#GeorgeOrwell was born #OTD in 1903. Here is his application to read in the #BritishMuseum reading room in 1937, and his signature in the signing in book, using his given name of Eric Blair. #archives

Today is #WorldGiraffeDay. Here are giraffes on display at #britishmuseum - they were first on show in the late 1810s, here painted by George Scharf, & then photographed in 1875 by Frederick York. #archives #giraffes

John Thurnam’s 1830s-40s scrapbook, in the #BritishMuseum #archive, includes images & drawings detailing his deep interest in standing stones, & in #Stonehenge in particular. Happy #SummerSolstice.

#Dracula by Bram Stoker was published #OTD in 1897. Here is his application for a reader’s ticket in 1905, including his reference, & his signature in the signing in book when he attended on 15th July. #BritishMuseum #archives

#MaryAnning was born 227 years ago this week. Here is a letter she wrote to the #britishmuseum in 1829 offering a #plesiosaur fossil for sale. It was purchased by the Museum & here it is displayed in 1875. It now can be seen at the #NaturalHistoryMuseum here in London.

Born #OTD in 1859, #ArthurConanDoyle visited the #BritishMuseum reading room for the 1st time in April 1891. Here is his reader’s application & signature from when he attended. #archives #sherlockholmes

Looking glorious at the British Museum with the beautiful silver birches & plants on the forecourt! Taking pictures for the #archives ! #britishmuseum share.google/oJknyOMnFH2s...

#EYAHandwriting There are hundreds of thousands of letters & written documents in the #BritishMuseum #archives - these two, from the early/mid-19th C are especially challenging to read! #EYA

Sir EJ Forsdyke announced that staff could have a 2 day paid holiday when Victory in Europe was announced in 1945. The #BritishMuseum was badly damaged during #WWII - here are the before and after views of the Central Saloon after the Blitz in 1941. #VEDay #OTD #archives

Happy 100th Birthday to #SirDavidAttenborough. A Trustee at the #BritishMuseum from 1980 to 2001, here are some lovely pictures from our #archives Very many happy returns!

#Archive30 #WhyArchives Without #archives the #BritishMuseum would have little idea of its history, or who has worked there over the years. Judith Stanley was 1 of the 1st female employees & in 1756 our accounts show her employment & the wages book shows she accepted her salary with a X.

The Archive Team at #BritishMuseum held 75 #ArchiveOutreach events in the last 12 months. We love showing the archive collection! #Archive30 #archives

#Archive30 #ArchiveBeginnings The earliest document on the foundation of the #BritishMuseum in the #archives, this is a 1738 extract from the Will of Arthur Edwards relating to the Cotton Library (1 of the 3 founding collections). Dudley Ryder, Attorney General, gave his advice & signed the document

The 1st public cafe opened in #BritishMuseum in 1866 on the right of the main stairs. This pewter tankard was used there & Sophia Horsley’s menu, (from #NHM archive), shows what was offered later in 19th C. We also had a nice staff canteen, here in the 1960s & ‘70s! #Archive30 #ArchiveFoodandDrink

#Archive30 #ArchiveVolunteers We have quite a few volunteers in the #BritishMuseum #archives & they are invaluable in supporting the work we do. We offer archive tours & presentations during Volunteer Fortnight & one of our longest-serving volunteers is helping me sort out ‘the box’!

The #britishmuseum #archives holds the business records of William Duesbury of the Derby China Co, founded in the mid-18th C. It includes the records of the Bow & Chelsea Porcelain Manufactories - here are some documents & designs from the papers. #Archive30 #BusinessArchives

#Archive30 #ArchivePeople There are many items in the #BritishMuseum #Archives relating to staff, visitors & more. Here is Dr Gowin Knight, the 1st Principal Librarian, the 1st Porter, Mary Bygrave (long-serving housekeeper) & 2 boys in the galleries in 1954!

Today would have been Queen Elizabeth II’s 100th birthday. Her Majesty visited the British Museum more than 20 times, including to open the Tutankhamun exhibition in 1972. Happy Birthday to her Royal Highness. #britishmuseum #archives #otd #QueenElizabethII

There are lots of plans in the British Museum archive including these, from a guidebook in 1961, a from a design plan for the new building in 1838, & from a suggested design by Charles Barry for the new reading room in the 1850s. #Archive30 #ArchivePlan #britishmuseum #archives

It’s 145 years this April since the natural history collections moved from British Museum to the Natural History Museum in South Kensington. Photographed in Bloomsbury in 1875, it took 90 days to move it out by horse & cart! Now a separate institution , happy birthday NHM! #britishmuseum #archives

#Archive30 #ArchivePresent Donations reported to the Museum’s Trustees were recorded in the Book of Presents from its foundation in 1753 & here is the Museum with a presentation bow to celebrate its 250th anniversary in 2003. #britishmuseum #archives

#Archive30 #ArchiveStorage This is the magnificent new storage at the #BritishMuseum facility BM_ARC in Reading which houses the Museum’s archaeological assemblages & associated archive. #archives

#Archive30 #ArchiveConservation Here is an image from the restoration & conservation of the Round Reading Room ceiling, part of the Great Court millennium project, & an original design drawing for the windows by Sydney Smirke from 1856. #britishmuseum #archives

#Archive30 #UnusualArchives This is the childhood autograph book of Dame Kathleen Kenyon from c.1918. She was an eminent archaeologist, Museum trustee & had lived at the Museum when her father was Director. It’s full of notes & sketches, some of which are quite unusual! #britishmuseum #archives

#Archive30 #ColourfulArchive These lovely coloured pages of hand printed & embossed paper are from Lady Banks’s Dairy Book, her study of her collection of china kept in her dairy at Spring Grove. #britishmuseum #archives #arascot

#Archive30 #SomethingBig This is the biggest item in the #britishmuseum archive. It’s a phased site plan for an archaeological excavation at Mucking in Essex from the 1970s. Staff feet in the image for scale! #archives

Catching up on #archive30 with #ArchiveAnimals. Here are the stuffed animals on display on the staircase of Montagu House in 1845 & the natural history galleries in the new building, photographed in 1875. #britishmuseum #archives

A little behind on #archive30 but this pamphlet from the Frederic Kenyon archive on the game of #football at Winchester College in 1876 is an early account of the rules of the game & is a great entry for #sportarchives #britishmuseum #archives

Love this decorative #britishmuseum fire bucket. Made of leather, it was part of the Museum’s fire protection (with its own firemen) in Montagu House & on view here in the front hall. We have a few buckets in the collection but this is the oldest. #archives #exploreyourarchive #londonfirebrigade

This is the recently conserved 1753 foundation deed of the British Museum, where Hans Sloane’s executors vest his collection into the hands of the Trustees. It’s now safe to be viewed & exhibited after being permanently folded since the 1750s. Harwell have done a great job! #britishmuseum #archives