Explore collections

The University has been collecting works of art, teaching specimens and other museum artefacts since it first opened as University College, Dundee in 1883, but only since 1994 have these been run as a public museum service cared for by a professional Curator within Museum Services, now part of Culture & Information, with the University Court as the museum’s governing body. The University first achieved Registered status for its collections in 1996, and Accreditation in 2008. This new policy has been designed to fit the requirements for a Collections Development Policy demanded by the Accreditation Standard.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

The main subjects of the University’s museum collections are as follows:

• Artefacts or specimens used in teaching or research at the University;
• Artefacts or artworks that have been part of the corporate, academic or social life of the University, or that were used or created by current or former staff or students;
• Artefacts or specimens gifted or bequeathed to the University specifically because of their historic or artistic significance;
• Artefacts or artworks specially commissioned by the University, or purchased in order to enhance the cultural life of staff, students and visitors.

The distinct collections at present are as follows, arranged according to the current University structure:

Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design

Architecture Collection

Artefacts from the Architecture programme (currently just one item, a 19th-century medal)

Artists’ Book Collection Dundee (abcD)

A large collection of artists’ books (mostly British, late 20th and early 21st century) held in the DJCAD Library.

Commercial Design Collection

Original design pieces made by artists connected to the University and/or Dundee, principally at Valentine’s.

Design Furniture Collection

An international collection of classic designs from the 19th and 20th centuries.

Duncan of Jordanstone College Collection

A large collection of artworks by students, usually acquired at the annual Diploma/Degree Shows from 1955 onwards, with a small number of earlier pieces. Mostly paintings and drawings but also printmaking, photography, sculpture, video art, animation, graphic design, textiles, ceramics, jewellery and metalwork. Also artworks by College staff and some presentation items.

Moira Macgregor Collection

A collection of over 500 pieces of art and design created by the artist and fashion and book illustrator Moira Macgregor.

Needlework Development Scheme Collection

Embroidery pieces from around the world collected by the NDS 1934-61. Part of a dispersed national collection held by the four Scottish art colleges, National Museums Scotland and others.

Public Art Collection

A collection of sketches, designs and maquettes relating to public art in Dundee, mostly created by DJCAD alumni.

Visual Research Centre Collection

A collection of prints created by staff, researchers and visiting artists at the former VRC, 1999-2018.

New Combined School of Humanities, Social Sciences & Law

Comics Art Collection

Original comics artwork (Scottish, UK and international, 20th and 21st century) collected as a research and exhibition resource for the Comics Studies courses taught by Humanities and DJCAD.

Education Collection

Art and artefacts belonging to the former Dundee College of Education, including significant pieces of late 20th-century Scottish art.

English Collection

A small collection of artworks created by staff from English, 2000s.

Geography Collection

Teaching and research equipment, mostly mid-20th century.

Law Collection

Various artworks (19th century prints) and presentation items (late 20th century).

Psychology Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly late 19th and 20th century.

School of Business

Economics Collection

Material from the former Dundee School of Economics (currently just one item, a bronze relief sculpture).

School of Dentistry

Dental School Collection

Dental instruments, a significant collection of comparative anatomy (animal teeth and jawbones) and various paintings and sculptures, mostly early 20th century. Jointly owned by NHS Tayside.

Forensic Dentistry Collection

A small collection of specimens from the 1980s and 1990s used in providing evidence to legal cases relating to identification, gender, age, etc.

School of Health Sciences

The School has never maintained a collection of its own but material from the former Dundee College of Nursing and other items relating to the training of nurses have been incorporated into the Tayside Medical History Museum (see below).

School of Life Sciences

Biochemistry Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly mid-20th century.

Biological Sciences Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly mid-20th century.

Chemistry Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly early to mid-20th century.

D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum

Large collection of zoological specimens, most of which were acquired by Prof D’Arcy Thompson in the 1880s and 1890s. Also teaching charts and models.

D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum Art Collection

Artworks (20th and 21st century) inspired by the collections in the Zoology Museum and by the life and work of D’Arcy Thompson.

Herbarium Collections

A large collection of botanical specimens, mostly comprising the Flora of Angus, 19th and 20th century. Also some plant fossils, pathological specimens and wood samples.

Life Space Art Collection

A small selection of artworks commissioned for exhibitions in the art-science research gallery Life Space.

Physiology Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly late 19th and 20th century.

School of Medicine

Medical School Art Collection

A small collection of artworks acquired by the School, mostly by DJCAD students.

Pathology Collection

A collection of nearly 500 human body parts kept as a teaching and research collection in the Pathology department at Ninewells Hospital.

Tayside Medical History Museum

Medical instruments, pharmaceutical items and other objects relating to the history of healthcare in Tayside from 19th century onwards, including artworks owned by the hospitals and/or inspired by the medical collection. The collection is jointly owned by NHS Tayside.

School of Science & Engineering

Anatomy Collection

Wax models, teaching charts and instruments, mostly late 19th and early 20th century. (Although the University also has an Anatomy Museum containing human anatomical specimens, this is a teaching collection not under the responsibility of Museum Services).

Civil Engineering Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly mid-20th century.

Computing Collection

Teaching and office equipment, mostly late 20th century.

Electrical & Electronic Engineering Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly late 19th and early 20th century.

Mathematics Collection

Teaching models and other equipment, mostly early 20th century.

Mechanical Engineering Collection

Scientific instruments and sectioned aeroplane and car engines, mostly mid-20th century.

Physics Collection

Scientific instruments and teaching equipment, mostly late 19th and 20th century.

