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Through these pages you can now more easily discover the unique items which make up our Heritage Collections. There is plenty to explore, from the historical development of printing in the Edward Clark Collection, to the works of Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen (who met at the Craiglockhart War Hospital) in the War Poets Collection, or the history of Merchiston Tower in the John Napier Collection.
Including rare books, manuscripts, letters, photographs, printed ephemera, and objects, ranging from the 15th century to the modern day, our Heritage Collections offer the opportunity to delve into the cultural history of our campus buildings, the city of Edinburgh, and beyond.
For more information, or to arrange to view any items from the collections, please contact heritage@napier.ac.uk.
By Liz Dyer
Interested in touring a 500-year-old tower at Napier, we offer tours of Merchiston Tower.
Framing the Past: A work placement photographing the Heritage Collections.
From February to May 2024, the Heritage Collections welcomed Rebbecca Cram, a third-year student from the BA (Hons) in Photography, for a trimester-long work placement. As part of the placement, Rebbecca photographed unique objects from the University’s collections and took images to help promote the department’s wider work. Here, Rebecca talks about her experience of her placement.
A work placement photographing the Heritage Collections.
I worked with the Heritage Collection department from February to May as a placement for my third year studying photography at the university. After taking part in an archive-based module the previous term and interviewing prominent members of the heritage collection scene in Edinburgh I became fascinated with the industry but desired a more hands-on approach rather than an interview or a one-time thing.
Therefore, with the help of the placement team I reached out to the Heritage Collections department to enquire about a position. After exchanging emails back and forth and arranging a meeting to chat over the intentions for the placement, the Heritage Collections department welcomed me with open arms despite it being a busy time for them. Our main goals for the placement were to photograph the initial items that were to be recorded in the department’s new digital catalogue and take promotional material for the items that were to be used for student and community engagement. We met once a week for a full working day throughout the term alternating between the studio, editing and research days.
Above photos: Studio days
My most memorable part of the placement was working alongside Ian (Special Collections Manager) and Laura (Senior Curator of University Heritage Collections), their in-depth knowledge and passion for history were infectious. They shared many anecdotes about the collection items, which helped with the promotional side of the placement as I was actively learning about the items, so although I was only taking and editing the images, I believe every step was a collaborative effort. I’d often get excited about certain items that we’d be photographing in a few weeks just so I could see them in person after hearing so much about them.
The placement was a true test of my technical skills and often my patience whilst having to sift through an abundance of images that look almost identical. If I missed any signifier of the angle, the item would be recorded incorrectly. However, knowing the importance of heritage collection photography and heritage collection service as a whole and why it’s such an integral part of education and history gave me a sense of accomplishment and confidence in my work.
Framing the past
Stepping into the world of Heritage Collection photography is definitely a step in the right direction for me and my career, but it was less like a step and more like a fall into a never-ending rabbit hole. One week I was doing research at home on the origins of the department and the next I was handling a taxidermied rooster in the studio or finding hidden rooms in the campus I’ve been going to for three years.
The team was always very quick to adjust to any changes in the schedule needed for me to complete my other modules, or anything new that came to fruition whilst working in the studio or editing. Prior to the placement I had no knowledge of any methods of working in a department like this other than knowing a few things about other institutions’ methods, so the team providing me with plenty of research days in the early days and frequent check-ins throughout the placement to aid this was very helpful and overall, it was a great learning experience for not just me but the department also. Through these methods and our frequent check-ins, I really got a sense of some of the realities opportunities that working in a smaller, newer department like this can offer, so I’m very pleased to have been the first of hopefully many to complete this placement with such a lovely team.
If you would like to know more about the Heritage Collections or are interested in seeing some of the items discussed above for yourself, do get in touch! All the information you’ll need to plan your visit can be found on our website.
The Postgraduate Publishing programme at Edinburgh Napier University invite you to our Publishing & Printing Archive Open Day!
As part of Book Week Scotland, we are delighted to provide a unique opportunity to view materials from our Edward Clark Collection.
Join us in the Glassroom at Merchiston Campus, 10 Colinton Road, Edinburgh Napier University,on Wednesday 20 November to learn about – and interact with – books and artefacts from the collection (not usually on display to the public).
There are 2 identical events – please select MORNING or AFTERNOON.
Each event will be two hours long and will be led by Laura Cooijmans-Keizer, Senior Curator of University Heritage Collections, Edinburgh Napier University, and Dr H S Williams, Honorary Edward Clark Fellow.
