Author Archives: Library of the Society of Friends

Quaker feeding programmes in postwar Germany and Austria

Posted on 20/02/2019

For many, the celebrations at the signing of the Armistice and the end of World War I were short lived. While soldiers went home from the front, the destruction wreaked on basic infrastructure and the civilian populations became clear. Germany … Continue reading →

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Readers’ stories: T. Edmund Harvey – Liberal Quaker, Quaker Liberal

Posted on 13/02/2019

The sixth in our series of readers’ stories is by Mark Frankel, who’s two years into a PhD on T. Edmund Harvey at Birmingham University. Mark visits the Library regularly to read Harvey’s unpublished papers and his copious publications. I’ve … Continue reading →

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Some Library highlights of 2018

Posted on 28/12/2018

It’s time to take stock as the old year draws to a close. It’s been a full one. We said goodbye to old colleagues and welcomed new ones. Centenaries kept us busy. The reading room got a new look. Our … Continue reading →

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Kristallnacht, Kindertransport, and help for refugees

Posted on 15/11/2018

Last week saw the 80th anniversary of the November Pogrom in Germany and Austria, now known as Kristallnacht. This outburst of anti-Semitic violence happened over the night of the 9th/10th of November and was a clear indication of the direction … Continue reading →

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Friends at the end of World War I: seeking international peace

Posted on 29/10/2018

At various points during the last four years we have marked the centenary of World War I on this blog by highlighting our collections relating to aspects of Quaker work at that time, including the relief work of the Friends … Continue reading →

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Caring for the past: conserving the Library’s collection of pamphlets and booklets

Posted on 05/10/2018

Lizzie Fuller, trainee conservator, writes about her work with some of our 19th and 20th century pamphlets. As a trainee Paper Conservator, I am fortunate to have opportunities to work on fascinating objects and this summer was no exception when … Continue reading →

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Open, healthy, scrupulously clean, with a liberal table: the Armfields and their temperance hotel

Posted on 06/09/2018

This year the Library was given a collection relating to the Armfield family who ran Armfield’s South Place Temperance Hotel near Finsbury Circus, London, during the second half of the 19th century. The collection includes a visitors’ book chronicling guests … Continue reading →

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Conflicting Views: Pacifist Artists – the Otter Gallery loan

Posted on 15/08/2018

Loaning material to other institutions provides an exciting opportunity to bring our collections to new audiences around the country. Special collections curator Melissa Atkinson writes about a current loan, and describes some of the objects on view. I was approached … Continue reading →

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William Penn: commemorations and curios

Posted on 19/07/2018

30 July 2018 is the 300th anniversary of the death of William Penn. He is widely-known as the founder of the American colony of Pennsylvania in 1681, on land given to him by Charles II in payment of a debt … Continue reading →

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150 years of Friends and foreign missions

Posted on 08/06/2018

    26th May 2018 marked the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the Friends Foreign Mission Association in 1868. This put overseas mission and relief work on a permanent footing for the Society for the first time, and this … Continue reading →

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