'Protect that which you hold dear.' For the final installment of our Explore Your Archive blog posts, we share with you precious items from our own personal collections. As part of today's theme we hope you join in and share something of your own using the hashtags (#ExploreYourArchive and #YourArchive). Even if you don't think of it in archival terms, you most likely have something, whether it's a photograph, a garment, a piece of jewellery, a medal, a children's sketch or a vase. Anyhow, we hope you enjoying having a nosy at ours!
David
Keeping it DMU! I share with you 3 T-shirts from my days as a student here at De Montfort University where I was also an active member of the Lacrosse team. I have subsequently donated these to the archive. All sorts of items have a place in recording the history of the university. If in doubt don't chuck, contact us to see if we want your DMU student stuff.
Katharine
My choice is about encouraging the next generation of record-keepers! My girls bring home a lot of school-work so I give them a box each and encourage them to choose what to keep and what to recycle. We also talk about how to make those decisions - what archivists call appraisal - and they love showing me their artwork and writings!
Marina
An important part of archiving is managing items, even personal collections need appraising. I recently gifted three magazines from my archive to a friend in the U.S. A friend who lives far from any WHSmith store! My magazines are now part of a broader collection of David Tenant photographs and rare 1990s ephemera relating to the actor's lesser known theatre work.
Natalie
This was extremely difficult to choose! Having recently moved into my grandparents former home, I am surrounded by a house full of memories and artefacts. I also wanted to show something from my husband's side of the family, so I have managed to narrow it down to two! First is my grandfather's workbench, still in our garage. Having first trained as a carpenter, this stood him in good stead throughout his life, not only professionally. A kind and industrious man, he fixed, made and constructed things for family members, friends and neighbours.
Above: Ted and Vera Shaw on their wedding day, 1952 and my grandfather's workbench where the years of hard work are forever etched into the bench. Here you can see some of his gardening and carpentry tools as well as a small box he idly made for fun!
From my husband's side of the family, my father-in-law generously gave to me his mother's "kimonos" following her passing. They were a gift from her husband who most likely bought them when he was stationed in Palembang in the Indonesian province of South Sumatra in 1946. A Lance Corporal in the 1st Battalion Royal Lincolnshire Regiment, coincidentally, today would have been his 108th birthday!
Above: Ernest and Mary Gamble on their wedding day, 1942. As you can see, these silk Sumatran robes with dragon design embroidery still retain their beautiful rich colour. If any reader recognises the style of design/robe or knows about the history of this type of garment, we'd love to hear from you!
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