Satellite Receiving Station Collection

A small collection of equipment relating to the station formerly based in the Ewing Building.

University-wide

Alan Woods Bequest

A large collection of contemporary British art (mostly 1980s and 1990s) bequeathed by former DJCAD lecturer Alan Woods in 2000.

Archive Collections

Artefacts relating to documentary collections held by the University Archives, principally the Torrance Collection (ethnographic items from Palestine, mostly late 19th and early 20th century) and artworks and objects relating to the Glasite Church (mostly 19th century).

Chaplaincy Collection

Various items of silver and sculpture, mostly mid-20th century.

Dundee College Collection

A small collection of scientific instruments and teaching equipment used at Dundee College, mostly late 20th century.

Joseph Lee Collection

A large collection of drawings by the Dundee artist and First World War poet.

Maggie’s Centre Collection

A collection of artworks (19th century up to contemporary) looked after by Museum Services on behalf of the Maggie Keswick Jencks Cancer Caring Centres Trust.

Media Services Collection

Items of audio-visual equipment used in teaching, mostly late 20th century.

Nicoll Collection

A substantial collection of 19th and 20th-century British art gifted by James Nicoll in 1951.

Presentation Collection

Miscellaneous collection of items gifted to the University by other institutions, mostly late 20th century.

Scottish Arts Council Bequest

A large collection of Scottish 20th-century printmaking gifted from the SAC collection in 1997.

Silver Collection

The University’s presentation silver, including the Mace (presented in 1912) and other ceremonial items, mostly mid-20th century.

Thomas Malcolm Knox Bequest

A small collection of artworks bequeathed by the former University of St Andrews Principal.

University Art Collection

The University’s main fine art collection of paintings, drawings, prints and sculpture, mostly Scottish from the 17th century onwards.

University Collection

Miscellaneous items relating to general University life, including student and staff gowns and medals, mostly 20th century.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

The Collections of the University of Edinburgh have evolved over 400 years of collecting.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2020

Licence: CC BY-NC

Musical Instrument Museums Edinburgh (formerly the Edinburgh University Collection of Historic Musical Instruments, EUCHMI)

Musical Instrument Museums Edinburgh (MIMEd) is based at St Cecilia’s Hall and the Reid Concert Hall, with the research collection accessed from the CRC, Main Library. MIMEd houses one of the largest and most important collections of musical instruments in the world, including the Shackleton Bequest of woodwind instruments as well as early keyboards from the Raymond Russell Collection and Mirrey Collection. The Collection is open to the public at both St Cecilia’s Hall and the Reid Concert Hall. Staff are involved in University teaching (at undergraduate and postgraduate level) through the Reid School of Music, public outreach (for all age groups) and facilitating visits from an international audience of specialist researchers, academics and musicians. Highlights include harpsichords by the Ruckers family and Taskin, a recorder and violins from the mid-16^th century by the Bassano family, and the gong used for the recording of the Rank film opening credits.

Art Collection

The purpose of the Art Collection at the University of Edinburgh is to collect, interpret and make accessible works of art for teaching, research and exhibition, whilst also increasing the enjoyment and enrichment of the University environment for the University community and general public. The University holds around 8,000 works of art in its collections. The Art Collection is notable for its emphasis on Dutch and Flemish art of the 17^th and 18^th centuries, Scottish portraits, and modern Scottish art. A significant addition to the collection is around 2,000 works from Edinburgh College of Art (ECA), which merged with The University of Edinburgh in 2012. This strand of the Art Collection contains a unique insight to art education in the 20^th Century and comprises works by some of the most respected names in Scottish art, such as John Bellany, Anne Redpath and S.J. Peploe, as well as the addition of the highly regarded ECA Cast Collection.

Cockburn Museum of Geology

Originally defined in 1873 as ‘a museum for the teaching of geology’, the Collections are made up of objects which reflect the entire geological spectrum. Over 130,000 specimens including rocks, minerals, ores, fossils, historical documents, manuscripts and samples (e.g. the Hall collection of early experimental material), maps (geological and topographic), photographs and computer data. The collection is derived from global sources, with an emphasis on Scotland and the British Isles but not to the extent of excluding material from elsewhere. Mantle nodule material, for example, mainly comes from South Africa, Siberia and Brazil. The collection covers the time period from 1790 to the present in terms of the historical documents and maps, but covers the whole time period of Earth history in the case of the geological specimens.

Natural History Collections

The Natural History Collections contain several thousands of zoological specimens which are still housed in those areas of the Ashworth Laboratories originally created for them by Sir Robert Lorimer. Their national importance rests in part on the fact that they remain one of the few University Natural History Collections which are still largely intact with respect to the invertebrate material and much vertebrate skeletal material. The Collections form an integral part of the teaching of biological sciences in the University, as well as being open to view by the general public.

Anatomical Collections

The Anatomy Department has possessed a museum displaying aspects of human and animal structures since the 18^th century. Housed since 1884 in the north wing of the present Department, which is located in the Medical School, it originally occupied all 3 floors but is now restricted to the top floor only plus a small annexe on the first floor which contains a large collection of human skulls. This Museum in its original form displayed one of the finest collections of vertebrate material in this country and contained the premier collection of cetacea outside the British Museum. This cetacean material has now mostly been transferred to the National Museums of Scotland where it is presently stored.

The Museum, now reduced in size, is used as the Anatomy Resource Centre and currently displays artefacts such as potted specimens which are used for the teaching of anatomy, while providing a valuable study and research area. It also has small historical displays of anatomical dissections, microtomes and microscopes.

