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Book Return Box – Unavailable
The book return box is unavailable from Tuesday 20th August – Friday 20th September. This is due to windows replacement work.
You can return your books in person to the Medical Library desk. Opening hours are – Monday to Friday – 08:00 – 21:45 and Saturday 09:00 – 16:45.
Apologies for any inconvenience caused.
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August Bank Holiday Monday – Medical Library Closure
The Medical Library is closed on Monday 26th August.
We will re-open on Tuesday 27th August from 08:00.
The post August Bank Holiday Monday – Medical Library Closure appeared first on Medical Library.
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The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes, 1919 Part V: Standing Room Only! by Sue Woods
“Intolerable anguish and fury” [1] had compelled Keynes to leave Paris and resign his position as financial representative of the Treasury at the Paris Peace Conference. Jan Christian Smuts had already suggested to Keynes that he should “set about writing a clear connected account of what the financial and economic clauses of the Treaty actually are and mean and what their probable results will be. It should not be too long, as we may want to appeal to the plain man more than to the well informed or the specialist.” [1] Keynes replied that “ he could do at any time, and speedily, what Smuts proposed, for he had it clear in his mind and it only needed putting on paper.” [1]. This account of the origin of the book is identified by Austin Robinson in his obituary to Keynes which appeared in the Economic Journal, March 1947. Duncan Grant with John Maynard Keynes in 1914 © Public Domain
On his return to Cambridge in July, Keynes did indeed start to write The Economic Consequences of the Peace”. He wrote to Duncan Grant from King’s on 17 July,“Most of the day, I think about my book, and write it for about two hours, so that I get on fairly well and am now nearly half way through the third chapter of eight. … But writing is very difficult, and I feel more and more admiration for those who can bring it off successfully. I’ve finished to-day a sketch of the appearance and character of Clemenceau, and am starting to-morrow on Wilson. I think it’s worthwhile to try, but it’s really beyond my powers.”[2]Keynes left Cambridge for London on 24 July, and at the beginning of August resumed writing the book from Charleston. He wrote every morning from breakfast until lunch and by mid-August was making fast progress.In a letter to his mother on 3 September, he wrote that he had ‘managed to keep up my average of 1,000 words fit for the printer every day, seven days a week; but there are still some very difficult bits to do. I hope to finish by the first week of October and have it actually published before the last day of the month.’ [2]During the Michaelmas term of 1919, Keynes delivered a course of lectures in Cambridge entitled “Economic Aspects of the Peace Treaty”. Austin Robinson writes in his obituary to Keynes: “My principal memory of them is of the dense throng and the fight to find even standing room, for everyone was prepared to cut anything to hear Keynes; I was then a classic, and was duly reprimanded by my tutor for surprising lacunae in my knowledge of Cicero’s Letters. But almost equally vivid is my memory of the burning sense of the world’s stupidities which animated the lecturer. Those lectures appeared in a variant form at the end of December 1919 as The Economic Consequences of the Peace, and the world shared our excitement.” [1] Millin, Sarah Gertrude. General Smuts. London: Faber and Faber, 1936[2] Skidelsky, Robert. John Maynard Keynes. Volume 1. London: Macmillan, 1983
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The Liberation of Paris, 19-29 August 1944: “Images de notre délivrance” by Georges Duhamel and Claude Lepape
On the 75th anniversary of the Liberation of Paris, we would like to talk about Images de notre délivrance (Liberation.a.7), published in December 1944 by the Editions du Pavois (the publisher in 1946 of L’Univers concentrationnaire by David Rousset, which … Continue reading →
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The Polonsky Foundation Greek Manuscripts Project: Conserving fragments
Since the introductory blogpost from conservation on The Polonsky Greek Manuscripts Project, we have made a lot of progress, having completed the survey of the four hundred and forty-four manuscripts involved in the project, and have started treatment. The survey encompassed items from both Cambridge University Library (CUL) and thirteen other Cambridge institutions. The data collected from the survey has been instrumental in identifying at-risk items, designing treatment proposals and planning a workflow. From studying the data collected during the survey it was decided our first step would be to prepare the sixty-eight flat and unbound materials from the CUL for digitisation.
The unbound materials at CUL are incredibly varied; they include items made from paper, parchment and papyrus as well as formats ranging from fragments, single leaves, unbound gatherings and even a wooden board. The manuscripts were housed in a variety of enclosures, such as clamshell boxes, folders and glass, mostly dating from the early 20th century.
- Photos during treatment
The first step of treatment involved removing the items from their current enclosures; this might be because the materials used were acidic, degraded or structurally weak. After releasing the items, they were prepared for imaging which involved dry cleaning, stabilising tears and losses, pigment consolidation and removing damaging repairs. One example (as shown below) required dry cleaning using a soft brush and cosmetic sponge, after which the adhesive tape holding the object to a thin card support was removed mechanically with a spatula. This is a lengthy, meticulous and necessary process as the chemically unstable tape posed a high risk of damaging the object in the future.
- Tape Removal Treatment
Once stable, the manuscripts were imaged by the Digital Content Unit (DCU). After imaging, the items could be rehoused. Various methods were used, such as Melinex pockets, four-flap folders, pamphlets and mounts. The manuscripts could then be returned to the library shelves and can now be safely consulted by our readers and researchers.
- Rehousing Solutions
So, what’s next? We are now looking forward to conserving the bound items, starting with the CUL collection. Three unstable items have also been identified that require more in-depth conservation treatment and we are currently studying those bindings in preparation for treatment.
Alongside conservation treatments, our work on the Medieval Eastern Mediterranean book models is continuing, which you will see in a blogpost soon!
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To celebrate, to commemorate: A long weekend
It’s not as though music festivals are a new thing. The Proms will celebrate their 125th birthday in their current form next year, while the Bayreuth Festival is even earlier dating back to 1876. A programme for the “Dr. Who” … Continue reading →
