SPEAKS VOLUMES
Volume 7 April 2017 1 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017
Welcome to the seventh edi on of Speaks Volumes...
Dear Members We all hope you are all well and had an enjoyable Easter. Over the coming months, we will be taking forward our new strategic vision. A key component of this is how we improve access to the Library and our collections for Members. As a start to this work, we will be taking forward 3 initiatives that we hope will ensure Members get better value for money from their membership. Firstly, from Tuesday 30th May we are changing our opening hours as follows: - Mon 09:30hrs to 18:00hrs Tue 09:30hrs to 18:00hrs Wed 09:30hrs to 18:00hrs Thurs 09:30hrs to 19:00hrs Fri 09:30hrs to 17:00hrs Sat 09:30hrs to 13:30hrs
The main changes are that we are opening half an hour later on a morning (Monday to Friday) and then staying open an hour longer on Monday and Wednesday and an extra half hour on a Saturday. These changes follow feedback from members through the recent survey. Secondly, on Mondays between 11:00hrs and 12:00hrs and Fridays from 15:00hrs to 16:00hrs, we will be opening the Old Librarian’s Office for Members to allow access to many of the Library’s original collection and most valuable items. During these time periods, we will put on a display of some of the key books and have a member of the team on hand to assist Mem- bers in learning more about the items that we hold in a room that has up to now been behind lock and key. Thirdly, work on the air conditioning for the Basement is being undertaken which will mean that in the very near future, Mem- bers will be able to have access to the space and our collections that are currently not on public display. Once the work is completed, we will let you know the date at which the space will be open for browsing the Basement collection. Finally, on the 24th June, the Library will be holding its Annual General Meeting. A key element of the meeting will be electing Trustees on to the Board. Each year a minimum of 4 places are available and so we are keen to encourage Members to con- sider whether they would like to become a Trustee. If this is something you may be interested in doing, we will be sending out details on how nominations can be made to be a Trustees in the next few weeks. Carl
Staff: President: Dr. Kevin Grady
Chief Execu ve : Carl Hu on Patron: Carryl Phillips
Librarian: Jane Riley
Senior Library Assistants: Anna Goodridge and Hel‐ Trustees: en Holdsworth Chair: Mar n Staniforth Library Assistants: Nichola Holmes Deputy Chair: Stuart Rawnsley and Aidan Thackray Treasurer: Chris Holmes Administrator: Sarah West Chair of Books: Michael Meadowcro Finance Assistant: Liz Jones Chair of House: Chris Webster IT/Communica ons Assistant: Claire Buckley Chair of Research: Stuart Rawnsley
Caretaker/Cleaner: Phillip Robinson Chair of Staffing: Richard Hainsworth
Consultant Bookbinder: Brian Cole of The Castle Bindery
2 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017
Book Reviews
Myth, Memory and the Middlebrow: Priestley, du Maurier and the Symbolic Form of Englishness by Ina Habermann. 2010. 242 pp.