Chemistry Collection

The School of Chemistry Collection contains equipment, archives, photographs, molecular models, crystals and other specimens, on display in the Museum and in cases in corridors. The collection is used for teaching and learning purposes and for outreach. Highlights from the Chemistry Collection include Crum Brown’s model of Sodium Chloride and an autographed reprint of Mendeleeff’s Periodic Table from 1879.

Classics Collections

The Classics Department is home to a teaching collection of Greek and Roman pottery, a gallery of casts, and a large collection of photographic slides which are used to illustrate its teaching in Classical Art and Archaeology.

Polish School of Medicine Historical Collection

The Collection contains many medals with relevance to the history of medicine, wartime memorabilia, artefacts and books about the Polish School of Medicine, written in Polish and English. Some of the medals commemorate well-known Poles who had Edinburgh and/or University connections, like the pianist and composer Fryderyk Chopin who stayed in Warriston Crescent in Edinburgh and the physicist and chemist Marie (Sklodowska) Curie who was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Edinburgh. There are a number of striking sculptures which are the work of the last Dean of the Polish School of Medicine, Professor Rostowski, and a number of bronze busts. The paintings in the Collection include a delightful small oil entitled ‘Warsaw Panorama – view from the Vistula’ by Josef Mlynarski. There are a number of other photographs, copper plaques and prints of varying artistic merit in the Collection. Other prints and photographs highlighting the story of the Polish School of Medicine and historical links between Scotland, Edinburgh and Poland were cut out from some of the books and framed. Ceramics, vases and other artefacts comprise a small part of the Collection.

Museum Heritage Collection

In January 2004, University Collections Advisory Committee recognised the need to conduct an audit of the University’s collections not in the formal sense of its museums and well-defined collections, but the numerous cultural items in offices, meeting rooms, corridors and laboratories across the University. The resulting Audit is a database of the distributed collection of the University. This information allows the University to make informed decisions about the care, conservation and insurance of its distributed collection. This collection does not include the historic silver, robes or furniture in the University, though a watching brief is maintained by appropriate curatorial staff. Museums staff are also gradually taking responsibility for objects of material culture which originally came into the University Archives e.g. certain medals, prints, costume and textiles.

Archives

Our Archives collections comprise both those created by the University itself and those we have acquired from external sources. They represent a rich record of human activity covering many disciplines, locations and periods.

• University Archives: The largest single section within our archives collections, these are the records of the University of Edinburgh since it began as the ‘Tounis College’ in the late 16th century.
• Merged Institutions Archives: Through the course of its history, the University has merged with a number of other institutions, all of which have their own distinct archives: Royal (Dick) Veterinary College, Moray House Institute of Education, Edinburgh College of Art.
• Personal papers and business records: Acquired from external sources, these collections include personal papers, the records of businesses, literary manuscripts and more.
• Lothian Health Services Archive: LHSA is one of the leading National Health Service archives. The holdings comprise the historically important records of NHS Lothian hospitals and other health-related organisations, and have been managed by the University since 1980.

Rare Books and Manuscripts

Our earliest printed book is a commentary on the Chinese Yi Ching, printed in 1440. Our earliest Western printed book, produced using moveable metal type, is St. Augustine’s De civitate Dei, printed in about 1468. We have about 300 incunabula (books printed before 1501), many with important provenances and annotations. Early Scottish books are well represented, including the world’s finest surviving copy of the Aberdeen Breviary, the first substantial book produced in Scotland in 1509-1510. The collection is particularly strong in holdings of works relating to the European Reformation, such as the unique copy of Michael Servetus’ Christianismi restitutio (1553) formerly owned and annotated by John Calvin, who had Servetus burned. We also have the only copy in Scotland of the first book printed in Gaelic, John Knox’s liturgy of 1567.

Edinburgh University Library came into being in 1580 when Clement Litill bequeathed his collection to the new college. Major donations followed including the library of the poet William Drummond in 1626. Early individual donations include a unique copy of one of the first books printed in America, John Eliot’s Indian Primer (1669). The Copyright Act of 1710 gave the library the right to claim a copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland, a right which was maintained until 1837, and which enabled us to build up the bulk of the early modern British collections. There are over 15,000 pre-1801 British or English language books listed on the English Short Title Catalogue (ESTC) as being in Edinburgh University Library. During the 19th and 20th centuries, we acquired some major collections such as the library of J.O. Halliwell-Phillipps with its Shakespeare quartos. More modern special collections books include poetry pamphlets (the Ramage collection) and translations of the novels of Alexander McCall Smith. We now have over 400,000 rare books and acquire up to 20,000 new items every year.

We have books on almost every topic and in a range of languages, but we have a number of named special collections which give particular depth to certain areas. Modern literature and poetry is particularly-well represented, with the libraries of Lewis Grassic Gibbon, Hugh MacDiarmid and Norman MacCaig, plus the W.H. Auden collection and the Corson Collection of works by and about Sir Walter Scott. The Scottish enlightenment can be studied through the libraries of Adam Smith and Dugald Stewart. Medical, veterinary and scientific books are found in the collections from the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh and the Royal Medical Society of Edinburgh. There are extensive collections of printed music including the library of Donald Francis Tovey. The history of Edinburgh University is another key area, and we have archive copies of Edinburgh University Press books.

• Printed named special collections: We have over 60 named special collections, which are normally kept together with unique shelfmarks. Pre-1900 printed books: All books printed before 1900 in the Main Library are formally the responsibility of Special Collections and processes are being developed to transfer them from general stock.
• Western medieval manuscripts: Rare Books and Manuscripts maintains this collection of some 275 manuscripts, including books of hours.
• Oriental manuscripts: Rare Books and Manuscripts maintains this collection of some 700 manuscripts, mainly Islamic.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2020

Licence: CC BY-NC

Since its inception, the University has been fortunate to receive gifts and bequest from many benefactors.

