Tag Archives: manuscripts

Bookshop Day – Henry Thomas Wake, Quaker bookseller

Posted on 10/10/2025 by Library of the Society of Friends

‘Imagine a second hand bookshop in a Derbyshire garden, and the bookman a fine old Quaker, lovable at sight, interesting withal, and himself the best book in his collection – a living book about books.’  For Bookshop Day tomorrow, we … Continue reading →

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The Swarthmore Documents: letters from the beginning of Quakerism

Posted on 22/04/2024 by Library of the Society of Friends

The Swarthmore Manuscripts, our famous collection of early Quaker letters, have been described as the “jewel in the crown” of the Library’s collection.  But did you know they are only one part of a larger collection known as the Swarthmore … Continue reading →

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Some Library highlights of 2018

Posted on 28/12/2018 by Library of the Society of Friends

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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William Penn: commemorations and curios

Posted on 19/07/2018 by Library of the Society of Friends

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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“In turbulent times”: sources on local Quakers and their meetings over the centuries

Posted on 05/10/2017 by Library of the Society of Friends

For Quaker Week 2017, our head of Library & Archives, Libby Adams, travelled to Penrith Meeting to give a talk on local Quakers living through “turbulent times” (this year’s Quaker Week theme). This blog post concentrates on Quaker stories from … Continue reading →

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Celebrating more collections information online

Posted on 03/05/2016 by Library of the Society of Friends

Every archive is faced with the problem of growing backlogs of material waiting to be added to their online catalogues and made accessible for users. It is a skilled and time consuming task to update old catalogue entries in paper format to digital … Continue reading →

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Opening up the manuscript collections: an update on our online cataloguing project

Posted on 23/07/2015 by Library of the Society of Friends

What do silhouettes, the  South Sea journals of Daniel Wheeler, press-cuttings on the General Strike, and a 100 year-old phial of anti-tetanus serum have in common? They’re all to be found in the Library’s main manuscript series, which currently comprises over … Continue reading →

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Library resources for researching World War I: Friends Ambulance Unit

Posted on 22/05/2014 by Library of the Society of Friends

The records of the Friends Ambulance Unit are the focus of this blog post, the latest in our series on resources for researching World War I. Established in the First World War and revived in the second, the Friends Ambulance … Continue reading →

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Library resources for researching World War I: prison experiences of conscientious objectors

Posted on 30/04/2014 by Library of the Society of Friends

Most of the men who found themselves imprisoned for conscientious objection during World War I were characterised as absolutist objectors. These men were not willing to participate in the war effort to any extent, turning down non-combatant duties and alternative … Continue reading →

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A life of Quaker service in England and Germany from World War I to II: cataloguing the papers of Dorothy Henkel (1886-1983)

Posted on 10/06/2013 by Library of the Society of Friends

We’re pleased to present a guest blog post from Hannah Ratford, who recently spent two weeks at the Library as part of her archives and records management training. As part of the M.A. course in Archives and Records Management at … Continue reading →

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