Reviewed by Bob Ducke The no ons of Englishness/Bri shness and na onal iden ty have been high‐ lighted in recent years by globalisa on, devolu on, ci zenship tests, and per‐ haps Brexit. We live in a post‐colonial and mul cultural society where no ons of individual and collec ve iden es, which have hitherto revolved around a number of stereotypes of ‘Bri shness’ or ‘Englishness, appear ever more in‐ congruous. This book suggests that these debates s ll draw on no ons of English‐ ness which were shaped in the interwar years and amplified in Second World War propaganda, and that from the 1920s to the 1940s, Englishness became symbolic, comprising specific no ons of the people and their rela onship to the na on, most powerfully visualised in the countryside. Two case studies are featured here, one on J B Priestley and the other on Daphne du Maurier; two popular ‘middlebrow’ authors who had a strong influence in shaping an English stereotype through their literary output. J B Priestley is perhaps the archetypal Englishman with his people‐centred, or rather, community‐ centred, novels such as The Good Companions, They Walk in the City, and Faraway. And most notably, per‐
haps in his English Journey (1934), with its imitators of the genre such as George Orwell (Road to Wigan Pier, 1937) and H V Morton. His roles as pamphleteer, war me broadcaster (Postscripts), storyteller and play‐ wright, all contribute to make him a central figure in popular culture. The crowds streaming away from a foot‐ ball match in the Good Companions is one of the iconic descrip ons in English literature. His his plays are s ll regularly performed. Chapter headings for du Maurier are ‘Dream me in Cornwall’ (featuring The Loving Spirit and French‐ man’s Creek); ‘From Gothic to Memodrama’ [sic] (featuring Jamaica Inn and Rebecca); and ‘The Skeleton in the Cupboard’ (featuring Hungry Hill, The King’s General, and a discussion on the public and private faces of war. These roman c sagas evoke a regional atmosphere. Ina Habermann is Professor of English at the University of Basel specialising in cultural topographies. Englishness, Bri shness, and na onal iden ty are huge topics at present and we welcome the chance to re‐ flect on these subjects. ‘J. B.’ and du Maurier are well represented on our ‘Classic Fic on’ and on the English Literature shelves (823). The book is well referenced and has an index. Other books on the subject in the Leeds Library can be found on the shelves at 305.82 (Ethnic and Na onal Groups ‐ Bri sh/English), including Jeremy Paxman’s The English, Roy Strong Visions of England, and the popular regional travelogues by Stuart Maconie, and also close by at 306 (Culture and Ins tu ons) e.g. Richard Hoggart The Way We Live Now, Roger Scruton England – An Elergy, and the three‐ volume Cambridge Social History of Britain.
If you’d like to review a book for a future issue please contact Claire at the Leeds Library at [email protected]
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News & trivia
Booking on to our events
We have started using Eventbrite to manage bookings for events at the li‐ brary. You can now book and pay for ckets through Eventbrite for any event at the Leeds Library. If you need any help using this site the staff here will be happy to show you what to do. The events publicised on our website in‐ clude the link to the specified event but you can just search for the Leeds Library to see our events at www.eventbrite.com Please follow us on Twi er (@theleedslibrary) and Like our Facebook page to keep up to date with all the news, triv‐ ia and events at the Leeds Library.
Please note: Due to licensing restric ons the Film Club can only be a ended by Leeds Library Mem‐ bers.
Library Catalogue Upgrade We upgraded our library catalogue last month to the latest cloud based ver- sion. This means you should always be able to get on it as we are not teth- ered by a limited number of licenses. To ensure you are getting the latest version of our catalogue please access the catalogue through our website or go to http://leedsl.cirqahosting.com/ Some members have continued using bookmarks to the old catalogue which is no longer used. We hope you enjoy using it.
New Website
We will be launching our new look website soon. As well as a new design the website boasts various new interac ve features which we are sure you will love. We will let you know the progress via email. Nick Maloney at Scarborough based eecrea ve (h p://www.eecrea ve.co.uk) is building the new web‐ site and photographer Jeremy Philips (h p://www.jsphillips.co.uk/) has provided the photography. We are very excited about this project as it’s the first me since our exisi ng website was launched in 2008. Watch out for future announcements.
4 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017
News & trivia
Leeds Library Reading Club Unfortunately the Reading Club is full. However, if you are interested in joining there is a waiting list at The One Show films at the library! the counter which you can add your name to. Please note that it is open to Leeds Library mem- Earlier this month BBC one’s The One Show bers only. The club meets at the li- filmed a piece about Roman coins in our Old brary on the 1st Tuesday of the Office. Giles Brandreth presented the piece about the coins from the York Museum. We don’t know when the feature will air but look out for us!