First hour: Introduction to the Edward Clark Collection, talk on print production, and Q&A.
Second hour: Opportunity to view the artefacts, and ask questions. (Some items may even be handled.)
This FREE event is your chance to delve into the fascinating world of publishing and printing. Learn about the history of these industries, explore rare books and documents, and gain insights from our archival experts.
Some of the items on display: page from the Gutenberg bible; leaf from Shakespeare 2nd folio, 1632; Grimaldi, steel engravings; 1835 Lizars Atlas, engraved; a volume from the Doves Press Bible.
Whether you’re a student or staff member, publishing professional, or simply curious, come along. This open day provides a rare and unique opportunity to view some of the treasures in our Edward Clark Collection!
We approach this year’s Remembrance Day on Monday the 11th. Marking 106 years since Armistice Day 1918 and the ending of the First World War. We’d like to just take a quick moment to remind you all about the university’s War Poets Collection. Give a brief history of our Craiglockhart campus. Long before it became the property of the university. The building which now houses our Craiglockhart Campus was known as Craiglockhart Hydropathic. Originally built as a medical centre specialising in water therapy during the Victorian Era. However, during the First World War, the facility became a military hospital. Focusing on the treatment of military officers suffering from shell shock.
The hospital was the site of pioneering work in the field of psychiatry. With Dr William H. R. Rivers became well-loved among the patients for his advocacy for humane treatment of men who were branded as cowardly by much of society. Rivers encouraged the men to talk about their experiences and express their emotions at a time when men were expected to be reserved and unflinching. However, the hospital is perhaps most well-known for the patients that were treated there. Especially Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen. The two men would go on to become famous for their poetry. They wrote about their experiences in the war, with Sassoon already being a published poet before the war. Owen had much of his poetry published posthumously after he died a week before the war’s end. Although the two were only at the hospital for a few months in 1917. Their time at Craiglockhart was vital to the development of both men’s poetry and had a significant impact on both of their personal lives, with Sassoon remaining friends with Dr Rivers for the remainder of River’s life.
War Poets
To commemorate the work carried out at the hospital during the war, Edinburgh Napier opened the War Poets Collection in 1988. Located in our Craiglockhart campus,.The collection presents items related to Sassoon, Owen, and other contemporary war poets. Along with items focused on the medical staff of the hospital.
The collection houses over 650 items, among them are personal correspondence and original copies of poetry, a range of historical photographs of the building and staff, and recordings of poetry recited by famous actors and writers such as Daniel Day-Lewis and Dr Pat Barker. The collection, and accompanying exhibition in Craiglockhart, are a great way to learn more about the history of the university buildings. It allows the university’s heritage team to show off the great work that they do.
War Poets in the Library
Additionally, our campus libraries have copies of writings by the poets available to borrow. Craiglockhart Library holds copies of Memories of a Fox-Hunting Man, Siegfried Sassoon’s novel which doubles as his fictionalised autobiography. Merchiston library has a copy of Wilfred Owen’s collected poems available in their main stock. The libraries also hold a great deal of other writings about the war poets, including biographies of Sassoon and Owen, along with copies of Pat Barker’s Regeneration trilogy, a series of novels presenting a fictionalised telling of Sassoon’s time at Craiglockhart and the long-term effect it had on him.
War Poets is located on the ground floor of our Craiglockhart building, just off of the main atrium when you enter the building. free to view during standard campus hours of 9 to 5, Monday to Friday. If you would like a guided tour of the collection you can contact the team at heritage@napier.ac.uk to see about arranging a tour during office hours.
Preserving the Past: My Journey Volunteering with the University Heritage Collections
Forewords
Delve into the captivating world of heritage preservation through the eyes of one talented high school volunteer. Join Charlie as he unveils his unique experiences and insights gained during his enriching half-term adventure with the Edinburgh Napier University Heritage Collections team. If you would like to consult our Collections please contact us via email
My name is Charlie and I am a student currently studying in my last year at Berwickshire High School. I aim to pursue history as a subject at university. Since an early age when I first began studying in high school, I have been fascinated with history and any surviving items and relics from the past. This passion was only heightened more as I studied History throughout school. This is why when I got the great opportunity to volunteer at the University Heritage Collections, I took it with no hesitation. I found many parts of my experience amazing and fascinating especially when I was working with real preserved books from as far back as the Middle Ages. This really struck my passion for history and made the whole experience worth it as the thought of holding the very same book as someone from the Middle Ages felt so strange and fascinating.