Early benefactors strived to assist the University in its ambitions to emulate the old universities in its cultural offer – with buildings, museum and library collections, and fine and decorative art.

Originally, up to ten departments housed their own museums, but in most cases, these collections became orphaned by the late twentieth century and since 2004 these have been under the care and responsibility of the Heritage Collections (now part of Cultural Heritage Services within the Libraries, Museums, Galleries Department).

The collections were taken under centralised management at different times. The Garstang Museum of Archaeology originated as the Institute of Archaeology established by Professor John Garstang in 1904. Today it remains an important teaching and research resource whilst also being open to the public. The Art Collections Department curated the fine and decorative art, furniture, ceramics, sculpture and silver from the mid-1970s until it came under centralised curatorship in 2004.

The University’s original purpose-built building, designed by Alfred Waterhouse, was renovated and opened to the public as the Victoria Gallery & Museum in 2008, with the intention that this would be the University’s permanent contribution to the city in Liverpool’s European Capital of Culture year.

The University of Liverpool was established as University College Liverpool in 1881. Its Library collections initially grew mostly from donation and from the transfer of existing institutional and private libraries; these early donations were not housed separately but dispersed throughout the general collections and departmental libraries. In 1900 the major bequest to the University of the T.G. Rylands collection, including medieval manuscripts and early printed books, established in principle and practice a separate Special Collections to keep together uniquely valuable items with a shared provenance. In 1968 two departments were created: Special Collections, to house rare books, manuscripts and archives relating to research and teaching; and University Archives, to manage the institutional historical record. In 1995 these two separate services were merged to form a single entity of Special Collections & Archives, which is based within the Sydney Jones Library.

Cultural Heritage Services are part of the Libraries, Museums, Galleries Department.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2024

Licence: CC BY-NC

The collections consist of 4 areas:

• Fine and Decorative Art

• Garstang Museum of Archaeology Collections

• Museum Heritage Collections

• Special Collections & Archives

Specialist professional staff manage the varied collections.

Fine and Decorative Art

Oil Paintings

The collection includes a handful of international items but is essentially British, dating from the seventeenth century to the present. Due to the variety of benefactors no movement or periods are systematically represented. Nevertheless, the collection includes fine works by several important artists.

The most important non-British group of pictures in the collection are three early oil paintings by John James Audubon. These were produced in 1826 during Audubon’s visit to Liverpool while he was seeking out patrons for the publication of Birds of America. Together with the drawings and watercolours on display in the Audubon gallery, this comprises the largest holding of J.J. Audubon’s original work outside America.

The remaining international paintings are mainly landscapes either by Dutch or Italian painters of the seventeenth century and were collected by Matthew Gregson (gift to the University from Isobel Gregson in 1906).

A small bequest of Greek, Cypriot and Russian icons from the seventeenth – nineteenth centuries was made to the University by Professor Roaf in 1986.

The bulk of the collection of oil paintings are British, beginning with some portraits in the School of Van Dyck. Among the best known from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries are works by Joseph Wright of Derby, J.M.W. Turner, George Morland, Nathan Theodore Fielding and the marine artists Matthew Condy and Samuel Walters.

From the late nineteenth century onwards the most important paintings are by Atkinson Grimshaw, Richard Ansdell, Edward Atkinson Hornel, Robert Anning Bell.

Due to a positive policy of collecting contemporary art in the post-war years, the University holds a collection of significant Mid-20th Century paintings including work by Lucian Freud, Gillian Ayres, Sandra Blow, Frank Bowling, Adrian Berg, Robert Colquhoun and Euan Uglow. Later additions include works by Peter Lanyon, Bridget Riley, Christopher Le Brun and Fiona Banner.

Artists from the Liverpool area, or with connections to Liverpool are also extensively represented in the collection: Gerard Chowne, Nicholas Horsfield, Will Penn, Dorothy Adamson, George Mayer-Marton, Millicent Ayrton, Clement McAleer, Roderick Bisson, Arthur Ballard, Stanley Reed, George Jardine, J. Coburn Witherop, Sam Walsh, Adrian Henri, Peter Corbett and Tom Palin.

Portraiture is an important element of the collection in recording the eminent figures in the history of the University. The best-known group of portraits are those by Augustus John who taught in the University ‘Art Sheds’ between 1901-2. The University also owns portraits by William Strang, Henry Carr, F.T. Copnall, Edward Halliday and Will Penn.

Watercolours and Drawings

The core of this collection is a group of 80 watercolours given to the University by Sir Charles Sydney Jones. All the important English watercolourists are represented: Paul Sandby, J.R. Cozens, John ‘Warwick’ Smith, Thomas Varley, Thomas Girtin, J.M.W. Turner, Anthony Vandyke, Copley Fielding, Peter de Wint, David Cox and John Sell Cotman.

There is scope for developing the collection of late nineteenth century watercolours and drawings. Current holdings centre on four impressive cartoons for stained glass windows in St. Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh by Edward Coley Burne-Jones.

The twentieth century collection includes some significant works by Arthur Rackham, Herbert MacNair, Robert Anning Bell, John Nash, Michael Ayrton, Anthony Gross, Graham Sutherland, Terry Frost, Patrick Heron, Adrian Henri, Deanna Petherbridge, Graham Arnold and Ian McKeever.