Research interests at the Leeds Library Are you carrying out any research at the library? Have you used any of our books for a project or a blog? If so, we would like to hear from you! We are currently reviewing how we log research interests and use of the library’s collections; as at present, we only ask researchers who are non-members to provide us with details about their projects and the books they use. Realising that many of you may be doing interesting and exciting things at the library using differ- ent parts of our collections, we would love for you to tell us more about it. Please contact Anna (come and have a chat at the counter) or email [email protected]
Georgina’s project Georgina Westbrook (a descendent of Joseph Priestley) recently visited the library to undertake a project for her university course work. She spoke to various members and library staff about their favourite book. From this, she produced a beautiful handmade book containing member’s portraits alongside pictures of the books, as well as creating wonderful A3 portrait posters of the staff which she will be donating to the library once she has received them back from grading. She also provided us with the digital images, and if anyone would like to see these, we have a copy behind the counter so do please
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Feature A Short(ened) Story
by Alistair John Stead As a member of the Leeds Library since 1964 I was pleasantly surprised to find that in December 2016 it was to play a small but significant part in the solving of the mystery of my origins.
You see, I was born in a Mother and Baby Home in Bournemouth in August 1938 and was adopted in 1940 by the Steads, to be raised by them in London and Nottingham. My birth certificate revealed that my young mother, a domestic servant, was called Ivy Muriel Walker but no father was named. It was in the 1980s, only after the deaths of my adoptive parents, that I felt free to set about my quest. That long tortuous search hit a brick wall last year, having identified neither Ivy's parentage nor her whereabouts after the adoption. Nor was there much hope of finding my father. Then, at Christmas, I received an intriguing postcard from other members of the Leeds Library, Professor Peter Meredith and his wife Greta (Peter was a colleague and friend in the School of English of the University of Leeds). The postcard, bought in Tenby Art Gallery, reproduced a striking self-portait of the celebrated artist and satyr Augustus John, who was A portrait of Augustus John born in Tenby. On the reverse, the Merediths had written teasingly that this image was sent 'because it was so like someone we know'. My wife and others to whom the card was shown also saw in me some resemblance to the distinguished old rogue. This was curious indeed, since in trying to trace a father among the potential seducers in and about Ringwood where Joe Stead had found me in a stable yard, my wife and I had put the polyphiloprogenitive Augustus John, who was resident nearby in the later 30s, top of our list of suspects. The Merediths didn't even know that I was adopted, let alone that we had speculated about the possibility that John had known Ivy.
Learning of my putative likeness to a celebrity, our elder son James at this point suddenly got excited and plunged into ancestry research on the Net and in so doing his internet quest intersected with that of a Dr. Philip Extance, eagerly constructing his family tree and unaware of my existence. Lo! His mother's maiden name was Ivy Muriel Walker. After a cautious exchange of emails and reassuring documents between Phil and our son it was quite plain that Phil and I had the same mother. On 14 January James rang me from Orkney to tell me he had found my half-brother! Phil and I made genial contact by email and phone before meeting at last in Leeds at Carluccio's in the Trinity Centre for an extended session of catch-up. Here Phil, who had already sent me his beautifully composed 'Memories' of Ivy (who sadly had died in Dorset in 2006), gave me an essential album of family photos. In response, I gave him a copy of the memoir devised for our two sons recounting that frustrating quest for Ivy and A. N. Other, plus profiles of my adoptive parents. I was much moved to hear that our mother had enjoyed a long and happy marriage to George Extance. My half- Dr. Philip Extance & John Stead brother and I got on exceedingly well. Although Phil was so much younger (born in 1957) and taller than me, we had a lot in common. That included being grammar schoolboys from humble backgrounds who had graduated from Oxbridge, married and gone on to have two bright sons. We soon organised a second meeting in Leeds to include our wives and this foursome proved gratifyingly harmonious. Meanwhile, the tantalising research goes on, with an alternative paternal candidate under consideration.
