Collections – Summary

Posted on January 24, 2015 by Julie Goucher
Created by Julie Goucher, Jan 2015 using Wordle

Last week I shared a few posts about collections.

Those posts had actually been written with a specific organisation in mind, and I broke those posts down and shared them here. I had meant to get back to you with this post, but life got in the way. You know that feeling….don’t you?

If you missed those earlier posts then here are the links for you:

I have recognised I have a few collections. That is probably the first step. Then there are decisions to be made on what to do with them. WHY do I have those collections. There are an assortment of reasons why I have some collections.

  • Gifts or Sentimentality attached to the collection – Stamps
  • Expanding a further area of research – Postcards
  • Reading material – books, articles and journals
As I stated last week, all my books are kept in LibraryThing. I have also added to my LibraryThing Microfiche, Data CD’s, Audio books, Journals and Specific Articles. My thinking here was if the physical item exists in my home library / office then it would be logged on my LibraryThing account.
The bulk of my collections are linked to specific places – probably my One Place Studies, but not exclusively so. I have a very large collection of Guildford (Surrey, England) material and whilst Guildford is not currently registered as a study, it is just that in some way.
I also have a few things that relate to my two One-Name or Surname Research for the Surnames of Orlando and Worship. Articles and journals relating to several health issues, are also featured in my collections. I have a particular interest in Polio for example.
I truly wish I could say that is all my collections, but it is not, and I get a sense that if you are reading this then you probably can think of a few collections you have!
I shared a few links last week to collection software. My personal choice is to use Excel. I have created a blank spreadsheet which can be accessed at Google Docs and via my website

Just as everyone’s collections will not be the same, neither will the catalyst for starting them or how they are indexed. For me the point is not just collecting, but doing something constructive with the material once there is a collection. 

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Guildford Lido, circa 1930

Posted on January 22, 2015 by Julie Goucher
There was something familiar with this postcard. Recollections of visiting the lido through my childhood and sitting at the tables outside, with the ever so faintly mottled and dotted patten in a pale blue colour.

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Motivational Monday – TGP 35 – DearMYRTLE

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Julie Goucher
Created by Julie Goucher using Wordle Jan 2015

Usually I manage to listen and follow the TGP podcast series hosted by +Marian Pierre-Louis.

Last week was no exception and I sat on a pretty grim and miserable Monday morning and listened to podcast 35 in the series which featured +Pat Richley-Erickson , also known as +DearMYRTLE.

If you have not listened to the podcast I recommend that you do. It was an absolute to delight to listen to.

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Across the Roof Tops to St. Mary’s

Posted on January 19, 2015 by Julie Goucher
This postcard by Judges (5719) I found quite curious. It seems such a strange view to take and because it is quite unusual I had to purchase it and add it to the collection.

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52 Ancestors:# 3 ~ Esther Bellasis nee King (1770 – 1805)

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Julie Goucher
No Story Too Small

This post is for week 3 of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Challenge (2015) by Amy Crow from No Story Too Small.

You can read the list of my posts HERE

“The Carrajan by Mrs Bellasis,
Sydney” and was painted circa 1803**.

Esther Bellasis has been well documented at this blog over the last few years. Her “fame” is that she left behind in Australia this beautiful picture which Esther had drawn sometime after 1801 when she arrived in Botany Bay with her husband George Bridger Bellasis.

George had been sentenced to 14 years in the colony having killed someone in a dual in India for causing dishonour to his sister in law. George as it happens was pardoned and returned to England before returning to India where he married for the second time to Esther’s sister.

Meanwhile, Esther had died at the Bellasis home in Berkshire and was buried in Puttenham in 1805.

Image courtesy of Ancestry. Puttenham Bural Records – 1805

A close up and personal image reveals

Image courtesy of Ancestry. Puttenham Bural Records – 1805
There is so much more details I am sure that I can unravel about Esther and George. George had quite a standing in India because of his rank in the Honourable East India Company (HEIC). His father was a vicar so between the religious and military backgrounds there is much to be gleaned from the wider family records.
I am curious about Esther. She stayed with her husband, she went from India to Australia and experienced life in the early years of the colony. I view Esther as a tough woman, despite being described as “sickly”
Actions
  1. Work on the timeline for Esther & George Bridges Bellasis especially 1801-1805 period
  2. Preparation for next Australia trip in terms of other paintings created by Esther, George’s pardon and his involvement with the early Freemasons.
  3. Explore the supply of material I have already located about George Bridges Bellasis creating a structure of his military career, the duel and his subsequent marriage to his sister in law.
  4. Berkshire Records Office & other archives.
  5. Revisit my copies of the Charles Kerry Manuscripts in the Puttenham One-Place Study archive as there are several references there about Esther Bellasis.
  6. The details surrounding George’s pardon are quite interesting and mention that Esther was quite sickly. Explore anything else on this line of enquiry (hopefully”!)

** The original of the painting is in the State Library, New South Wales, Australia

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Guildford High Street circa 1929

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Julie Goucher

There is something about this scene that I can resonate with. Not that I was born in 1929!

My Grandmother who was 17 years old at the time would have seen this of the High Street. Yet, there is parts of the picture that I recognise, names of the shops – Timothy White Cash Chemists for example were in the same location when I was growing, of course Timothy White’s vanished from our streets long ago and merged into Boots. The clock that sits proudly over the High Street and the Bulls Head, a familiar spot in my senior school days (all perfectly legal!).

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Web Wednesday – Collection Software

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Julie Goucher
Created by Julie Goucher using Wordle Jan 2015

Over the last couple of days I have talked about Understanding a Collection and Recognising a Collection.

Whilst using Excel or Google sheets is a really good option for recording the items that make up a collection I have come across two pieces of software that are available and free to download.

