When we were in the archives re-labelling boxes, we came across two boxes labelled “Museum Documents & Manuscripts” we had a quick peek inside and decided they were perfect for this week’s ‘Exploring the Archives’.
The boxes were covered in a heavy layer of dust, and filled with delicate and very old documents which were packed in no particular order and accompanied by short notes explaining what they were.
They appeared to be mainly deeds for land and legal documents, there wasn’t much that we could decipher as they were mainly written in Old English or Latin, and the writing was quite faded on some. Some of the documents were very brittle, and there was evidence of some water damage.
The documents appear to have been donated to the museum in 1940, and it is unclear when they were placed in the archive. Some of them have lovely intricate detailing and patterns, and they all have beautiful styles of writing.
Several were dated during the 1500’s and 1600’s – but to be holding documents which are at least 500 years old was amazing.
We are going to a session at John Ryland’s Library about manuscripts, so perhaps it will shed a little light on this box for us, and help us to understand a little more about them.
Finding this box illuminates the importance of the archival skills course in London which taught us about caring for and preserving documents. We were certainly going through it wondering whether the paper used for the notes is acid free, noting evidence of water damage, and checking the paper clips used to ensure that no inadvertent damage is done to the documents.