Library Collections
The Folklore of Cornwall (1975): Exploring the Tradition and Legacy of Cornish Folklore
For March's Book of the Month, library volunteer Mela Moseley delves into our modern South West collection to discuss Tony Deane and Tony Shaw's The Folklore of Cornwall (1975). Continuing in the tradition of the Victorian folklorists who first began to document the mythology of the region, Deane and Shaw combine anthropological research with engaging storytelling. The result is a detailed exploration of Cornish legend which remains a valuable resource for those interested in the subject.
Feeding the Victorian Invalid: Sarah Sharp Hamer’s Diet and Cookery for Common Ailments (1894)
For January’s Book of the Month our Library Assistant Fiona Schroeder discusses Sarah Sharp Hamer’s Diet and Cookery for Common Ailments (1894). This interesting volume, written under the pseudonym ‘Phyllis […]
A Seasonal Story: Charles Dickens’ Christmas Books
Many of us are familiar with Charles Dickens chilling festive tale, A Christmas Carol. Since its publication in 1843, it has been released in numerous editions and been adapted many […]
Mary Bulteel Ponsonby, a Radical Maid of Honour to Queen Victoria
For November’s Book of the Month our volunteer cataloguer Paul Auchterlonie appraises an unusual find from the travel section, detailing the life of Mary Ponsonby, (1832-1916), a woman who lived […]
New table-top display: Myths and Monsters
This exhibition explores the speculations and fears surrounding fossils and zoological matter in the early to mid-nineteenth century, and considers how contemporary gaps in knowledge lent themselves to stories of […]
“Digging up” James Parkinson’s Organic Remains (1804-1811)
James Parkinson’s lengthily-titled Organic Remains of a former world: an examination of the mineralized remains of the vegetables and animals of the Antediluvian world; generally termed extraneous fossils was published […]
A perusal of Samuel Rowe’s Perambulation of the Antient and Royal Forest of Dartmoor and the Venville Precincts (1848)
Samuel Rowe’s love of Dartmoor shines throughout his ‘Perambulation,’ drawing on his years of personal experience exploring and researching Dartmoor. He takes the reader on a journey through time, geography, history and speculation. This book of the month post was written by Richard Green, a library volunteer and Dartmoor enthusiast.
“Rough Cyder for Summer’s drinking”: 18th century treatises on Cyder
Treatises on Cider (1755), is a collaborative piece, and is currently on display as part of our “Looking Between the Lines: Marginalia in the DEI Collections” exhibition. It is the result of various writers forwarding new advice, or even intervening to interrupt the directions of the current speaker.
Looking between the lines: Marginalia in the DEI Collections
A book is an item that may be reshaped, added to, or amended by the person who holds it. Many of our collection items at the DEI are the products […]
“Too rarely visited and too little known”: Wilkie Collins’ Rambles Beyond Railways, or, Notes in Cornwall taken a-foot.
Whilst today it is a popular summer destination, in mid-Victorian Britain, Cornwall was a region that only attracted the most dedicated travellers. When the popular sensation novel writer Wilkie Collins journeyed to the far South-West in the 1850s, he accordingly entitled the account of his adventures Rambles Beyond Railways, or, Notes in Cornwall taken a-foot.
