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University of Exeter Special Collections

@exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social
5.5K followers 1.1K following 877 posts

Join us in exploring the University of Exeter Library's Special Collections, which include archives, manuscripts, rare books and maps. There's something for everyone, and everyone is welcome. Find out more! ➡️ libguides.exeter.ac.uk/archives

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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 11h
We are delighted to announce that 7 letters from our Agatha Christie business papers are going on display at the British Library's exhibition 'Agatha Christie: A World of Mystery', opening later this month! ✨ You can find out more about the collection here ➡️ lib-archives.ex.ac.uk/Record.aspx?...
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MBA Library @nmbluk.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
Time to celebrate our photosynthesising pals as today is #WorldAlgaeDay Please enjoy these illustrations from 'Nereis Britannica; or a botanical description of the British marine plants, in Latin and English: accompanied with drawings from nature' by J. Stackhouse, 1795
Antique two-page botanical plate with text and labeled watercolor seaweed illustrations titled Capillary Fucus.
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The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum @bdcmuseum.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
We had a fantastic time at the International #MagicLantern Convention this weekend - great to experience the wonder of so many shows & to meet an international community of lanternists. Don't miss the magic lantern show coming up this week here in Exeter! tinyurl.com/4pacaaap @lightbearlane.org
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Exeter Cathedral @exetercathedral.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Thrilled! 'Making Domesday: Intelligent Power in Conquered England' is @devonhist.bsky.social’s Devon Book of the Year – one of the biggest projects we've undertaken on an item in our collection since our 1050 foundation. You can view Exon Domesday here today 📖 @komldsp.bsky.social @ihr.bsky.social
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The Devon and Exeter Institution @dexinst.bsky.social · 13/10/2026
Are you a student interested in the history of science, entomology, or changing attitudes to the natural world? 🔎📜Why not drop in to our free Dissertation Inspiration session, Tuesday 20th October, 2-4pm!
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Exeter City of Literature @exetercityoflit.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Local writing prizes, international residencies, and more! As a UNESCO City of Literature, we have an incredible collection of Creative Opportunities open to Devon's writers that you can check out on our website! ✍️ www.exetercityofliterature.com/creative-opp...
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The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum @bdcmuseum.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
⚔️ #Onthisday in 1066, the Battle of Hastings was fought. Nearly 1,000 years on, the Bayeux Tapestry remains one of history's most powerful visual narratives & is the medieval version of a #panorama. Are you going to see it at the @britishmuseum.bsky.social? #BayeuxTapestry #panoramasky
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
It's one of our favourite days of the year #NationalDessertDay! Here are a selection of recipes from the Hypatia Collection for some inspiration 🍰 #baking #cooking #food 📷: Hypatia/DOM
A collage of printed and manuscript recipes for various puddings and cakes including: treacle tart, lemon pudding, Christmas cake, lemon meringue pie. The images are layered over one another. There is text at the top of the image: Recipes from the Hypatia Collection and there are small graphics either side of a tart, a chef's hat, a bowl and whisk, a slice of cake, an open book with a pen and a shop front.
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Dr Laura Sangha @lsangha.bsky.social · 14/10/2026
Great to see Archivist Annie discussing @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social loan of Christie's letters to the British Library 👇 www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Agatha Christie letters reveal writer's 'love-hate' of Poirot
Correspondence kept by crime writer's agent explores how she really felt about her sleuths.
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Digital Humanities Lab, Exeter @dhlabexeter.bsky.social · 12/10/2026
The new cohort of DH interns have got stuck straight in with ongoing projects here at the Digital Humanities Lab! For a few years now we have been working to digitise playbills from the old Exeter Theatre Royal.
Four theatre playbills.
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Falmouth & Exeter Uni Archives @fxuniarchives.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
You can find the Tristan and Yseult scripts, and much more, in our #KneehighTheatre Archive. Find out more: www.falmouth.ac.uk/library/arch... 📷: AC2015-001 Box 3 – Tristan and Yseult script, Kneehigh Theatre Archive, Falmouth University © Kneehigh Theatre #TheatreHistory #TheatreArchives
falmouth.ac.uk
Performance and Writing Archives
Playwrights, novelists and theatre companies captured through their process, practice and performance histories.
