekUK

A shelf of books showing spine titles on the Spitfire or R.J. Mitchell.

A selection of books from the Cope Collection to mark the 90th anniversary of the first flight of the Supermarine Spitfire from Eastleigh Aerodrome on 5 March 1936.

Search Results for “refugee” – University of Southampton Special Collections James Parkes (1896-1981), whose Library on Jewish/non-Jewish relations is the largest and best used of the printed Special Collections, was a keen collector of pamphlets. For him, they gave the “day…

The University's Special Collections are notably strong in historical resources about refugees. Learn more in our blogs: buff.ly/rixzsxt

Basque children refugees arriving in Southampton on the Habana [MS404 A4164/7/1/8]

Photograph of the booth staffed by Miss Bennett in the interior of the hall at Atlantic Park, Eastleigh, with a number of the refugees in residence at the transit camp, 1920s [MS 311/53]

University Refugee Week highlights the University’s dedication to creating a supportive environment for refugees, emphasizing community solidarity: buff.ly/xSVmLio. Our Special Collections are notably strong in historical resources about refugees. Learn more here: buff.ly/rixzsxt

Cream coloured index card for Billing, Hannah

A lovely find for #WomensHistoryMonth. Dr Hannah Billig, known as the ‘Angel of Cable Street’ was born in Spitalfields to refugee parents from Russia. The Education Aid Society adopted her case in 1921 to support her medical training. buff.ly/uSExVZI

"The Winchester TheWinchesterGallery Gallery University of Southampton BERNAT KLEIN: COLOUR AND CONTEXTS 'Jews in Suits: Men's Dress in Vienna, 1890-1938' Jonathan C. Kaplan-Wajselbaum & 'Woven Colour, Worn Identity: Beyond Grey, Rethinking Men's Colour' Bruce Montgomery, chaired by Shaum Cole Thursday 5th March 2-3.30p Lecture Theatre A, Winchester School of Art and online via Teams"

Ahead of The Winchester Gallery’s Bernat Klein exhibition (20 Apr–30 May), join the Colour & Contexts seminar!
Jonathan C. Kaplan-Wajselbaum & Bruce Montgomery explore men’s dress, identity & colour.

📌 5 March 2026, 2–3.30pm, Lecture Theatre A + Teams.

@unisouthampton.bsky.social

For #EYAWildlife we share a 'Managing England's marine wildlife' booklet kept by Professor Terry Langford of the @Universityofsouthampton as part of his Historic River Data Archive. buff.ly/i6sI1H7 You can find out more about the collection here: buff.ly/NLVJ6AE

Cream coloured index card for David, Dorothy B

We are expanding our description for the Education Aid Society and came across this index for Dorothy Spier (nee Davis). She studied mathematics at Newnham College, Cambridge and was one of two women to be the first to qualify as an actuary in the United Kingdom. #WomensHistoryMonth

Part of a handwritten letter. Cream paper with dark brown black ink

"A battery might check an advancing force just outside Swansea towards Llanelly, which last would be a most convenient place for an enemy to land..."
For #StDavidsDay we share a note regarding the defence of #Wales against an invasion from the Wellington Papers

Black and white photo of the unveiling of the stained glass windows at the Hartley Library with a design illustrating the chemical structure of DNA

On this day in 1953 James Watson and Francis Crick announced to friends that they had discovered the chemical structure of DNA, so we share a photo from 1989 of the unveiling of the stained-glass windows with the structure of DNA at the Hartley Library @historicalsoton.bsky.social

Black and white postcard of Above Bar, looking south towards the Bargate. The road is lined with parked cars on both sides and the pavements are crowded with people.

Southampton’s Above Bar before pedestrianisation. This mid-1950s postcard shows the new Southern Daily Echo building on the right, Boots, in a familiar location and the popular Cadena Café, which re-opened in 1954, after its previous premises were destroyed in the war.

Pale paper with handwritten message in dark ink

#OnThisDay the Cato Street Conspirators were arrested.
The text, which comes from the Wellington Papers, was written by their leader Arthur Thistlewood while incarcerated at Newgate Prison. Learn more in our blog: buff.ly/5YfoS3l

Leaflet for the Jewish Lesbian and Gay Helpline in bright pink, blue and black colours

Leaflet for the Jewish Lesbian and Gay Helpline in bright pink, blue and black colours

The Jewish Lesbian and Gay Helpline operated from 1987-2009. Our collections include papers about its aims, services provided, resources and the geographical area served as well as its application to join the then Central Council for Jewish Social Services
#LGBTHistory

Black and white photograph of Lady Louis Mountbatten doing a ski turn from standing still, by individually turning each ski to face the opposite way. She is in the middle of this turn with one ski pointing one way and the other pointng in the opposite direction. Behind her the slope runs down to the village where a few buildings are visible and beyond which another mountain side rises, with trees on its lower slopes.