I have not currently tried either of them, so please exercise care and attention with downloading!

As I said I have not tried either and before doing so I will be clarifying the types of material I have in my collections. I shall share details of my collections later in the week and share how I am tracking my collections.
There is also one site that I do use and I know many fellow book readers and genealogists do too.
You can view my LibraryThing profile. I paid my $25 for lifetime access back in 2005. I use the site to track my books, reading and book wish lists by having a series of collections; you can read the details by visiting the profile. 
I still have two bookcases to do, one that houses my Italian collection of books and my thyroid collection of books. The second bookcase houses the majority of my husband’s angling and fishing books. I also have several boxes of books that belonged to my late Mum to process.
In addition to that I also record journals, papers, audio books and microfiche. I have a plan to log several podcasts that I have listened too and want to review. In the comments section I add the URL and/or the details where the podcast is located. I also have a notebook of around 20 years of book reviews that I may (or may not) add to LibraryThing as time and the urge allows!

Over the next few days I will be sharing some more information about my collections.

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Tuesday’s Tip – Recognise a Collection

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Julie Goucher
Created by Julie Goucher Jan 2015 using Wordle

Following on from yesterday when I talked about Understanding a Collection. I ended that post with the question of do you have a collection? I expect you do, and I suspect more than one.

Today’s tip is quite simple. Recognise you have a collection.

What sort of number makes a collection? two, four, six, ten or more? Does the number matter? or is the crucial thing whether you are actively adding to, or looking to add to what you already have.

Three black pens on your desk could be seen as a collection. The chances are that they are simply there. A gathering of pens collected from hotels, conferences and other people! If you are actively looking to add to the number does that make it collection? If they are not cheap disposables, but rather flashing Mont Blanc fountain pens does that make a difference?

In order to recognise you have a collection consider the following:

  • Set your parameters. 
  • Consider each collection separately.
  • Write your collection scope that I shared yesterday including any other comments
  • Is your collection fit for purpose?
    • References sourced (sound familiar!)
    • Will the parameters of the collection change in the future?
  • Is a collection the same as a set?

I will be sharing some of my collections over the coming week or so

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Motivational Monday – Understanding a Collection

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Julie Goucher
Created by Julie Goucher  Jan 2015 using Wordle

There comes a point when you have collected enough of your chosen entity that you have a collection and at some point there are decisions to be made about it.

According to Christopher Bart in “Industrial firms and the power of mission” Industrial Marketing Management 26 (4) pp 371 – 383 there are three key elements.

  1. Key Market – Who is the chosen item aimed at?
  2. Contribution – What does the chose item provide to the wider audience?
  3. Distinction – What makes the chosen item unique over others?
These three elements do not exactly fit a collection, but they go some way to present a suitable structure of key indicators.
In my experience as a family and local historian a collection forms as a natural stage of research. I do not believe that any of us make a conscious decision to collect every postcard of X, every piece of pottery made by X or every occurrence of a name in a location or of every instance of every name in a location. A collection quite simply happens, a result of a catalyst.
In which case why did it happen and how are you going to deal with it in the future?
Create a mission / purpose statement with the following:
  • How did the collection come to be created and by whom?
  • Who is it created for? and has that changed?
  • How will it be maintained or grow?
  • How will it be accessed by others?
    • Does it need to be?
  • How will you advertise your collection?
  • How do you ensure the longevity of your collection?
  • How is the collection kept?
  • How will you ensure copyright and ownership issues are protected and addressed?
  • Do others have any investment in the collection? (investment does not necessarily mean financial)
  • Is the collection unique?
Do you have a collection (or perhaps two or three!)? I will be sharing some of my collections over the coming week or so
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Sunday Salon ~ 2015 Reading

Posted on January 11, 2015 by Julie Goucher

I have always loved reading, but in the last year seem to have read very little in comparison to previous years. What reading I have done has either been texts and research for a project or two or a book choice from my book group.

For 2015 I hope to change that. I have a rather large pile of books, both actual books and e-books that I want to get through. I have therefore selected fifteen that are going to be my MUST reads for the year. That will hopefully get the reading juices following again.

Here they are listed in no particular order – books marked with * are already started.

  • Vintage by Susan Goss
  • How to Knit a Tangled Mess by Rachel Cole
  • The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
  • Return to Mandalay by Rosanna Ley
  • Sleeping the Churchyard Sleep by Rett MacPherson *
  • Between the Cracks by Carmela Cattuti *
  • Disraeli Avenue by Caroline Smailes
  • The Leaving of Things by Jay Amtahi
  • The Irresistable Blueberry Bakeshop & Cafe by Mary Simses
  • 30 Days in Sydney by Peter Carey
  • 13th Gift by Joanne Smith
  • The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George
  • The Dress shop of Dreams by Menna Van Praag
  • The Bookshop Book by Jen Campbell
  • The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society by Darien Gee
Here is a selection of the covers. Any take your fancy?
Vintage: A Novel by Susan GlossHow to Knit a Tangled Mess (DIY Dating)…The 13th Gift: A True Story of a Christmas…The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by…The Bookshop Book by Jen CampbellSleeping the Churchyard Sleep by Rett…Return to Mandalay by Rosanna LeyThe Little Paris Bookshop: A Novel by Nina…The Leaving of Things by Jay Antani

The Sunday Salon is open to anyone who’d like to discuss books of a Sunday (or, frankly, any other day of the week). We’ve actually been around for some years — see http://dhamel.typepad.com/sundaysalon/ — but managing the group via that site became a problem because of its size and we had to limit membership to a little over 500 members.  The doors are open to anyone who’d like to participate via the Facebook Group

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