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Falmouth & Exeter Uni Archives @fxuniarchives.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
The story of #TristanAndYseult starts in 2003, when it was co-commissioned for performances at Restormel Castle and Rufford Abbey. Director Emma Rice got Anna Maria Murphy and Carl Grose to write contrasting narrative voices, blending courtly restraint with the lovers' emotional perspectives.
Photograph of the first page of the script for Tristan and Yseult.
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Did you know our archives contain thousands of letters, just waiting to be read? 💌 Why not get started now by visiting our online PenPals exhibit, which explores correspondence between South-West writers! ➡️ specialcollectionsarchive.exeter.ac.uk/exhibits/sho... #WorldPostDay #PostDay #Archives
Cropped image from an exhibition board relating to Charles Causley. It shows a black and white photograph of Causley as a young man sitting at a writing desk, with a siamese cat sitting on top of the desk. The photograph has been fashioned into a stamp. Above the photograph is typed: 'EUL MS 50a/PERS/2/2/2/10 Photographer: R.L. Knight Ltd'. And below the photograph is typed 'Causley at his writing desk with pet cat'.
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Kresen Kernow @kresenkernow.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
🥚 Happy World Egg Day! This egg and spoon race at Liskeard Young Farmers sports was photographed by George Ellis and featured in the Cornish Guardian on 27 June 1940. The original glass plate negative was badly damaged, but careful digital restoration brought it back to life. 📷🥚
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University of Exeter Library @exeterunilib.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
This #BlackHistoryMonth, explore our digital & print collections celebrating Black history, culture, voices & experiences. Find reading lists, eBooks, databases, films & more via our #BHM LibGuide and displays at the entrances to Forum & St Luke's libraries. libguides.exeter.ac.uk/BHM
A light and dark green-striped background with a screenshot of the Black History Month resources page, and 'Celebrate Black History Month 2026 with the Library' and a link to the Black History Month LibGuide in white text.
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MBA Library @nmbluk.bsky.social · 09/10/2026
Continuing with the cephalopod love it's #NautilusNight To shell-ebrate we have this beautiful illustration of the shell of the chambered nautilus, taken from the 18th Century book on shells by GW Knorr
Two colored scientific illustrations of nautilus shells in cross-section, showing spiral chambers and handwritten labels.
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Check out this beautiful octopus from our friends at @nmbluk.bsky.social for #WorldOctopusDay! 😍
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Good morning to everyone but especially to all the octopuses, for today is their special day! To celebrate World Octopus Day, here's an illustration of an octopus from the book 'The World of the Sea' by Moquin Tandon, published in 1869. 📷 Reserve 591.92 TAN #WorldOctopusDay #OctopusDay #RareBooks
Cropped image showing an engraving of an octopusFull-page engraving from a book. It shows an octopus lying on the seabed, with a squid and a cuttlefish coming towards. The cuttlefish is making a cloud. The engraving is captioned: 'Plate XI. A Poulpe. A Cuttle-Fish Making His Cloud. A Calmar'.
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Literature Works @literatureworks.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
📢 The Exeter Young City Laureate for 2026-27 is Emily Reynolds. literatureworks.org.uk/announcing-e...
literatureworks.org.uk
Announcing Exeter's new Young City Laureate - Literature Works
We are thrilled to announce that the Exeter Young City Laureate for 2026-27 is Emily Reynolds. At Literature Works, we are ambitious to support and develop Exeter’s young voices for the future and the...
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MBA Library @nmbluk.bsky.social · 08/10/2026
Happy #WorldOctopusDay to all our eight armed friends 🐙 Given the recent attention on octopus blooms in south west England we thought we would share this wonderful illustration of the common octopus 📖 Histoire naturelle generale et particuliere des cephalopodes acetabuliferes vivants et fossiles
Vintage scientific illustration of an octopus with spread arms, detailed textured skin and muted brown-green coloration.
