Museum blog

Material from the printed and manuscript collections of the Caird Library and Archive offers a window to the grand naval spectacles of the past

One unassuming print in our collection reveals a different perspective to the extraordinary celebrations that followed the Battle of the Glorious First June. Hazel Vidler, Ship Portrait volunteer, reveals more.

Richard Parker was sentenced to death for his role in the 1797 Nore Mutiny - but was he a ringleader or a scapegoat?

With Napoleon Bonaparte having surrendered to British forces following his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo it was decided to send him into exile once again, this time to the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena. Rear Admiral Sir George Cockburn was given the task of transporting the former Emperor to the island on board HMS Northumberland and the Caird Library and Archive holds an extract from his journal (RMG ID: COC/9) covering these events.

Natasha Lambert is the first person to skipper a boat across the Atlantic using ‘sip-and-puff’ technology. At the National Maritime Museum we are honoured to welcome her helmet and gloves into our collection, and be able to share Natasha’s story.

For LGBTQ+ History Month we go in search of some of the hidden histories within the Caird Library and Archive collections

Discover some of the surprising entries recently discovered in the medical records of the Dreadnought Seamen's Hospital.