One of the more unusual items amongst our large collection of historical maps at Leeds Central Library goes by the name of ‘Regina v. William Higgins and Others’. The title refers to a court case that took place in late 1850 and the map is a ‘Prosecutor’s Plan’ from the time, showing the part of…
Author: Leeds Libraries
Christmas books
Readers of this blog will surely agree that few things in life go together better than Christmas and reading a good book. And, while there can be nothing held against anyone who chooses otherwise, Christmas is surely the appropriate time to find yourself reading a good book about Christmas. A quick search of our library…
Slightly Spooky
Everyone loves a ghost story at Christmas, don’t they? These real-life tales of haunted houses (above) are taken from the first volume of the Proceedings of the Society for Psychical Research. Originally launched in 1882 to, in its members’ own words, make “an organised and systematic attempt to investigate that large group of debatable phenomena…
Read More: Legendary Poets meet
by Antony Ramm, Information and Research, Central Library This is an entry in our Read More series. These are ‘long-form’ articles, where staff offer a curated and detailed look at areas of our book collections, usually based around a specific theme or subject. These posts aim to guide the interested reader through to those books that offer a…
Old Leeds Cold Cures
When coughs and colds sweep the offices of The Secret Library – as they do around the beginning of every winter – it’s not a pretty sight. But we are, after all, a hardy bunch, accustomed to the draughts and drips of a 130-year-old building, so we soldier on. And one of our most invaluable…
Beware the Heraldic Beasts
As you wander the staircases of Leeds Central Library you can’t help but notice the lions and dogs carved into the ends of the stair railings. There are various lions and dogs in different poses including one of a lion sitting majestic in a stance reminiscent of the ones guarding the neighbouring Leeds Town Hall…
Wrap Up Warm!
As the thrills of Halloween and Bonfire Night recede, and November really starts to dig its heels into the frosty ground, we tend to start thinking about warmer clothes and Christmas gifts. That’s a fact that certainly hasn’t changed over the last eighty years – as this lovely 1938 catalogue demonstrates – but the nature…
Read More: The Gunpowder Plot
by Antony Ramm, Leeds Central Library This is an entry in our Read More series. These are ‘long-form’ articles, where staff offer a curated and detailed look at areas of our book collections, usually based around a specific theme or subject. These posts aim to guide the interested reader through to those books that offer a more in-depth…
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