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The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum @bdcmuseum.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Delighted to be supporting this event by @lightbearlane.org to bring the wonder of magic lanterns to life in Exeter's oldest building, St Nicholas' Priory. We will be contributing a pop-up display of our extensive collections. Tickets available here: lnkd.in/eEZXzRh5 #magiclanternsky #cinemasky
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
You can find out more about our archives relating to theatre - including the Theatre Royal - in our online guide! ⬇️ These materials are available for everyone to access for research or enjoyment in our reading room. #TheatreHistory #TheatreArchives #Archives #Exeter @uniofexeterdrama.bsky.social
libguides.exeter.ac.uk
LibGuides: Special Collections: Drama, Music and Theatre History: Introduction
LibGuides: Special Collections: Drama, Music and Theatre History: Introduction
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
On 07 October 1889, the (New) Theatre Royal opened in Exeter. It was demolished in 1962. Our collections include many items relating to the Theatre Royal, including 2,383 playbills! #OnThisDay #TheatreHistory #TheatreArchives #Archives #Exeter #ExeterHistory @uniofexeterdrama.bsky.social
Colourised postcard showing the last Theatre Royal on the corner of Longbrook Street and New North Road.Five Theatre Royal (Exeter) playbills dating from 1891 to 1932
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The Devon and Exeter Institution @dexinst.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Are you a student interested in the history of medicine? 🔎📜Why not drop in to our free Dissertation Inspiration session to learn more about our collection! There are plenty of opportunities to conduct original research here at the DEI! Tuesday 20th October, 2-4pm
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Literature Works @literatureworks.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🌊If you could write a letter to the sea, what would it say? ✉️ It’s our pleasure to share a new digital anthology showcasing writing by local people created during Dr Rosemarie Corlett’s period as Plymouth Laureate of Words 2023-2025. literatureworks.org.uk/letters-to-t...
literatureworks.org.uk
Letters to the Sea - Literature Works
Letters to the Sea is a new digital anthology showcasing writing by local people created during Dr Rosemarie Corlett’s period as Plymouth Laureate of Words 2023-2025.   Rose began Letters to the Sea a...
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Good morning to everyone, but especially to all the badgers, for today is their special day! To celebrate National Badger Day, here is an illustration of a badger from the book 'Animated Nature' (1828) by Georges-Louis Leclerc. 📷 Reserve 590 BUF #NationalBadgerDay #BadgerDay #RareBooks
Cropped image from a book, showing a colour illustration of a badger standing on a patch of grass, painted in shades of black, white and green.
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The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum @bdcmuseum.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
🕵️‍♂️Happy James Bond Day to those who celebrate! Today marks the anniversary of the London premier of Dr No in 1962🔫 Speculation is rife about who will be the next James Bond - who would you choose? #filmsky #jamesbondday #007 #drno
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
This map by Benjamin Donn was produced as part of a 12-sheet map of Devon in 1765. Donn was awarded £100 from the Royal Society for the Arts for the best 1 inch to a mile survey of an English county. 📷 Townsend Maps T8; digitised by @dhlabexeter.bsky.social #MapMonday #MondayMaps #MappingOurExeter
Black-and-white engraved county map of Devon. The map shows towns, villages, roads, rivers and coastal features throughout Devon, with Lundy Island depicted off the north-west coast. Includes an ornate title cartouche, compass rose, scale bar and graticule border. Printed on laid paper with visible fold marks and age-related discolouration.
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The Plymouth Proprietary Library @theppl.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Recent article in the Plymouth Post.: plymouthpost.uk/plymouth-ent...
plymouthpost.uk
Inside one of Plymouth’s oldest surviving libraries
In St Barnabas Terrace is an institution that has survived war, fire and more than two centuries of change.
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Penlee House Gallery & Museum @penleehousegallery.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Happy World Teacher Day! 👩‍🏫 School is Out, 1889, by Elizabeth Adela Forbes This painting depicts the schoolroom in the small village of Paul, just outside Newlyn. The small boy is Richard Vivian Spargo, whose two elder sisters are the red-haired girls laughing at him.