The University also has a small but interesting group of architectural drawings (many related to its School of Architecture, one of the earliest in Britain). This comprises works by Alfred Waterhouse, H.C. Bradshaw, Stanley Adshead, Professor C.H. Reilly, Gordon Stephenson and G.A. Holmes.

Sculpture

The collection comprises monumental, architectural, public and small sculptures.

The most important public sculptures are by George Frampton, Elisabeth Frink, Alfred Gilbert, C.J. Allen, Eric Kennington, Dame Barbara Hepworth, Philip King, Hubert Dalwood, Mitzi Cunliffe and John McCarthy.

Elements from a small but significant collection of small free-standing sculpture are displayed in the Victoria Gallery & Museum and include works by Herbert Tyson Smith, Jacob Epstein and Elisabeth Frink.

Prints

This is the largest holding in the University art collections and comprises some 1950 items. Within this total the collection divides equally between modern and pre-twentieth century prints.

The prints held in the art collections are complemented by a fine collection of rare, printed books held in Special Collections & Archives.

The collection of prints up to 1900 contains a wide selection of material. There are early examples of etchings of W. Hollar and Peter Burdett, engravings by G. Vertue, R. Morghen, J. Houbraken, F. Bartolozzi and J. Boydell, rare early woodcuts by John Baptist Jackson, fine mezzotints by David Lucas, W, Dickson and T. Watson and a good selection of etchings by James Hamilton Hay.

Early chromolithography is exemplified in the high-quality Arundel prints after Italian old master frescoes (published by the Arundel Society for Promoting the knowledge of Art 1848-97).

A handful of outstanding artist printmakers are represented, Piranesi, Alphonse Legros, James McNeil Whistler and Rembrandt.

The twentieth century collection of prints are largely post-war and includes work by a wide range of distinguished artists: Kenneth Armitage, Gillian Ayres, Peter Blake, Derek Boshier, Patrick Caulfield, Lynn Chadwick, Cecil Collins, Robyn Denny, Elizabeth Frink, Terry Frost, Anthony Gross, Patrick Heron, David Hockney, Howard Hodgkin, Gordon House, John Hoyland, Allen Jones, R.B. Kitaj, Le Corbusier, Marino Marini, Ben Nicholson, Victor Passmore, John Piper, Richard Smith, Graham Sutherland, Jo Tilson, William Turnbull, G.H. Wedgwood.

Ceramics

The ceramics collection consists mainly of the Sir Sydney Jones’ collection of early English porcelain with supporting material from Europe and the Far East. This latter group includes an important and representative selection of eighteenth century Chinese armorial tableware. The development of hard and soft paste porcelain is represented by examples from most of the English manufacturers: Bow, Chelsea, Derby, Worcester, Bristol, New Hall, Caughley, Nantgarw, Plymouth, Pinxton, Coalport, Lowestoft, Davenport, Spode, Swansea and Rockingham.

Some of the strengths of the collection are: ‘Mercury’ c.1760; a fine selection of Derby biscuit figures c.1795; a range of gilded and enamelled high foot Derby urns and vases illustrating the influence of Sèvres porcelain; hand-painted blue Worcester ware with butterfly and bird designs; and some unusually fine examples of Spode Japan patterns c.1815.

The collection also contains a large group of early Wedgwood Jasper ware urns and an example of the Portland (or Barberini) vase.

Glass Collection

The glass collection consists of a small collection of domestic items from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries given to the University by Sir Sydney Jones. This was augmented by the Horsfall bequest of approximately fifty items of mainly nineteenth century cut glass.

Garstang Museum of Archaeology Collections

The various collections that are now curated in the Garstang Museum are derived from the following sources:

• Material deposited by Institute staff because of their fieldwork, principally that of Garstang and including some of his pre-1904 Institute work, for example that undertaken on behalf of Flinders Petrie’s Egypt Research Account and his own other non-affiliated work and deposited mainly up to the time of the Second World War.

• Material donated by the ‘benefactors’ and ‘shareholders’ on the various Institute excavation committees.

• Non-Institute fieldwork material donated by others or else received because the University, Institute or School had funded the work that generated it.

• Material, either originals or copies, purchased by the Institute or on its behalf by its staff and benefactors.

The Garstang Museum consists of two overlapping collections: its various collections of objects derived from archaeology fieldwork; and the paper and photographic archive which in the main relates to much of that fieldwork. There is also an extensive archive of material pertinent to the origins and history of the Institute of Archaeology. The paper archive includes an extensive set of documents and illustrations including field notebooks, correspondence and drawings which comprise the primary records of the archaeological excavations from which the bulk of the Museum’s objects derive. This archive is an important research resource in its own right. The Museum also holds some 10,000+ plate-glass negatives related mainly to excavations in Egypt and the Middle East by John Garstang between c.1900 and 1940. In addition to this there are c.3500 Velox safety films, mainly of Winifred Blackman’s work in Egypt in the 1920s and 1930s.

Egypt and Nubian Sites

The greater part of the Egyptian collections comes from the excavations of John Garstang, and those of Sir Robert Mond conducted in the name of the former Liverpool Institute of Archaeology. The principal sites excavated by Garstang, which have contributed significantly to the Garstang Museum’s holdings are Abydos, Beni Hasan, Hierakonpolis, Naqada, Esna and Meroë (Sudan). The collections have been subsequently enhanced by a number of gifts, most notably of the Grant (Bey) material, the James Smith Collection (acquired in 1927 and consisting of material from Garstang excavations) and of material from the excavations of the Egypt Exploration Society.

The Egyptian and Sudanese material comprises over 10,000 objects/object groups.

