Jeremy Michell

Profile

Manager, Historic Photographs and Ship Plans Section

I manage two other curators who look after the 300,000 historic negatives, 1500 albums, and one million ship plans at the Museum. My role is to oversee the various cataloguing projects for the collections, as well as to catalogue collections myself. Between us, the team answer over 4000 enquiries from the public relating to the collections, as well as invigilate access to the collections (by appointment only). I also participate in wider Museum projects, write articles and give talks on the collections to a variety of audiences.

My favourite part of my job

I enjoy sorting and cataloguing the collections, knowing that this will ultimately improve access to a broader audience than researchers. I also enjoy helping people to connect to the collections through their personal experiences, or those of a member of the family. One of my visitors was very moved when she saw photographs of her father’s ships, and the crew list with his name and signature. It makes it very worthwhile.

The questions I'm asked most often

Do you hold all the ship plans for all ships?

The answer is no. However, we do have the most comprehensive plans collection in the world. Our greatest strength is with warships from the 1680s, but they are quite rare until the 1750s. With the upheaval of the British shipbuilding industry in the 20th century, merchant ship plans are not as well represented, especially from the smaller private yards.

Where else can I find ship plans if you do not have them?

I recommend a book The Shipbuilding Industry; A Guide to Historical Records by L.A. Ritchie (MUP, 1992). It is currently out of print but a reference copy is available in the Caird Library. If you know the name of the shipbuilder this will be a valuable reference book. However, other key archives include Glasgow University Archives, Merseyside Maritime Museum, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums.

What is your earliest negative?

Photography was invented in 1840 by Henry Fox Talbot, and our earliest negative is a 2-inch square waxed-paper negative of Brunel’s Great Britain (1843) taken in April or May 1844 at Bristol. Colour photography, as we use it today, was invented during World War II, and only became common from the 1960s.

My recommended books and links

Books

• The Chatham Directory of Inshore Craft: Traditional Working Vessels of the British Isles
• The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889
• D. Lyon, The Denny List (parts I–IV) (London: National Maritime Museum, 1975)
• D. Lyon & R. Winfield, The Sail & Steam Navy List: All the Ships of the Royal Navy 1815–1889 (London: Chatham, 2004)
• Historic Photographs at the National Maritime Museum; An Illustrated Guide, NMM 1995

Online

• The Museum's ship plans pages
• The Museum's historic photographs online negatives catalogue

Academic profile

Manager, Historic Photographs and Ship Plans (with Technical Records) Section

Biography

Having studied for a BA in History & Archaeology at the University of Leicester, I continued with a Masters in Maritime History at the University of Hull. I started at the Museum in 2002 as one of three curators of the Historic Photographs and Ship Plans collections. Since 2006 I have been the manager of the section.

Collections responsible for

• Admiralty Ship plans, 1680s–1960s
• Merchant Ship plans, 1840s–1970s
• Ships Covers, 1890s–1960s
• Admiralty Specifications and Contracts, 1719–1950 (wanting in some date ranges)
• Department of Naval Constructor Workbooks, 1876–1974 (not comprehensive)
• Ships Books, c1900-1960s (not comprehensive)
• Photographic Negatives, 1844–present
• Photographic Prints, 1840s–-present
• Photographic Albums, 1850s–present

Areas of research and interest

• Polar exploration: currently researching the British Arctic Expedition, 1875-6 under Captain George Nares, in relation to three photographic albums we hold in the Museum. The aim is to have the prints fully catalogued and on-line.
• Eighteenth-century Maritime History: a broad topic but the main areas within it are privateering and prize-taking, the Royal Navy in terms of political background and strategy, and a developing interest in ship technology (the influences on ship design).
• Royal Yachts: general interest is in their introduction and how their role changed as Britain’s wider strategic outlook shifted, and also the changes in the attitude of the British Royal Family. One area of investigation has been the iconography used, mainly detailed on the ship plans, but necessarily on the ship when she was built.

Current NMM Projects

• Researching and cataloguing the British Arctic Expedition, 1875-76, photograph albums
• Researching and cataloguing the 8,000 Admiralty ship plans from the 18th and early 19th century
• Planning for future cataloguing projects of both collections, prioritising the various individual collections

Previous NMM Projects

• Researched and produced the labels and text panels for the British Arctic Expedition aspect of the ‘Freeze Frame’ exhibition, 2007-8.
• Researched and provided text for the Nelson & Napoleon exhibition catalogue.
• Assisted with the redevelopment of the Museum at the National Trust property in Cotehele.

External bodies

A member of the Victory Advisory Technical Committee (VATC), and the Interpretation Sub-Committee, relating to the preservation and interpretation of HMS Victory (1765).