An oil painting of a schoolroom with a teacher, children in period clothing, wooden desks, a map on the wall, and sunlight streaming through a door.
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
A century ago, trainee teachers at St Luke's College followed strict rules, including a ban on riding bicycles on Sundays! Explore this and other fascinating insights into student life in the 1920s in our new exhibition at St Luke's Library. #WorldTeachersDay #Exeter #Archives #UniOfExeterArchive
Dark green box in which is written on the left in white text 'New Special Collections Exhibition at St Luke’s Library! Back to the 1920s: Exploring life at St Luke’s 100 years ago through the University Archive. This exhibition is available to visit on the ground floor of the Library on the University of Exeter’s St Luke’s Campus.' On the right is a photograph with a light green border. The photograph shows a display case with four shelves, on which a range of photographs, documents and objects are displayed.
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Kresen Kernow @kresenkernow.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🚐 Long before modern caravan parks, families were bringing horse-drawn caravans onto Hayle Towans for summer holidays. This 1913 photograph from the Blight family collection shows one of the earliest known holiday caravans on the dunes. 🌊#JourneysExhibition #Hayle
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The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum @bdcmuseum.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
📢 New Stipends Call to Research at the Museum Now Open for UK and international researchers and practitioners! For details on how to apply, please visit our website: www.bdcmuseum.org.uk/news/new-sti... Deadline: 5pm on Monday 9 November 2026. #researchsky #museumsky #filmsky
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Believe it or nut - it's already October! 🍂 We hope you all have a lovely weekend. 📷 Illustration of oak, hazelnut & hornbeam from ‘The Flowering Plants of Great Britain’ (1855) by Anne Pratt [Baring-Gould Library 0691] #FridayFlowers #FlowersOnFriday #RareBooks
Photograph of an opened book featuring a full-page colour illustration of leaves, flowers and fruit of the Common British Oak, the Hazelnut tree and the Hornbeam tree.
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The Devon and Exeter Institution @dexinst.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Have you ever wondered what life was like inside Dartmoor Prison? October's Book of the Month blog explores the history of 'Five Years’ Penal Servitude, by One who has endured it' (1878), an anonymous account of a sentence served there in the 1870s. devonandexeterinstitution.org/a-devilish-b...
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
It's #NationalPoetryDay today 📝 We hold over 40 collections relating to South West writers, this includes the papers of the Cornish poet & writer Jack Clemo. Clemo's work was often inspired by the Cornish landscape and wildlife, as shown in this poem 'Gulls Nesting Inland'🪶 📷: EUL MS 68/Lit/3/6
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Digital Humanities Lab, Exeter @dhlabexeter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Happy National Poetry Day! Here at the University of Exeter Digital Humanities Lab we are celebrating by looking back on our collaboration with Professor Hugh Roberts and his work on Ukrainian wartime poetry! He kindly provided this write up about how the Lab and intern team helped his project:
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MBA Library @nmbluk.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Wow, October really crept up on us. But that means it's time for a new Reading Room display @thembauk.bsky.social This month we're celebrating our spectacular (and occasionally tentacular) chums - the #cephalopods #octopus #squid #cuttlefish 🐙🦑
A photograph of three bookshelves lined with books, covers facing out, all about cephalopods
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Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery @rammuseum.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Read all about 'Living Labyrinths: Art and Fungi' in the Guardian: www.theguardian.com/science/2026... Opens this Saturday! Book tickets at ramm.uk/Liv-Lab
theguardian.com
Can a mushroom make music? Devon exhibition explores ‘cultural world’ of fungi
Exeter museum to host DJ’s ‘collaboration’ with woodland fungi and artist’s map of her own body’s mycobiome
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Good morning to everyone, but especially to all the raccoons, for today is their special day! This woodcut of a raccoon was printed in 1635 in 'Historia Naturae, Maxime Peregrinae' by Juan Eusebio Nieremberg. 📷 Baring-Gould Library 0689 Folio #InternationalRaccoonAppreciationDay #RareBooks
Cropped image of a page in an opened book. In the centre of the page is a large woodcut illustration of a raccoon. The title in Latin above it reads 'Mapach'.