My Experience
My work while volunteering involved working with books from the Edward Clark Collection which illustrates the development of the book from the 15th century, concentrating on the development of typography, the techniques of printing illustrations, and fine bindings. My first task was to check out some of the book’s conditions and how they could be preserved better along with researching them and their origin. I also got the opportunity to spend a day of my volunteering experience doing work at the War poets’ collection which involved me getting to look at and organise real poems from soldiers who had suffered in the war. This really fascinated me as I felt like I was getting a unique chance to investigate the soldiers’ mental struggles and thoughts after their experiences on the front line. As part of my experience, I also got to complete a piece on the history of the poppy that we use for remembrance, which will support the development of a temporary exhibition. This involved looking at each type of poppy and what they mean along with the origins of the remembrance item and how it changed to become a symbol of the First World War. This really excited me as I have always found WWI to be insanely interesting and it was nice being able to research topics directly related to the war. I also got to complete tasks which involved looking at the Mehew collection, this collection is about Robert Louis Stevenson and his works which you may have heard of who’s works including books such as Treasure Island. This involved looking into the History of his works and checking up on the condition and safety of the valuable collection and implementing basic conservation measures to support delicate bindings. I also gained the chance to work with Napier’s expensive new collection scanner which I used to digitise fragile books from hundreds of years ago. Another one of my duties included Installing an exhibition about the history of Merchiston Tower and John Napier himself. Finally, my last task Included processing documentation for collection records. This taught me how to process documents and preserve important collection information for future curators and researchers to learn from.
Summary
I overall gained a lot from this experience which covered a wide range, this spanned from learning how to correctly handle historical records and valuable scanning equipment all the way to learning new information about historical time periods I had less knowledge on such as the Middle Ages and much more. I also was able to see just how fascinating it was to investigate the lives of those who came before us and how they lived their lives.
My experience in this volunteer position has further inspired me to study history at university and reinforced my love of the subject. It has also made me find a new interest in books and how they can be used to study the past.
As a whole, I loved my time volunteering, and it has given me tons of new experiences that will help me as I move forward to university next year.
Uncovering Hidden Histories: Provenance research internships in the Edward Clark Collection
During July, the University’s Heritage Collections department hosted two student interns whose intrepid research skills greatly helped us to find information about past owners, donors and custodians of the rare books held within the Edward Clark Collection. Here, Natalie Quinn (MSc in Publishing) talks about their experience of their internship.
My Experience as a Special Collections Intern
You might think that completing an internship, alongside writing a 15,000-word Master’s dissertation and working a part-time job, sounds like a crazy idea. You would be right. However, when I saw the opportunity to work with the library’s special collections department to identify provenance marks in books in the Edward Clark Collection, I just couldn’t let that pass me by. Earlier this year, I volunteered at a charity shop to help with the sorting, pricing, and shelving of books. This experience ignited my interest in the journeys that books go on as they pass between owners, and the notes left inside that tell us more about their histories. Therefore, I was immediately attracted to this internship and couldn’t wait to see which little remnants of history I would uncover.
[Figure 1: Inscription reading “Henry E. Napier to Lady Augusta Fox, Florence, Sept[embe]r 17th, 1838. ‘Pochi compagni avrai pepl’altra via; Tanto ti prego piu, gentile spirto, non lafear la magnanima tua impresa.’” (ECC E51).]
This internship has involved me going through many of the books in the Edward Clark Collection, from enormous tomes to the tiniest volumes, and looking at every page to record any evidence of where the book came from and who may have owned it. From something as inconsequential as a leaf pressed between the pages to bookplates and inscriptions bearing the names and dates of the books’ previous owners, these books had so much to reveal. My focus was on books from the nineteenth century, an era in which I am particularly interested, and I really appreciated how I was able to tailor the internship to my own curiosities.
[Figure 2: Inscription reading “J.W. Frampton, from his affectionate father, August 12th 1859” (ECC E68).]
I have gained so much from this internship, from learning that small drawings of hands with a finger pointing to the text, called manicules, were used for centuries in the same way we might use a highlighter to draw attention to important text, to discovering that a different calendar was used in France for twelve years following the French revolution. The latter I discovered from the one word I was able to decipher from a French letter stuck in the back of a book, the owner of which I later uncovered was in Brussels during the Battle of Waterloo and recorded his experiences in his journal.
[Figure 3: Letter pasted in the back of the book entitled Napoléon en Prusse: poème épique en douze chants (ECC E3).]