Also held in the Garstang Museum is over 10,000 photographic negatives and prints relating to John Garstang and Aylward Blackman’s excavations in Egypt and Sudan.

Near Eastern Sites (The Levant and Anatolia)

There are a significant number of objects from Garstang’s work at Jericho in the 1930s and from the excavations conducted by Kathleen Kenyon on behalf of the British School of Archaeology at Jerusalem and with the support of the University. An important group of Near Eastern seals was donated by R.W. Hutchinson (1894-1970, Lecturer in Classical Archaeology at the University from 1948).

The Near Eastern Collection numbers 700 objects/object groups.

Also held in the Garstang Museum is over 850 photographic negatives and prints relating to John Garstang excavations in the Levant and Anatolia.

Classical and Other Mediterranean Material

The classical material consists of mainly pot sherds along with lead votive objects, clay sculpture, glass and stelae plus some casts which were purchased in the years before the First World War.

Most of this material consists of gifts of (parts of the) personal collections of the professors R.C. Bosanquet (1871-1935) and J. Droop (1882-1963), successively the Institute’s Professors of Classical Archaeology (1906-1920 and 1921-1948) and of Mr RW Hutchinson. Bosanquet’s and especially Hutchinson’s collections form the core of the Aegean antiquities.

The Classical and Mediterranean collection numbers 1000 objects/object groups.

Prehistoric and Roman Sites in Britain

At various times the Institute and later on the University have been involved in fieldwork in the United Kingdom. The Garstang Museum therefore holds small collections of material related to prehistoric and Roman sites from Britain. This is in addition to objects obtained as purchases or gifts from other non-Liverpool affiliated projects.

The Prehistoric collection numbers 660 objects/object groups, while the Roman Britain collection is not fully catalogued.

Ethnographic Material

Winifred Blackman (1872-1950) undertook in the 1920s and 1930s research into Egyptian peasant society. Held in the Garstang Museum is over 3,500 of her photographic negatives and prints and a large quantity of her correspondence, objects and notebooks relating to her travels, Egyptian folklore, magic and charms as well as catalogues of tattoo designs.

The Ethnographic collection numbers over 3,700 objects/object groups.

Coin Collection

The Institute of Archaeology’s original Department of Numismatics was created in 1908 and remained active until 1935. The bulk of the collection was acquired up to this time and especially at the start of the Institute when several prominent members of Liverpool donated their private collections. The collection consists of mainly Celtic British, Greek, Hellenistic, Roman Republican and Imperial and Parthian/Sassanian.

The collection numbers around 1500 coins.

Museum Heritage Collections

The Museum Heritage Collections mostly consist of material which reflects the teaching and research of the University. This has happened in two ways:

1. Items acquired for teaching, for example skeletal material and models used historically in the teaching of subjects such as medicine, physics, veterinary science, dentistry and comparative anatomy.

2. Items generated by research within the University, for example cathode tubes used by Oliver Lodge in research on x-rays and James Chadwick’s Geiger counter given to him by Geiger.

In all areas, there is an interest in collecting material that not only relates to the history of teaching methods used or research undertaken in the past, but also contemporary items such as samples of phage used in research into the potential development of new antibiotics. As research continually develops it is anticipated that more contemporary material will be acquired.

Anaesthesia

A comprehensive collection of around 800 items of historical equipment, begun by Professor T.C. Gray in the 1960s. Of particular note are the samples of Curare, used by Professor Gray in his research which created the foundation of modern anaesthesia, and the Minnitt apparatus, which was used in Liverpool to deliver gas and air in childbirth for the first time in 1933.

Anatomy

The collection consists of 98 large-scale anatomical illustrations (drawings and watercolours) made for teaching purposes and a collection of teaching models, some of which are of exceptional quality, such as a series of wax babies in difficult birth presentations. Several of the models pre-date the University and were originally part of the teaching collection at the Liverpool Royal Institution. These models were transferred to the University’s Medical Museum when the Institution closed in 1948.

Antique Furniture

The furniture collection has been the subject of a disposal project in recent years. This is because much of the collection was utilitarian or domestic in nature and had been accessioned into the collection in error. The remaining collection is smaller but consists of high-quality items from named donors such as Sir Charles Sydney Jones and Mrs Horsfall.

Biological Sciences

The majority of this collection is part of the original late 19th century Natural History collection, which was established as a teaching collection by Professors William Abbott Herdman and Andrew Melville Paterson. The collections cover the research interests of both professors: zoology, oceanography and geology from Herdman and human and comparative anatomy from Paterson. The collection numbers approximately 1000 items, including early specimens collected by Herdman and samples from the Challenger Expedition.

Calculators and computing

The calculators and computing objects originate from several scientific departments. They number around 100 items from the early to late twentieth century, including a 1962 memory core, which has a 16kb capacity, yet is almost the size of a breeze block.

Chemistry

123 items, mainly equipment used in teaching and research in the first half of the twentieth century.

Civic Design

This collection consists of around 20 models of University of Liverpool buildings.

Dentistry

This is an internationally important collection of around 10,000 items relating to dental history. The Dental Museum was begun by staff and students of the school in 1880 as a teaching resource and expanded during the inter-war years. Elements of particular note include a collection of dentist’s chairs, collections reflecting early research in maxillofacial surgery and the treatment of cleft palate, an entire dental surgery from around 1920 and an important collection of Waterloo teeth.

Engineering

This collection includes several objects connected to the research of Professor Hele-Shaw. There is also a collection of small models of different types of engines (some of which are functioning) and some unusual large-scale engines, including a plane rotary engine and the propulsion unit from a guided missile.