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Feature A Short(ened) Story continued
Now Phil and I had both retired early from academic jobs. High on Phil’s list of things to get done on retirement was to devote time to family history, an activity which has manifestly had a happy result. In telling him what I
did during my retirement I made several references to spending time in the Library. On meeting him in Leeds, a city he had not previously visited, I realised he didn't understand that I was referring to our beloved Leeds Library. So, immediately we had done with our crucial familiarisations in Carluccio's I took him to see what I was talking about. He was suitably awed, quickly grasping why I loitered here so much. After his wife Margaret came up she too was keen to be shown our unique treasure house. Before their departure I was able to show them what it said about the rare name Extance in the Library's recently acquired multi-volume Oxford History of Family Names in Britain and Ireland.
GREEVZ FISHER, Junior and Senior
by Jane Riley The library tour on Saturday 1st April included a visitor from Kendal with a very unusu- al forename and a very interesting family history. Greevz Fisher (named after his Great Grandfather) is originally from Leeds but now lives in Kendal and told me the fascinating story of his Great Grandfather (and father). Greevz Snr was born John Greeves Fisher in Ireland in the early 19th century and after moving to Leeds, joined his cousin in the family’s firm Kingfisher (Lubrication) Ltd in 1877. The silver "ashtray" was presented to Greevz in
1907 by employees at his company and has a kingfisher motif. Incidentally, Kingfisher (Lubrication) Ltd is still Silver Kingfisher ashtray based in Leeds and is this year celebrating its 150th anni- Greevz Fisher jr. with the book about his versary as a family business. grandfather Although born a Quaker, Greevz became an atheist and was active in the women's movement, spelling reform (he developed his own phonetic vocabulary changing his name to Greevz Fysher!), campaigned for the abolition of illegitimacy and risked prosecution by publishing and distributing free literature on contraception. He also published pamphlets criticising various British institutions, particularly the Post Office and the taxation system. A keen cyclist, Greevz covered at least 300 miles a month and aged 78, rode the 95 miles from Leeds to Liverpool, taking two days for the outward journey. However, as it was wet on the return journey and he wanted to get home, he rode the whole distance in one day. Sadly, ill health forced him to give up his lifelong passion at the age of 84. Always the eccentric, Greevz was often seen with his pet jackdaw on his shoulder. Greevz Junior’s father Denys was also an interesting man and after leaving the family firm in 1960, set up his own Leeds based company, Denys Fisher Engineering. In 1961, the com- pany won a contract with NATO to supply components for its 20mm cannon! Between 1962 and 1964, he developed various drawing machines from Meccano pieces, eventually pro- ducing a prototype Spirograph. Patented in 16 countries, it went on sale in March 1965 in Schofields department store in Leeds and then went on to sell in its millions after Denys sold the business to the American company Kenner in 1970. Denys Fisher Greevz Jr’s cousin William Hudson’s book about their famous Great Grandfather – “Greevz Fisher of Youghal and Leeds: from Quaker to individualist and freethinker” is in stock if you would like to read more about this re- markable man. 7 Speaks Volumes Volume 7 April 2017
The Leeds Library Calendar : Spring 2017
Please note: Unless otherwise stated, the events are free and are bookable through Eventbrite.com. Please check our website for an up to date list of our events.
May
Monday 1 May Closed - May day bank hoiliday
Saturday 6 May Tour of the Leeds Library
10.30
Saturday 6 May Members' Film Club: The Best Actor and Actress Season
13.00-15.30 There will be blood (15) 152 mins.
Admission: £3 (including a glass of wine). Wednesday 17 May Tour of the Leeds Library
10.30
Wednesday 17 May Members' Film Club: The Best Actor and Actress Season
18.00-20.30 Born yesterday (PG) 116 mins.
Admission: £3 (including a glass of wine).
Thursday 18 May Members' Supper Quiz
18.00-20.00 Quiz and supper - Leeds Library members only
Admission: £7,50 Friday 26 May Lunchtime Theatre at the Leeds Library - Art by Yasmina Reza
13.00-14.00 No admission charge but donations will be welcomed Saturday 27 May Book Sale
10.00-14.00 In foyer - donations welcomed! - Open to all.
Monday 29 May Closed - Spring bank holiday
Saturday 3 June Tour of the Leeds Library
10.30 Saturday 3 June Leeds Peace Convention
13.00
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