Located amidst the hustle and bustle of the City of London, Postman’s Park not only provides a peaceful oasis of calm but also contains a unique and remarkable monument. The Watts Memorial to Heroic Self-Sacrifice, created in 1900 by the Victorian artist G. F. Watts, commemorates sixty-two individuals, all of whom lost their own life while attempting to save another. Men, women and children are all represented on this beautiful and extraordinary testament to the Victorian idea of everyday heroism.

This  lecture will document the full and fascinating history of the monument, look in more detail at some of those who feature upon it and contextualise their memorialisation within the wider social and cultural history of Victorian London.

A one-hour lecture starting at 2pm, with Dr. John Price £6.00/£4.80 SoG Members. Must be pre-booked, through our website or by telephone: 020 7553 3290. Do you have a question? email the events department.

Technorati Tags: family, genealogy, gf watts, graveyard, hero, heroic, history, lecture, London, memorial, postman park, Society of Genealogists, st botolph, talk, Victorian

Once again, the Society will be having a stall at the popular Nunhead Cemetery Open Day.  Nunhead is in the borough of Southwark, South-East London, and the cemetery is one of the “Magnificent Seven” Victorian cemeteries built around London in the 19th century.  Consecrated in 1840, Nunhead Cemetery is perhaps not as well-known as some of its counterparts (principally, Highgate), but is arguably the best and most attractive.

Notable inhabitants include Sir Charles Fox, civil engineer who built the Crystal Palace, Sir George Livesey, civil engineer and philanthropist, and Thomas Tilling, omnibus proprietor.  Attractions on the day will include guided tours of the cemetery, visits to the chapel and crypt, woodcraft demonstrations, local history and community groups’ stalls, plant sales and homemade refreshments; also a bug hunt, face painting and badge making for the children (or grandchildren). We look forward to seeing you there!

Nunhead Cemetery, Linden Grove, SE15 (www.fonc.org.uk).

Technorati Tags: burial, cemetery, crypt, London, Nunhead, open day, Society of Genealogists, tour, Victorian, visit

The new Postal Museum will provide access to the BPMA’s unique collections of 400 years of postal, social and design history, including photographs, posters, vehicles, pillar boxes, employment records of millions of people and a world-class stamp collection.

Under a plan endorsed by the Government, the new centre will be established at Calthorpe House, on London’s Mount Pleasant site, where the country’s oldest mail centre is located. It is close to the existing home of the BPMA at Freeling House, which has very limited space for exhibitions and displays.

Royal Mail Group will grant a lease of 999 years for Calthorpe House, a property which will provide a secure foundation for the BPMA once redeveloped and extended. Agreements have been signed with Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd for a £6m long term, low interest loan to fund the conversion of Calthorpe House to meet the basic needs of the organisation. In addition, Royal Mail and POL are providing other support, including a £500,000 grant.

A fundraising campaign by the BPMA will be launched shortly to raise the remaining funds required to create a state of the art museum and visitor facility. The BPMA is an independent charity set up in 2004 to care for two significant collections: The Royal Mail Archive and the collections of the former National Postal Museum. It is the BPMA’s mission to increase public access to these collections, making the story they tell of communication, industry and innovation accessible to everyone.

The new centre will allow the BPMA to exhibit objects from its fascinating museum collection, which is currently held in storage. It will also include educational facilities for visiting schools

Technorati Tags: archives, British Postal Museum and Archive, family history, genealogy

The Society of Genealogists’ Book of the Month for April is My Ancestors were Londoners, by Cliff Webb. Now in its sixth edition, this perennially popular title continues to be an invaluable aid to family historians who come across Londoners during the course of their research. A large proportion of the population has always lived in the London area, so the chances of finding a Londoner in your tree are certainly high! Throughout the month of April, My Ancestors were Londoners is available to members of the society for £6.47, or £7.19 for non-members. This book, along with the full range of Society of Genealogists publications, plus many others, is available from our bookshop and online at www.sog.org.uk

Offer ends 30/04/12

This full-day course (10:30-17:00 with Jayne Shrimpton) is a visual Power Point presentation that provides an in-depth guide to dating, analysing and understanding all types of family portraits, from inherited paintings, drawings and silhouettes, to Victorian studio photographs and 20th century snapshots.

Accurate dating is essential when trying to identify and discover more about unlabelled family pictures and the course demonstrates how to establish an accurate time frame, using a variety of techniques and research tools. It also discusses the portrait tradition and considers the historical context in which artworks and, later, photographs were commissioned: what did these special pictures mean to our ancestors and how should we interpret them?

Morning session: Family Artworks, c.1770-1910

This session begins with a brief explanation of the origins of portraiture and charts its expansion in the later 18th and early 19th centuries, following rising demand from amongst the landed, professional and successful industrial and business classes. We look at the kinds of ancestors who may have commissioned a hand- crafted painting or drawing, how professional artists carried out their business, the comparative cost of different kinds of pictures, and the reasons why they were commissioned.

We also cover the practise of amateur art within the family, as well as the popularity of silhouettes (profile shades) in the late 18th and early 19th centuries – economical portraits that bridged artworks and the new medium of photography. Throughout the session many tips are given for dating and analysing unsigned artworks, researching artists and seeking professional help from museum curators and independent art experts.

Afternoon session: Family photographs, 1840-1940

After lunch we turn to the family photographs that were the natural successors to artworks and silhouettes – lifelike mechanical images that brought portraiture to a wider population. Beginning with the opening of the first commercial studios, this session explains the different types of professional photographs that were produced over the decades, showing how identifying the photographic format can help with dating surviving examples. We also look at how to date photographic card mounts from their shape, colour and design, how to research photographers, how to date the visual image from the studio setting and, especially, the clothing worn by the subjects – even how to recognise the occasion that may have inspired the photograph.

By the late 19th century a few families were beginning to take their own photographs at home and we follow the gradual rise of amateur photography throughout the early 20th century, encouraged by new types of user-friendly cameras. Amateur snapshots are realistic images and offer a marvellous documentary record of the past, but unlabelled prints can be hard to date accurately, so we focus closely on visual clues, especially dress, any vehicles in the picture and consider how to use modern research resources to give these images a social/historical context and bring them to life.

About the lecturer: Jayne Shrimpton obtained an M.A. (History of Dress) from the Courtauld Institute of Art and worked for seven years as an Archive Assistant at the National Portrait Gallery, London. She is now a freelance lecturer, writer and researcher and contributes regularly to ‘Family Tree’, ‘Your Family History’ and ‘Family History Monthly’ magazines. She is the author of the Society of Genealogists book, ‘ How to Get the Most From Family Pictures’,  available at the Society’s bookshop.

If attending the course, you are welcome to submit up to five personal family photographs (preferably digital versions) before the date to be analyzed as part of the course, please contact us for further information. Tickets £30.00/£24.00 SoG Members, must be pre-booked and pre-paid, through our website or by telephone: 020 7553 3290. Do you have a question? email the events department. Please note this course was originally scheduled for 12 May, and has been moved to 19 May.

Technorati Tags: ancestor, class, costume, course, dress, family history, family tree, genealogy, identifcation, lecture, photo, picture, portrait, Victorian, workshop