Geography

This collection consists of several maps, some surveying equipment and collections of slides.

Geology

This collection comprises many thousands of items, most are effectively a handling/teaching collection used in the department. There is a core of important specimens such as the type specimen of Beasley’s type D2 Rhynchosaurides rectipes.

Medals

The medal collection largely comprises awards to senior members of University staff, which are of historical rather than artistic interest. However, a number of significant local artists were given important commissions, which are represented in the collection: C.J. Allen, Herbert Tyson-Smith and Edward Carter Preston.

Metalwork

A collection of fine examples of British silver and silver plate from the early seventeenth century to the present. The majority of items are primarily of historical interest as they are commemorative items associated with senior members of the University, but there are also a significant number of fine quality examples of the silversmith’s art. Amongst them are two marrow spoons c.1690, a bleeding bowl of 1694, an elegant helmet-shaped creamer of 1781 (London), two high-foot vase-shaped ewers c.1790 (London), a cup and cover by Anthony Nelme 1716, several baluster tankards c.1760, a punch ladle 1746 (London) and a two-foot high candelabra epergne made by Edward Barnard & Sons in 1836 and presented to the University by William Rathbone to celebrate its centenary.

Obstetrics and Gynaecology

This collection contains approximately 330 objects and over 50 books including several important antiquarian volumes. Items of note include a large collection of forceps, some of which are very early in date, and the wax models of babies in difficult presentations that were used in teaching.

Physics

This collection is of importance due to the links to Sir Oliver Lodge, Sir James Chadwick and C.G. Barkla and the pioneering work on atomic research undertaken at the University in the twentieth century. It numbers around 500 items including a protype Gieger counter given to Professor Chadwick by Geiger, handwritten notebooks from Los Alamos, Oliver Lodge’s gas lighter, which were used in his radio experiments, and an extensive collection of experimental and demonstration glass tubes.

Scientific and Medical Equipment Collection

A collection of approximately 700 items, which was assembled in the late 1980s following an appeal to departments for material. The items relate to the work of the University departments from the creation of the University in 1881.

Textiles

The textile collection comprises 20 items and includes tapestries and wall-hangings as well as clothing related to the history of the University.

Veterinary Sciences

The veterinary collection includes key material, including the skeleton of the racehorse Manifesto (two-time Grand National winner) and a demountable plaster model of a horse by Maison Deyrolle. A collection of around 300 items used for teaching purposes is held in the faculty.

X-rays

An important collection of early x-rays dating from 1896 onwards recording the pioneering work of Charles Thurston Holland, together with research notebooks.

Special Collections & Archives (SCA)

University Archive

The archives include formal records of University boards and committees; selective administrative records; personal papers of former staff and students; and photographs and objects relating to the history and function of the University since its formation in 1881.

The archive includes the papers of internationally important architects and town planners Baron William Graham Holford and Gordon Stephenson; renowned physicist Sir Oliver Lodge; and influential literary scholars Kenneth and Mariam Allott. The archives also house extensive material relating to student life and activities.

Material is regularly transferred to the archive from the University Records Centre, according to the Records Retention Schedule agreed by the University Archivist and the University Records Manager. Some material is transferred directly from departments to the archive as agreed in the Retention Schedule. Material acquired into the collection are in a variety of formats, including digital.

Archives and Manuscripts

Collection strengths include:

• A fine collection of Medieval and Renaissance manuscripts, including literary, liturgical and legal texts, and portolan charts, many retaining their contemporary bindings and are extensively decorated.

• Family and estate collections including the Rathbone family of Liverpool (1721-1991), deeds of the Norris family of Speke Hall (c.1220 – 1637) and of the Aston family of Cheshire (16th to the 19th centuries).

• Records of local, educational and cultural societies including the papers of the Liverpool Royal Institution (1813 – 1942), the Liverpool Philomathic Society (1825 – 1929) and the Gypsy Lore Society (1896 – 1974).

• Literary papers ranging from a Medieval English manuscript of Piers Plowman to acquisitions of twentieth century writers, most notably the Liverpool Poets Roger McGough, Brian Patten and Adrian Henri.

Other major collections are the collected papers of the Rt Hon the Lord Owen, former Foreign Secretary, founded of the SDP and Chancellor of the University of Liverpool; and the Cunard Archive, which contains most of the surviving business records produced by the Cunard shipping company since 1878. Material acquired into the collection are in a variety of formats, including digital.

Special Collections

The book collections contain around 70,000 volumes in the full range of classical and European languages taught by the University and include many of the landmark texts in Classical and English literature, history, architecture, medicine, science and travel. There are more than 270 incunables, nearly 400 works printed between 1501 and 1539 and more than 20,000 pre-1801 English books including nearly 900 later sixteenth century works, around 5,500 seventeenth century and around 14,500 eighteenth century. The collections are strong in limited editions and private press books (1880s to 1950s) with many examples of Liverpool printers and authors. Since the transfer of the former Education Library in 1998, children’s literature has been a major strength of the collections. They also incorporate the former libraries of historic Liverpool learned societies, notably the Liverpool Royal Institution, and the earliest and most valuable parts of the University’s former departmental libraries. More modern items include the books acquired alongside archival collections, notably the Liverpool Poets and Cunard Archives.

Science Fiction Collections

The science fiction collections held by SCA comprise Europe’s largest catalogued collection of science fiction material. The most significant part of the collection is that belonging to the Science Fiction Foundation. In addition to the Foundation’s collection, there is a small collection of science fiction archives owned by the University of Liverpool. These include the Olaf Stapledon, John Wyndham, Eric Frank Russell and Brian Aldiss archives, and the research materials of Professor I.F. Clarke. SCA has recently acquired the libraries of Brian Aldiss and Arthur C. Clarke, which contain both printed and archival items. Material acquired into the Sci Fi collections are in a variety of formats, including digital.

