November’s item of the month is a newly acquired item in the Archive and Library’s collections: a broadsheet entitled ‘The female sailor: a faithful history of the romantic and perilous adventures of that interesting young female Anne Jane Thornton’, c.1845.

It’s a popularised account of a woman who ran away to sea to find her lost love – a sad story, but also a lovely example of the way such stories were told and sold by sensationalist street publishers.

Renee (Digital Resources Librarian)

Continuing our regular programme of Archive Journey sessions, November begins with Caird’s Treasure Chest on Thursday 5th.  Sir James Caird was one of the National Maritime Museum’s principal early benefactors and his donations helped to form the foundation of the Museum’s collections.  The talk will provide a rare opportunity to view some of the manuscripts Caird collected for the Museum including a spy book written in 1582 and a series of documents signed by Samuel Pepys.  The session promises to offer a glimpse at some of our rarest documents and we hope to see you there.

The events in full are:

5 November - Caird’s Treasure Chest
12 November – Pirates and Privateers
19 November – Nelson’s Women
26 November – Sailor Chic

All the sessions are free of charge and there is no need to book.  Just come along to the E-Library at 2.30pm.

Richard (Assistant Archivist)