Archive in a Pandemic A-Z: G is for

GLOVES

Green gloves in particular for us. Here is Archiver modelling them:

Gloves have become an important part of our day. We once only donned white cotton gloves to handle very old archives and the Fonds sometimes wore just one glove (not unlike Michael Jackson) when cataloguing photographs. But now we have changed to using these delightful disposable premium nitrile powder-free green gloves. 

Now we wear gloves when handling archives, when cleaning tables, chairs and equipment after use and when cleaning touch points around the building. Even the Library staff wear them! 

Is it me, or does this pic make Archiver's hands look enormous?

We also set a pair out on the Searchroom tables for the public to use when handling archives. If they really don't want to wear gloves, we ask that they wash their hands before handling the archives. In the long run, the green gloves are better for our archives, as turning pages of documents was often difficult with the cotton ones.  

I looked for gloves in our Archive collections and found one mention in the Balfour papers where a set of cotton gloves were sent to Master Edward Balfour around 1836, when he was aged 5.

 “for Master Edward Balfour with Mr. Maconochie’s kindest regards" From bundle D2/50/36

The original gloves were transferred to the Orkney Museum in 1990

We also have a letter written by Edward Balfour (aged 10) from Cliffdale in Shapinsay on 20th May 1841, not about gloves, but about apples. We just like it and want to share it with you. 

"Cliffdale, 20 May 1841. Dear Mama, I hope you are quite well. I am going to send you in some tansy for you to day if there any boat going. I was at the garden of Sound on Monday for the first time and I saw some little apples about the size of a pea. I hope you are all coming out soon. I have no more to say now. I remain your affectionate son, Edward Balfour." From bundle D2/50/36

Edward Balfour was born on 13th December 1831 in Shapinsay. His parents were Captain William Balfour and Mary Margaret (Baikie) Balfour. His father inherited the Balfour and Trenaby estate in 1842. His brother David inherited the estate in 1846 and engaged architect David Bryce to design and build Balfour Castle between 1847 and 1850. 

That was the only mention of gloves in the archive catalogue. 

BUT There are two people called Glover mentioned:

D1/1048/1: The Bismark Story - May 1941. A compilation by Gerry Glover (P.O./L.T.O.)

D85/1/12: Traill of Woodwick papers: Correspondence between Thomson Glover and John H Traill, 1887. 

Harvest Home

It is harvest time in Orkney and the fields are full of beautiful, golden bundles. Gardeners are gathering up their vegetables and children will soon be piling up cans of soup and beans for their Harvest assemblies.




In celebration, we bring you an excerpt from Ernest Walker Marwick's The Lore of the Harvest which discusses the straw 'bikko' dog made from the straw in the last field. Below is an example of said 'bikko'.


We also found a J. Omond photo of some Orphir schoolgirls gathering peas, the sadly ruined harvest of 1909 (another Omond image) and a lovely harvest tea-break or 'half yoke'.




For more Orcadian harvest lore, click here.




The dreaded straw bikko - ultimate insult to a harvesting farmer.

Click to enlarge

Picking peas in Orphir.

Snow ruined the Harvest of 1909.

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A well-earned break.

Let Me Introduce You #2

We now have a third contributor to this blog to bug you with nonsense and bad puns. Dusty is her chosen nom de plume, although this does make us worry that the title of this blog takes on a more menacing tone.

It has often been Dusty's eagle eyes which have spotted the various hilarious letters, photos and documents that have been brought to your attention over the last few months, so it is nice for her to finally make herself known.

Dusty will not have a dedicated blogging day, she will just chip in when she wants to give you a piece of her mind about something and shall perhaps cover my holidays.

"But what is she like?" I hear you cry, "paint us a picture with words please!" Alright. Dusty is tender yet steely, frugal with censure and yet profligate with peas. She is an enigma, a maverick, a fan of rhetoric and a believer in owls. I expect her posts to be a cornucopia of delights which shall thrill, educate and move you in equal measure. This is a picture of her chosen future husband:

Look out for her in the near future...