This month we hear from one the Society’s volunteers, Jo Hockey. Jo tells us about her first impressions of the Signet Library and the projects that she has been involved with over the years
What attracted you to practice at the Signet Library?
I first visited the library in February of 2018 on a visit with my colleagues from Historic Environment Scotland. I’d originally been drawn to work at HES because I have a particular interest in architectural history, and as we climbed the East Stairs, James Hamilton told us all about the raising of the ceiling height in the lower library by the architect William Stark, and the resulting differences between the interior and exterior of the building. He went on to discuss a multitude of architectural stories within the library, and also described a very welcoming attitude towards researchers and people like myself who didn’t necessarily follow the usual academic/work route. In July I got in touch with James to ask if it would be possible to volunteer at the Signet Library and after a meeting he offered me the role. I’d been a Conservation Assistant at HES, so I was quite excited to be working with historic material, and books written, printed, and bound by hand over 300 years ago definitely fit the bill! An aspect of working at the Society that I hadn’t considered was the size of the organisation – in terms of research, it has been possible to direct my own work to some extent, and the freedom that goes hand in hand with the structure of a private Law Society is very much appreciated.
Can you tell us about some of the projects you’ve worked on since 2019?
The Riddell Seal Collection. I was given a box of late C18 playing cards with seals attached to each one in December of 2019. I knew the names of the boys who had made the collection, and luckily they had written an index, helping me to identify the seal owners. I was able to use my conservation skills in housing and cleaning the cards, but despite having the indexes, identification was difficult. With hindsight, I should have studied history, so the project took quite a while. We now have a database for almost all the seal owners, which opens up possible future research into the connections between them. Describing and researching the precise social network is potentially the most important finding that the collection can offer us. Read more here.
The Almanac Collection was researched in tandem with the Seals and provided a much needed contrast. The collection came to the Society via two or three donors and after cataloguing the books, my primary interest was identifying the owners. While at HES, I learned about the way in which collections are organised, and the importance in archives of preserving as much context relating to an item as possible. Identifying two of the almanac owners was so exciting, giving the possibility in the future for connections with other collections holding items from the same owners. Read more here.
Lockdown brought all sorts of challenges – early March of 2020 was scheduled for the opening of an in-person exhibition on our Voyages and Travels Collection. The exhibition was carefully adapted as an online presentation by James, and my lockdown was spent creating a transcription of William Creech’s diary of his 1776 travels to London and the Netherlands. I was able to work on the transcription at home, research the contents of the diary and have a sense of continuity, which was so greatly appreciated. Read more here.
I later transcribed the diary of the Antiquarian Robert Pitcairn WS, who travelled to Europe fifty years later – similar tales of pre railway travel woes, but while Creech sought to extend his social and business network, Pitcairn was very much looking to expand his aesthetic horizons. His appreciation of art, music, architecture and natural beauty are discussed at length.
The library has a collection of almost every edition of Encyclopaedia Britannica, and James planned a long-term project of cataloguing, conservation and reshelving, which now sees the Collection in a prominent position below the cupola in the Upper Library. As part of the project, I wrote a short history of the many editions of this publication, with its origins just streets away from the Library at the foot of Anchor Close.
The Society’s personal connection with Britannica was the starting point – the seventh edition of Britannica was edited at the Signet Library by Librarian Macvey Napier, and our copy of this edition was a gift to the Society. The forty-four volumes are needing a great deal of conservation work in order that they can be safely accessed in the future, and I’m currently in the midst of this project.
Thoughts on your future plans?
In my former role at HES, I worked a great deal with photographs, particularly glass lantern slides, and an unexpected aspect of coming to an 18th century library was witnessing the growth of its photographic collection! A strong interest in photographic history lead to the completion of a post graduate course Archiving and Conservation of Historic Photography in 2020 (encouraged and supported by the Society), a subject which perfectly complements the study of Architectural History.
James, Dr Baston and I were thrilled to be able to put together a photographic exhibition showcasing the discovery of a Hill and Adamson album at the library by James in October of 2022. Since that time we have created a distinct collection, which has allowed us to update the catalogue to reflect material which includes photographic elements.
The last five years have given me so much experience and allowed me to develop some fascinating new skills, such as paleography, but primarily I’ve gained some much needed self confidence. I am neurodivergent and this has been a barrier for study and progression in some workplaces. I’m currently working with Dr Baston on research and conservation of the John Watson School archives held by the WS Society as part of a Jean Guild Award of the Old Edinburgh Club, and I hope to extend my knowledge and experience of book conservation in the coming year. Finally, I’d like to thank James Hamilton, Dr Baston, Dr Robert Pirrie WS, Sophie Mills WS, Matthew Bruce and everyone at the Society for all their wonderful support.