----------- The Volunteer April 2016 In this edition: Rex Whistler Archive Project NADFAS Library Project Salisbury Journal Archive NADFAS Costume Project Finding Pitt-Rivers Project Portable Antiquities Scheme Volunteer Dates for the Diary News at the Museum Did you know? Exhibitions Events Contact Us Volunteer Alan Haddock working on the Finding Pitt-Rivers Project Volunteer Project Updates Volunteer Gillian Leach on the Rex Whistler Archive searched and cross referenced and over time will be used to populate the website where members of the public will be able to see everything in our collections. We designed a process for the task. As each box or folder was opened its contents were inspected and where necessary put into protective sleeves. Information on each item is recorded on a paper template; this includes its size, description, medium, condition, keywords and anything else we feel is relevant. The information on these paper records are then transferred onto the Modes database. “‘Whoops’ and ‘ahh’s’ regularly But this is not a tedious process – ‘whoops’ accompany the opening of a package and ‘ahh’s’ regularly accompany the opening of a package or box. Ask any of the Whistler team or box.” what it’s like and they will tell you about the joy of handling these wonderful items and the If you remember the Rex Whistler Exhibition in privilege of communing with this versatile artist 2013, you will recall how exciting it was to see who died tragically before his career could this versatile artist exhibited so well. What flourish. came as a surprise to many was the range of his talents which included murals; designs for To describe the archive as eclectic is an the theatre and films; book illustrations; understatement. We have beautiful mural advertisements and portraits. designs with details of fictive architecture and fittings. Some of these buildings no longer exist Also in 2013, Salisbury Museum acquired a and the drawings are the only record of how substantial archive relating to Rex and his they looked. work. Comprising of over 4,000 items it arrived at the museum in an enticing range of boxes Amongst the theatre designs are not only and folders. costumes but also programmes and correspondence relating to the production. Initially, Bridget Telfer the Volunteer Co- There are programmes from the 1930’s for ordinator brought together a team of three ballets performed before the King and Queen volunteers to work on the archive, we are now at Covent Garden. These show Rex working on a team of eight. The challenge we were given productions for Ninette de Valois with was to ensure that these thousands of items choreography by Frederick Ashton and music are stored safely and to create a useful record by Sir William Walton. for each item. There are sketch books from all the stages of Our definition of a ‘useful record’ is one that his artistic life, including those on pages from has an accurate entry on the museum’s his schoolbooks. Born in 1905, Rex was at collections database Modes. The Modes school during the First World War and his database currently contains over 70,000 items juvenile images of soldiers and tanks are a from the museum’s collections. Modes can be poignant reminder that his childhood was Volunteer Project Updates darkened and his life terminated in the brutality help from David Balston, who has provided of world war invaluable support for the Modes input stage, we are optimistic that our rate of recording will We are now two years into the project and increase – although we cannot protect probably around 15% through the task. There ourselves from delays arising from enthusiasm. are many ways of achieving our objective of Sometimes the speed of recording the size of a ‘useful records’ and some of our chosen painting or drawing takes second place to the options have not always turned out to be the pleasure of just holding and taking in the most efficient. But we have learned from the beauty and skill of what is before you. things that have not gone so well and modified our processes. To my mind, that is just what volunteering to help with a project like the Whistler archive With an increase to the size of the team and should be about. Volunteer Ross Bourne on the NADFAS Museum Library Project The work commenced in January 2015. There are six volunteers who work twice a month, for approximately three hours each session. They have now covered approximately half the books in the Library’s collection - about 3500. There are five major stages in handling the books in the library. As they are taken off the shelves, a number has to be put in the book to ensure that it is returned to its correct place on the shelf, after cleaning and repair. In the second stage, they are dusted. It is surprising how much dust can accumulate over a relatively short period of time. Thirdly, the The NADFAS Museum Library Team covers of those books that have been bound “ are polished. Fourthly, possible repairs are “It is most rewarding to see the identified. And fifthly, repairs are carried out. improved condition of the Library’s collection.” Faults needing attention can include minor tears in or looseness of the binding. The Approximately ten years ago, several members volunteers are not qualified to carry out major of New Sarum NADFAS volunteered to repairs such as rebinding. A loose cover, for undertake some minor conservation work at example, will need strapping with special tape. the library of Sarum College. Before starting the work we attended two training days on the Half of the collection having been attended to conservation of books. On the completion of already, it is expected that the remainder of the this work we were invited to carry out similar collection will keep the volunteers occupied work on the library of Wilton House. It took us until the end of 2016. It is most rewarding to seven years to complete the work. see the improved condition of the Library’s collection, and it is hoped that Library users will Before we had finished at Wilton House we also appreciate the work that has been put into received an invitation to carry out the same the future of that collection. work in the library at Salisbury Museum. Volunteer Project Updates Volunteer David Chilton on the acquisition of the Salisbury Journal Archive stored on CD-ROM. From 1969 all images were printed and a copy of each stored. The archive was being stored in a damp cellar and a damp strongroom. In preparation for the move items were boxed where necessary and transferred to a room on the ground floor and on Tuesday 1st December 2015 all the material was moved by volunteers to the museum in seven car loads. Prior to this move, the museum’s own image library was housed in a single room, with shelving and storage media mainly funded “Images are an important vehicle to through grants. To cater for this new influx of material three new rooms were allocated to the viewing and understanding the more image archive, namely a primary office and recent past…” store and two smaller subsidiary store rooms so that on the day everything was placed in its Salisbury Times, latterly Salisbury Journal, intended location. maintained a photo archive from 1953. In early 2015 there was some concern as to the future Thanks to the skills of volunteer Bob Hambling of the archive. If there was an office move the the archive is securely and safely stored on security of the archive might be at risk. The pre shelving. Activity is now concentrated on two 1980 annually bound copies of the newspaper main areas; transcribing the 27 ledgers that list had already been transferred to the Wiltshire & the 55,000+ photo shoots and scanning the Swindon History Centre at Chippenham. over 200,000 negative images. A computer and scanning equipment was installed in January An approach was made to the Journal, that the 2016. Volunteers are well into transcribing archive be donated to Salisbury Museum and ledgers, mainly at home, into spreadsheets. the suggestion was accepted. Whilst Adrian One volunteer, Alan Clarke, has already Green prepared a set of terms and conditions, completed scanning the negatives for 1966. especially relating to copyright, museum We chose 1966 so that the Journal could use volunteers made preparations for the move. images in 50 years ago nostalgia items during 2016. Alan is presently managing the output of The archive for transfer covered the period two other volunteers, who are scanning at the 1953 to 2012. In 2012 the Journal had started museum. You will see the results of Alan’s storing all images on its central server, so the work each week in the “Bygone Salisbury” transfer only involved physical objects; feature in the Journal. negatives, CDs, photographs and miscellaneous items. Over the period there It is intended that, eventually, the images will were over 55,000 recorded photo shoots. In the be made available to the public. Images are an early years of the archive when monochrome important vehicle to viewing and understanding photography was used, individual images were the more recent past and having the Journal’s cut from the negative strips. Later, in 1997 and photo archive in the museum is a significant with 35mm colour film, the whole film was kept. move to preserving the history of Salisbury and More recently, with the move to digital its environs. cameras, weekly batches of images were Volunteer Project Updates The Journal photo archive in situ at the Journal offices and a scan of the Mayors flight over the city from 1965 Bridget Telfer, Volunteer Co-ordinator, on the NADFAS Costume Project The museum has an important costume and textile collection, which focuses on items made by or associated with local people.