The Blackwell Family Archive

Warning: of minimal interest to non-Blackwells (or possibly anyone)

At the risk of appearing slightly obsessive compulsive and inspiring thought bubbles such as, ‘He really should get a life,’ and ‘What a wanker!’ I’m going to tell you how I spent most of last week and weekend.

I created the Blackwell Family Archive. And its catalogue.

The Blackwell Family Archive, since you asked, consists of old photos, loose and in albums, documents, certificates, letters, postcards, manuscripts  typescripts – anything and everything two dimensional that came to me after our parents died, or at least everything I’ve found in our rabbit warren house. I have now “catalogued” it.

The Blackwell Family Archive in The Blackwell Family Archive Reading Room

Okay, I haven’t itemized every blurry snapshot, but important things have been numbered, described and stuffed in a labelled envelope and then into a labelled box. Some of the “items” are multi-page photo albums with, obviously, many pictures; others are  “collections” of snapshots, organized and classified according to an eccentric and not entirely consistent system of my own devising.

This is, for now, completely separate from the electronic archive I’ve been building at the same time, as I scan photographs and letters. I will eventually marry the two.

And why am I doing this? You might well ask. I might well ask.

In any case, you can see for yourself what I have by looking at the catalogue, which I’ve posted here. You can re-sort on any of the columns, by pointing to the column heading and clicking. Click a second time to reverse the order.

Just to forestall the inevitable critics: yes, I know perfectly well I haven’t followed professional archiving procedures or principles. That’s because I don’t really know what they are – and even if I did, I probably couldn’t be bothered anyway. So.