One of the joys of being a librarian or an archivist is finding something in the collections which reminds us that the books and other items had a life with other people before they arrived.
The Congregational Librarian has teamed up with the Westminster College Archivist and the Theological Federation Librarian to bring together a selection of bookmarks – and other things deliberately or accidentally left in books!
Exhibits include traditional bookmarks, like two woven silk ‘Stevengraphs’ – invented in the 1860s by Thomas Stevens (1828-1888), a manufacturer based in Coventry who produced over 900 designs at his factory using Jacquard looms; and this hand-embroidered text ‘We would see Jesus’ on a punched card and silk ribbon bookmark, in a style common in the 1890s.
You are welcome to visit the exhibition at Westminster College, which is on public display in the library area. In addition, on Sunday 21 September between 10:00 and 16:00, Westminster College is participating in Open Cambridge. Tickets for this are free and can be obtained from https://www.opencambridge.cam.ac.uk/events/westminster-college. There will be bonus material on display in the exhibition as part of this event.
