The Deaf Community of Leeds: A Partial History

This week on the Secret Library, Librarian Antony Ramm looks at books or other printed objects held at the Central Library, all highlighting different aspects of the Leeds deaf community’s story.  The early 19th-century As seen in reports held at the Central Library, children Leeds were pupils at the Yorkshire Institution for Deaf and Dumb Children…

Yorkshire Battles: Battle of Wakefield, 1460

This week Josh Flint from the Local and Family History Department will be using the new Research Guide on Yorkshire Battles to examine the fascinating Battle of Wakefield in 1460 which saw the death of Richard, Duke of York and has been argued to have changed the course of English History while also highlighting the exceptional items…

The Magic of Books from the Golden Age of Illustration

This week we hear from illustrator Teresa Flavin on some magically-illustrated books from her childhood… When I was about nine years old, my family visited a used bookshop where I discovered a fairy story with graceful line illustrations. The book was cheap enough to buy with my pocket money and though it was somewhat battered…

Leeds Baby Week and US. Patent 3,216,423

This week, Librarian Louise Birch takes a look at an intriguing patent for Leeds Baby Week:  an “Apparatus Facilitating the Birth of A Child By Centrifugal Force”. Leeds Central Library is home to a Business and Intellectual Property Centre, part of a network of regional centres here to help out all you inventors, designers and…

November 11, 1918: A Brief History of Leeds on Armistice Day

Librarian Antony Ramm takes a  look at Leeds on the day the First World War ended… When the Lord Major Joseph Henry announced to the people of Leeds that “the armistice has been signed and that fighting has been stopped from 11 o’clock this morning,” he sparked celebratory scenes which commenced almost immediately. Crowds began…

The Hallowe’en Special

This week Librarian Sally Hughes talks ghost-busting and all things spooky… With Hallowe’en upon us it’s the perfect time to point you in the direction of our most ghoulish collections here at Central Library. The first place to be is right here at our The Supernatural  research guide. You can find all these books on our online…

Yorkshire Cricket History

Librarian Antony Ramm takes a brief look at Cricket resources available in the Library… The Local and Family History department at the Central Library has a strong collection of books and other material relating to Yorkshire and Leeds’ sporting history, the best of which can be seen in our Sport in Leeds Research Guide –…

Kelly – Directory of the West Riding of Yorkshire

We believe this copy of the 1912 Kelly’s Directory of the West Riding of Yorkshire to be our longest single-volume book. The 1912 Kelly’s Directory is just one in a large collection of such trade directories that the Local and Family History department holds – primarily for Leeds, but also covering the wider West Riding…