Institute of Popular Music Archive

The Institute of Popular Music Archive is a large, unique and wide-ranging collection of sound and video recordings, photographs, music magazines and the personal archives of music writers and industry professionals. Together, they chart the history of 20th century popular music.

Deposited by many people over several decades, the archive contains irreplaceable recordings in a range of formats including shellac discs, rare forms of vinyl, metal master discs, reel-to-reel, cartridge and cassette tapes and digital media; as well as manuscripts and typescripts of journalism, personal papers, letters and collection catalogues; other works of authorship and musical composition; TV, radio and theatre scripts; interview transcripts with headline music personalities; popular music research files; and music industry contracts.

Highlights of the collection include:

• The collection of the British journalist Karl Dallas, comprising writings, recordings and images charting the development of popular music during the mid-to-late 20th century.

• The papers of the American journalist and critic Robert Shelton, who discovered Bob Dylan.

• The Sylvia Patterson jazz collection.

• Robert Pring-Mill’s collection of field recordings and other materials related to Latin American political song.

• Local radio station recorded music collections, including those from Radio City and BBC Radio Merseyside.

• David Friedman’s extensive and well-ordered personal recording collections.

• The Clough-Critchley bootleg recording collection of mid-20th century jazz music.

• Photographic collections of 20th century music personalities.

• Extensive collections of music journals, newspapers (including NME, Melody Maker and Sounds), fanzines and complementary reference books.

The archive has been developed by the University’s Institute of Popular Music, which was founded in 1988 as the first academic centre in the world created specifically for the study of popular music.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2024

Licence: CC BY-NC

The University Heritage Collections are the art and historic artefact collections that represent the institutional, disciplinary, social and cultural history of the University and its predecessor institutions.

The University of Manchester, which celebrates its bicentenary in 2024, holds a significant place in history and it is our responsibility to preserve our unique material heritage for current and future generations. The University Heritage Collections enable us to tell stories of our people, places, values and achievements, fostering knowledge exchange with communities both within and beyond our campus.

The majority of our objects are embedded across our physical and digital environment, with some objects held in a secure central store. Together, this tangible heritage helps underpin the distinctive University of Manchester identity, community and learning experience.

Physical collections

• The collections are diverse and include:
• Paintings and sculpture, including a large amount of portraiture of key figures;
• The University’s historic public realm artworks;
• Ceremonial and decorative objects related to the University, including silverware and gowns;
• Scientific instruments and apparatus, including the Museum of Medicine and Health;
• Clothing, such as historic University blazers, sports kit and medals;
• Photographs documenting life and work at the University.

Digital collections

Library Digital Collections https://luna.manchester.ac.uk/luna/servlet/Manchester~14~14

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2024

Licence: CC BY-NC

The University Collections have been forming since the foundation of the University in 1413, and now constitute an extensive record of the institution’s history and its teaching and research activity. In many instances, the collections are also representative of the social, cultural, intellectual, scientific or political development of Scotland, and of connections between St Andrews, Scotland and the wider world.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC

Museum Collections

The Museum Collections encompass approximately 115,000 items in the fields of Anatomy and Pathology, Chemistry, Geology, Historic Scientific Instruments, Psychology, Zoology, Ethnographic and Amerindian material and the Heritage Collections (fine art, silver, textiles and furniture, archaeology, numismatics). The Heritage, Chemistry and Scientific Instrument Collections are Recognised Collections of National Significance under the scheme administered by Museums Galleries Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government.

Archival Collections

The archival collections comprise the University’s institutional records (sometimes called the muniments) and the manuscripts. The earliest muniments date from the early 13th century, before the foundation of the University in the early 15th century. They include a huge range of material, including title deeds on vellum, minutes, accounts, matriculation and graduation records and lists of students, maps and plans, photographs, administrative files and correspondence. The most recent muniments were created and are managed digitally. The University’s collection of manuscripts ranges in date and subject from Greek papyri and medieval philosophical treatises to modern business papers. The Collection is particularly strong in material relating to the North-East Fife, including estate, architectural and business records as local church and burgh records. They form the primary resource for research into individuals or studies connected with the University, and the history of science, literature and theology. There is a small, but high-quality, collection of non-European material in a variety of languages.

Photographic Collections

The Photographic Collection numbers nearly two million images which exist in a wide variety of formats: negatives, slides, prints, postcards, albums and born digital image files; and cover a wide variety of subject areas from social documentary to travel and exploration. Collections date from the earliest days of photographic experimentation in the 1840s, through to contemporary acquisitions, and include several notable photographers and photographic firms. As such they form a nationally and internationally significant account of the history of photography, and the important role of St Andrews and Scotland as a major hub for photographic activity.

Rare Book Collections

The Rare Book collection contains approximately 210,000 volumes. From 1710 to 1837, the Library was entitled to a copy of every book printed in Britain under the Copyright Deposit Act, as a result of which it is particularly strong in 18th century material, with a special emphasis on books relating to the Scottish Enlightenment. The main subject areas of the collections are theology, classics, history, English and Scottish literature, philosophy, science and medicine. There are about 180 incunabula, 5,000 16th century books, 7,000 17th century books, as well as a substantial general collection of 18th and 19th century items. The collection is also constituted of a number of personal and named collections which the University has received as donations.

Source: Collection development policy

Date: 2022

Licence: CC BY-NC