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UCL Special Collections
@uclspeccoll.bsky.social
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UCL Special Collections is open to everyone. Our collections of rare, unique and historic archives & books cover themes including history of UCL, education, arts and sciences.

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/library/special-collections
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uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Applications are now open for The New Curators Project 2026! Deadline: 8pm 22 February.

This annual project – offers 10 paid places for east Londoners aged 18-24 who do not have a degree but are interested in working in the cultural heritage sector.

Apply now: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-coll...
A dark blue background with a cyan blue circle containing the words ‘Interested in working in museums, galleries, archives and libraries? Don’t have a degree and not sure where to start? Applications are now OPEN for The new Curators Project 2026! Link in bio.’.
December 1, 2025 at 12:12 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Are you a UCL student or staff member curious about Wikidata?

Join us on 3 Dec for a fun, hands-on workshop where you’ll explore what Wikidata is and make your first edits using data from UCL’s Ethnography Collections.

Come start your Wikidata journey with us!
Promotional graphic for an event titled ‘UCL Collections and Wikidata: An exploratory workshop.’ The Wikidata logo appears in the centre over a faint patterned background collected from the UCL's Ethnography Collections. Event details at the bottom read: ‘2:30–5pm, 3 Dec’ on the left, and ‘Malet Place, London, WC1E 7JE’ on the right.
November 17, 2025 at 3:48 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Happy Halloween! 💀🎃 What could be scarrier than a skeleton whose bones bend in unnatural ways?

This drawing of a skeleton is from the 1696
Pharmacopœia Londinensis. While the skeleton may look unrealistic, the bones are accurately labelled.
Drawing of the back of a skeleton. The Boenst have been labeled with numbers, matching names written along the edge of the page. Title page of Pharmacopœia Londinensis Or the New London Dispensatory.
October 31, 2025 at 2:53 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Join us on 4 Nov for a workshop with @wikimediauk.bsky.social and discover how this project used historic student publications to support research, teaching, and public engagement. You'll also have the chance to see the original material and get hands-on training processing historical documents.
Poster for an event titled 'Community Knowledge Spaces: UCL Student Periodicals and Wikidata'. The background shows pages from Pi Magazine, UCL's historic student publications. The centre features the Wikidata logo with event details: 'Tue 4 Nov 2025 | 12–4pm, UCL Main Campus (Garden Room), Gower Street, London WC1E 6AE'.
October 20, 2025 at 10:08 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
We love inscriptions, though "Nausea" is an uncommon name to find! This inscription is from vol 1 of Denis Diderot's 1751 Encyclopédie. It is a later addition, as it is on late 19th/early 20th century paper added when the book was rebound.

Who added the inscription, and why? Suggestions welcome!
Inscription reading "Dedicated to my ever loving wife Nausea Diderot". Title page and title engraving of Encyclopédie, ou Dictionnaire raisonné des sciences. Title image is a full page engraving, packed with various figures staring at a central figure of a woman bathed in light.
October 17, 2025 at 3:32 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Join us on October 23rd for our Bloomsbury Open Morning! We'll be looking at items from our collection related to sewers & clean water in C19th London 🚰

To book your free ticket, visit:
www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ucl-specia...

#londonhistory #londonwater
Poster reading "Open Morning. October 23rd 10-12pm. UCL Bloomsbury, South Junction Reading Room, Gower Street, WC1E 6BT." At the top of the poster is an image of a cartoon of Father Thames presenting children representing water born diseases to a female figure representing London. In the bottom left corner is a logo reading UCL Special Collections.
September 23, 2025 at 3:27 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
A unique, free pop-in event to celebrate World Food Day. Come along on 14 Oct to explore our fascinating collections and discover the stories behind food and daily life through the ages at UCL East in Stratford.

Book your ticket on tinyurl.com/UCLSpecCollF... now!

#worldfoodday
The top half of this promotional poster has a yellow background with a UCL Special Collections logo on the left and black text featuring 'What's so Special about UCL Special Collections?, 12–2 PM, Tue 14 Oct, Culture Lab, UCL East’. The bottom half shows a photo of people engaging with displays of archival documents and a presentation in a modern teaching space setting.
September 22, 2025 at 11:39 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
We are grateful to Professor Timon Screech for gifting these two coffee mugs and saucers that used to be in the academic staff common room. They will be added to the College Archive.
Two University College London branded coffee cups and saucers sitting on a desk
September 22, 2025 at 9:12 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Last chance to see!

Our #display of 'spinless' objects from @ucl.ac.uk Small Press Collections is on display @senatehouselib.bsky.social until 9 September, and can be see as part of the excellent Spinless Wonders #exhibition there.

Free and open to all! On display in the 4th floor membership area
A group of ephemeral items displayed against a blue background in a glass case. Door to a reading room in the background.
September 1, 2025 at 10:04 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
The Little Folks cover model isn't our only Edwardian cat. The Sir Fred Clarke Archive also includes a slightly damaged photograph of a cat drinking from a saucer.

Shelfmark: FC/7/36
Photograph of cat drinking from a saucer. The corners of the photograph are broken.
August 8, 2025 at 3:00 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Today is International Cat Day, so please appreciate this distinguished feline from the cover of Little Folks magazine!

Little Folks featured stories, songs and poems for children and encouraged submissions from readers.

Shelfmark: LAURENCE HOUSMAN COLLECTION 321

#InternationalCatDay #BlackCat
Cover of Little Folks Magazine. In the centre of the page is a circulate photograph of a black kitten
August 8, 2025 at 2:53 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
During July and August, ‘spineless’ items from our Small Press Collections are on display ‪@senatehouselib.bsky.social‬ and can be seen as part of the wider Spineless Wonders exhibition there.

