Category: Archives & Special collections

A witness in the archive: Paris, May 1968

From the archives: 1968 has become synonymous with radicalism.    1968 around the world Around the world, in 1968, people began protesting. Several countries in Eastern Europe experienced major unrest. In Czech, the Prague Spring was a hopeful period of liberalisation, artistic exploration and democratisation. The Civil Rights and Anti-War movements in the US ramped…Continue Reading A witness in the archive: Paris, May 1968

Charlton Heston, Vietnam and the NUS Grants Campaign

City has a long tradition of its student publications featuring strong and politically charged editorials stretching right back to its founding as the Northampton Institute in the 1890s. Take this edition of Beacon from May, 1968 as an example: The front cover features a quote from a Royal Shakespeare Company production of a play called…Continue Reading Charlton Heston, Vietnam and the NUS Grants Campaign

From the archives: Decline and Fall

Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire One of the gems of our rare books collection is a complete copy of Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire which was published in 1789. It’s a six volume work. Each volume is split in two making twelve books in total. The complete work covers the…Continue Reading From the archives: Decline and Fall

The Prospects for Women’s Suffrage

Many of you will have come across the New Statesman, the liberal left-leaning magazine featuring writers such as Laurie Penny, Will Self and the late Christopher Hitchens. But most of you probably haven’t heard of its forerunner, The Athenaeum. Published weekly between 1828 and 1931, The Athenaeum was a highly influential periodical covering topics such…Continue Reading The Prospects for Women’s Suffrage

From the Archive: fond memories of graduation

This week the latest round of City, University of London Graduation Ceremonies has been taking place at the Barbican Centre with students from all five schools marking the successful completion of their courses.  These ceremonies are steeped in tradition and date back a long way, as this programme from 1899 shows.   All staff (your lecturers attending to…Continue Reading From the Archive: fond memories of graduation

Christmas from the Archive

Whether through tradition, faith or common experience, Christmas is a time when family, friends and strangers come together to celebrate, remember, and look forwards with optimism to the new year approaching. Never more is this optimism tested than when suffering hardships such as poverty, illness, or experiencing and surviving conflict: and sadly the latter has…Continue Reading Christmas from the Archive

From the archive: The Lord Mayor’s Show

Tomorrow (Saturday November 11th), City, University of London students will be taking part in the Annual Lord Mayor of London’s Procession.  Although our involvement in the procession goes back many decades, the history of the procession dates right back to the reign of King John in the 12th Century. A Short History King John, having…Continue Reading From the archive: The Lord Mayor’s Show

Radiographers: the professionals behind the medical images and the treatment

World Radiography Day is celebrated on the 8th November which marks the discovery of x-rays on 8th November 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen (Society and College of Radiographers, 2017) who later won the very first Nobel prize in 1901 (Novelprize.org, 2014). Have you met a radiographer? Most of us probably would have, whether it is…Continue Reading Radiographers: the professionals behind the medical images and the treatment

From the archive: The Beacon

The Archives Group at City Library are responsible for maintaining and preserving City’s Archives and Special Collections. We are currently working on a number of exciting projects to make the content more accessible to staff, students and external researchers. In our new series From the archive, each month we’ll be selecting a collection from the…Continue Reading From the archive: The Beacon

Black History Month

This month we have been celebrating Black History Month and all the powerful and truthful books written by, and about, people of colour. London has a rich, deep and proud black history which likely dates back to the Roman period, if not before. London’s diverse community is a source of strength and inspiration throughout its…Continue Reading Black History Month