Down into the basement we go

Friday 7/12: The British Museum Archives

The British Museum is a glorious, expansive, overwhelming place full of artifacts from around the world (let's not dwell on how the collection was created), and underneath it all is a little-known basement room full of treasures that few get the privilege of exploring: the museum archives.

Stephanie, the archivist, is what we call a "lone arranger," meaning she works alone.  Though she is part of the legal department, her responsibility is handling the museum archives, which consist of the business records of the museum; the 8 collecting departments are responsible for their own records.  Now, that may sound a little boring, but that is not the case at all.  Looking through some of the items that are in the collection reveals an almost humorous sentiment regarding the people, places, and things surrounding the museum in past years; the word 'sober' tends to appear frequently - which is not what one would expect to find.  The records start in 1753, and the current records are still added.  The only exception is the staff/personnel records, which are handled and maintained by the National Archives.

There is a reading room in the center of the museum, which is now closed off and used as temporary exhibition space, but as new space is being built, the reading room will once again be open.  The reading room records are held in the archives that we were shown, and they contain some interesting things as well.  Back in the day, a user would have to write a letter to the museum requesting access to the reading room, fill out the application, and then mail it back to the museum to have their request reviewed.  Stephanie showed us the applications from Bram Stoker, Beatrix Potter, and T.S. Elliot, to name just a few.  If a person came into the reading room, they were required to sign in, and Stephanie showed us some famous signatures in the registers that are held in the archive including Beatrix Potter and Karl Marx.  There are also some fascinating artifacts contained within this collection, including the shell from the bomb that hit the Coins & Metals room during the Blitz.

Both before, and after visiting the archives, I walked around the museum a bit to find the things I absolutely had to see.  It gets pretty busy in there rather quickly, so I had must must-see list ready.  The Rosetta Stone was first, of course, the mummies, and the Vindolanda Tablets (which I'm sure you've never heard of).  There was also an exhibit, "Life and Death in Pompeii and Herculaneum," that I visited, and it was spectacular (I couldn't take pictures though, so you'll just have to trust me).