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Literature Works @literatureworks.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Tomorrow at 7pm, our online writing group First Thursday Writers begins - everyone welcome, pay what you can. Book your space here: www.ticketsource.com/literature-w...
ticketsource.com
"First Thursday Writers - A monthly group to nurture your creative spark" at Online
Tickets are now available for First Thursday Writers - A monthly group to nurture your creative spark at Online, Online on Thursday 1st October 2026 at 7:00PM. Click the link for further information a...
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Bodleian Libraries @bodleian.ox.ac.uk · 01/10/2026
October is the time to make wine - and work on your scorpion drawings. 📖 A man treads grapes. Scorpio. Calendar from a Psalter. 13th century digital.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/objects/5…
Medieval manuscript page showing two illustrations. A man treading grapes in brass-bound tub; drinking from bowl; an assistant tips grapes into tub. Vine on right. A scorpion representing Scorpio is below. The page has handwritten Latin text in red and black ink.
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Falmouth & Exeter Uni Archives @fxuniarchives.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Here's some books about sport from our #GorsedhKernow collection for National Sporting Heritage Day #NSHD26 Our collections include Cornish #SportingHistory across a range of sports from rugby and football, to wrestling and gig rowing. The special collections are open to browse, 10am-4pm, Mon-Fri.
A display of books relating to sport including '1826: Polkinghorne v Cann' (about a famous wrestling match between the respective champions of Devon and Cornwall), a DVD on Cornish wrestling, and a open book about the history of rugby in Cornwall.
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The Devon and Exeter Institution @dexinst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Calling all university students! Are you looking for some #DissertationInspiration? Join us for a drop in session to view original primary sources, perfect to spark ideas for your historical research. Free and open to all. #archives #primarysources #history #historiclibrary #dissertationideas
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Exeter Cathedral @exetercathedral.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Announcement: A selection of The Exeter Book’s famous riddles are now on display for the first time since the opening of the Treasures Exhibition in 2025. The Exeter Book is a treasured item listed on the UK UNESCO Memory of the World Register, preserving nearly all surviving Anglo-Saxon riddles.
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
We'll be there, can't wait! 🤩
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University of Exeter Special Collections @exeterunispeccoll.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Today is National Sporting Heritage Day! Did you know our University Archive contains items relating to university sports going back more than a century, including reports, photographs, sportswear, balls, and even trophies? Here's a small selection! 📷 EUL UA #NSHD2026 #SportingHeritage #Archives
Sports column's relating to men and women's hockey from an early issues of St Luke's College Student's MagazineBlack and white photograph of men and women wearing tennis attire and holding tennis racquetsFlattened rugby ball, on which is printed 'Middlesex Seven-A-Side St Luke's (18pts) vs. Ldn Welsh (5pts) Twickenham 1952'. The ball is also signed with several signatures, presumably of players on the rugby team.Inter College Athletic Contests tropy of the University College of the South West
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Falmouth & Exeter Uni Archives @fxuniarchives.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Very excited to be part of this! Come and hear about how we engaged students in the Nick Darke archive, celebrating his life and plays and taking inspiration for new creative works. Book now: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/impact-sem...
eventbrite.co.uk
Impact seminar: involving students in archival practice
Join this impact seminar to hear how different archives have collaborated with students and alumni on a variety of projects.
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Kresen Kernow @kresenkernow.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
🌿 Pop-up exhibition this September, 'Beneath the Surface', by Kate Cartwright. Inspired by Cornwall's mining heritage and family history, Kate combines art and archive research to uncover the remarkable story of her great-grandfather. Visit during our usual opening hours.
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Kresen Kernow @kresenkernow.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
❤️ On #WorldHeartDay we're highlighting ‘Tractatus de Corde’ (‘Treatise on the Heart’) by Cornish physician Richard Lower (1631-1691), whose studies of the heart and circulation helped advance medical understanding in the seventeenth century.
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