Free & open to all!

Many thanks to our friends at Senate House for having us!

Image by Christos Fotelis
A selection of small, ephemeral items by Beau Geste Press, displayed in an exhibition case against a blue background. Items include two matchboxes and a selection pf paper ephemera made of both white and purple paper.
July 11, 2025 at 10:05 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Our exhibition on 19th century sanitation is now open at the Cruciform Hub! It covers the debate over water & sanitation in the lead up to the 1875 Public Health Act.

If you have a UCL card, drop by and see it!

For more info: blogs.ucl.ac.uk/special-coll...

@uclhealthlibraries.bsky.social
Glass case featuring many images of books and archives on display. Above the display hangs three posters.
June 18, 2025 at 2:42 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
The New Curators Project 2025 participants are launching their exhibition titled "The Best of Newham" tomorrow. Join us to celebrate with free local food, craft and games. Just show up – everyone’s welcome!

Tue 10 Jun, 5-7pm
East Ham Library, 328 Barking Road, E6 2RT
June 9, 2025 at 11:03 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
We are excited to announce our new resource for GCSE History teachers that covers the topic of migration. It will be the first of a series of free, digital resources that explore our collection, presenting primary sources that reveal unique perspectives and voices. www.ucl.ac.uk/library/coll...
An illustration of a door through which a dotted line passes, a little like footsteps. The words 'Journeys Document' are placed at the bottom of the image.
June 6, 2025 at 10:24 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
The New Curators Projects participants are launching their exhibition next Tuesday! Come celebrate with us and enjoy free local food, crafts and games inspired by the exhibition theme “The Best of Newham”.

Tuesday 10 Jun, 5-7pm
East Ham Library, E6 2RT

No need to sign up – just turn up!
Promotional poster for the exhibition launch curated by this year's New Curators Project participants. The background features confetti, streamers, and music notes. A two-tier cake with six candles sits in the centre with 'June 10' written on the bottom tier. Large text in red at the top reads 'Newham at 60'. On the left, a semi transparent box reads 'Join us at East Ham Library to celebrate the London Borough of Newham turning 60 this June!'. On the right, another box reads 'There will be free food, drinks, games, and an amazing exhibition curated by aspiring curators'. At the bottom, text in the white reads '5pm-7pm' and 'East Ham Library'.
June 4, 2025 at 2:34 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Dr Michelle Reynolds is our 2025 Special Collections Visiting Fellow! Michelle is a researcher in 19th-20thC art & visual culture. They will be using our Laurence Housman #rarebooks collection to explore Housman's role in the women's suffrage movement in the context of his life as a queer activist
June 4, 2025 at 12:32 PM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Join us tomorrow for a special display of our incredible collections, featured in the short films created by Year 2 BA Creative Arts and Humanities students. Stay for the premiere screening and see how our collections inspired their work.

Last chance to secure your spot on tinyurl.com/uclscfilm.
A promotional poster for the Making Moving Images II Film Premiere. A orange, vertical film strip graphic runs along the left edge. The central background features an archival artwork and rare printed materials, including a watercolor beehive and the cover of The Album magazine with a woman's illustration. The top displays the event title "Making Moving Images II Film Premiere" alongside the UCL Special Collections logo. Bold text in white at the bottom reads "3 Jun UCL East" with event times: "Collection display: 5–6pm" and "Premiere of films: 6–8:30pm." In orange text: "BA Creative Arts and Humanities x UCL Special Collections."
June 2, 2025 at 11:43 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Samuel: I looked at Marian Ray’s educational artworks. I was surprised by the sheer detail Ray put into her works. I learned about how Ray took commissions for her work and also how the slides were secured.
An example of Marian Ray's illustration for educational television.
May 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Robert Jr: Today I arrived at UCL where I looked more deeply into the Horsley Papers. Personally, I was surprised how advanced his drawings were and I can’t lie I couldn’t read his handwriting but I could tell it was detailed due to the huge paragraphs.
A double page spread of one of Horsley's notebooks featuring handwritten notes and an illustration of a cross section of a brain.
May 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Jude: I found the Horsley Papers rather exciting because I was able to discover how advanced his drawings were for the time, and comparing this with today’s medical sketches. Horsley went into a level of detail in his drawings that surprised me in all honesty.
The front cover of one of Horsley's notebooks. It features the name 'Horsley', hand written, and the title 'Army Book 136' in type.
May 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Rama: It was surprising seeing how tidy the conditions of the books are in and the comparison between sickness today and in the Medical Museum Journal and in the past and how they have developed because of possible reasons such as uncleanliness of food ingested.
A page of 'The Medical Museum', showing a section about the 'bad effects of tea drinking'.
May 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Dima: The collection item I looked at was a Medical Museum Journal, from 1763. It was cool to imagine how it was during everything was happening. The Journals have travelled through so much time, even way older than us!
An open page of The Medical Museum, showing the start of a section about the 'nature of honey'.
May 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Patrick: I looked at the first Medical Museum book. I was surprised to see a large foldout. It was a highly complex blurb, describing how diseases affect different parts of the body and where they are normally found. I felt amazed at the level of research done in preparation for this book.
The opening pages of an edition of The Medical Museum. One page features an illustration of people and mythical creatures in a landscape setting with horses in the clouds above them.
May 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM
uclspeccoll.bsky.social
Hannah: Carswell water-colours -> this item was not what I expected it to look like. It looked very modern and accurate. I wonder what the water colours used were made out of?
A watercolour painting of a mouth sticking out a discoloured tongue.
May 29, 2025 at 10:02 AM