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AIDS in Zimbabwe: a designer’s memoir
In 1999 the Wellcome Library acquired this AIDS poster in the colours of the Zimbabwean flag (red, green, yellow and black), but had no idea of the story behind its creation until this year, when we were contacted by its… Continue reading
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A royal arrival
The arrival of a royal baby was the subject of a massive painting exhibited in Paris in 1827 by a young and then little-known painter, Eugène Devéria (1805-1865). The subject was the birth of the future king Henri IV of… Continue reading
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Item of the Month: Vivat!
Marking the 60th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, William Schupbach, Iconographic Collections Librarian, explores the local environs of the Wellcome Library, then and now. The painting above shows Euston Road in London, 60 years ago, early in the… Continue reading
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Item of the Month: Revealing Saint Francis
Taking inspiration from the recent papal election, we’ve decided to turn our attention to a work from the Wellcome Library that depicts not one, but two, Saints Francis. Pope Francis I has taken inspiration for his name from St Francis… Continue reading
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Mayhem on the road to modernity
In America before World War I, Mr Toad‘s view of motoring was not uncommon: the driver was a wealthy sporting eccentric in the vanguard of modernity; he was free to drive on the public highway; and if people wanted to avoid… Continue reading
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Recording the births and deaths of children
The Society of Antiquaries of London is holding a series of public lectures which are free and open to all. Of the five lectures between September 2012 and May 2013, the first, on 18 September 2012, was on the use… Continue reading
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Collector of hearts
Multidisciplinary artist and independent scholar Joanna Ebenstein shares her discoveries from a recent research visit to the Wellcome Library. I had the great pleasure of spending many hours over the past few weeks exploring the Wellcome Library. I came away… Continue reading
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China on the Shannon
The Wellcome Library’s exhibition of photographs of China taken by John Thomson between 1869 and 1872 is currently on show at The Hunt Museum in Limerick, Ireland. The Hunt Museum is named after John and Gertrude Hunt who presented their… Continue reading
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To London from Kuwait
The Wellcome Library was honoured to receive a visit yesterday from staff of the Kuwait Digital Repository at the Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research: Ms. Shatha D. Al-Own (Project Leader), Ms. Amani Al-Othman (Principal Investigator), Mr Muhammad Mozafar (Task Leader),… Continue reading
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R.I.P. Chief Inspector Dreyfus
The BBC reports the death earlier today of the actor Herbert Lom, who played the police chief in the Pink Panther films. His many other roles included parts in The Ladykillers (1955) and The Phantom of the Opera (1962). Herbert… Continue reading