Black and white photograph of Lady Louis Mountbatten carrying a pair of skis and ski poles. She is wearing breeches, knée-length woollen socks and heavy boots. She is standing on a street in front of a ski shop. A painted sign above the shop door says "Ski and Sports Depot. Eduard Gertsch". There are several pairs of skis leaning against a railing outside the shop. There are further small buildings along the street, and a tree-covered mountain slope can be seen rising in the background.

Black and white photograph of Lady Louis Mountbatten on a ski slope at Wengen. She is wearing skis and leaning on her ski poles. Behind her the slope runs gently down to the village where a few buildings can be seen. The mountains rise beyond the village with trees on their lower slopes.

Edwina, Lady Mountbatten skiing in Wengen in 1925
#WinterOlympics #Skiing

Black and white photograph of Mary Ashley and Mr Cormack, a professional skater, skating on an outdoor ice rink in Wengen. Mr Cormack is skating on one foot with the other leg and both of his arms outstretched. He is holding the hand of Mary Ashley who is doing a slightly less elegant version of the same move. The edge of the ice rink is marked by a bank of snow. In the background there is an area surrounded by a fence, which is probably a snow-covered sports field. Beyond that there is a small wooden chalet and in the far distance there is a large building.

Mary Ashley (later Baroness Delamere) and Mr Cormack, a professional skater, on an outdoor ice rink in Wengen in February 1925. The image comes from a photograph album belonging to Lady Edwina Mountbatten #FigureSkating #WinterOlympics

Today is the World Day of Social Justice - advocating for poverty eradication, full employment and decent work, gender equality, and access to social well-being and justice for all. So we share this rather curious theory from 1828 on the origins of poverty from the Wellington Papers:

Sonia Gollance (@sgollance.bsky.social) Here's my new blog post about Jewish dance cards and a recent UCL bicentennial event where we learned Edwardian ballroom dances from a Jewish dance card in @uclhjslibrary.bsky.social to the same…

A dance card from the Henriques family collection here has featured in a lovely new blog by Dr Sonia Gollance of UCL which focuses on Jewish dance cards: buff.ly/M9SS9X9

A postcard showing a sepia view of the south side of the Bargate and adjacent shops, all the windows and the moon appearing illuminated.

Lit windows on the south side of Southampton’s Bargate and in the High Street buildings are revealed when a light is placed behind this postcard. Known as ‘hold to light’ postcards, they were popular in the Edwardian era, this one being posted in 1904.

Part of a handwritten letter on creamy beige paper with dark brown or black ink. The text reads "Your Father return'd home last night looking vastly well and very much pleased with his Brighthelmstone [Brighton] excursion which has agree'd excessively with him. Nothing could be more gay."

One of the challenges of #LGBTHistory is terminology. #Gay wasn't commonly used as an alternative to homosexual until the 1950s so 18th and 19th century uses have a very different definition, as many letters in our collection illustrate #Context

Black and white photograph of people curling

Black and white photograph of people ice-skating. There is a smartly dressed man in the forefront wearing a dark suit

Photograph of a lady having skis fitted. She is wearing a long dark skirt, long sleeves white button top and a black head covering

We'll take any excuse to share some of the fabulous photos from the Adler family album on holiday at Bretaye in the Swiss Alps
#WinterOlympics #Curling #Snow

Endorsement from the back of a letter dated London 31 May 1836. The paper is cream coloured with dark brown ink

Contemporary copy, in the hand of a secretary, of a letter from Arthur Wellesley, first Duke of Wellington, London, to George Heydweiller, Krefeld, near Cologne. The Duke has received Heydweiller's letter of 6 May. He appreciates the offer of buying a ton of vintage Hochheim wine. The Duke does not require to drink this wine for his health: he will not deprive Heydweiller of it. Dated 31 May 1826

The Duke appreciates the offer of buying a ton of vintage Hochheim wine but he does not require to drink this wine for his health and he will not deprive Heydweiller of it [paraphrased from the French]
#NationalDrinkWineDay #WellingtonWednesday

#DidYouKnow University College Southampton's annual "Rag Day" was always held on Shrove Tuesday?
These student-run, fundraising events and organisations have been part of student life for over 100 years. Learn more here: buff.ly/FrJVyC0 @uosengagement.bsky.social @unisouthampton.bsky.social