1405, 2018

A Russian’s view of China, 1861-1864

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|14th May 2018|Collections & Research|0 comments

Continuing our theme of historical photographs of China in the archive collections held by SOAS Library, this week’s blog looks at an interesting set of photographs taken by a Russian photographer in Beijing in the years 1861-1864, found in the London Missionary Society archive. The photographer is unidentified, but the collection intriguingly includes his self-portrait. The set of 37 sepia prints dating from c.1861-1864, includes a number of striking individual and group portraits

2212, 2017

Season’s Greetings from SOAS Archives and Special Collections!

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|22nd December 2017|Collections & Research|0 comments

As we wind up for the winter holidays and bid farewell to 2017, it seems every archivist here at SOAS Archives and Special Collections has a festive archive anecdote to share, so we thought we would collate our favourites into a short seasonal Blog post! SOAS Archives and Special collections, broadly speaking, documents the British interaction with Africa, Asia and the Middle East over the past two centuries. The collections

0307, 2017

Miniature Portraits in the London Missionary Society Archive

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|3rd July 2017|Behind the scenes, Collections & Research|0 comments

This week’s blog looks more closely at a fascinating collection of miniature portraits found in the archive of the London Missionary Society, which are currently undergoing conservation treatment to ensure their long-term preservation. The archive of the London Missionary Society is rich in visual materials, including photographs, drawings, paintings and engravings. Amongst this material is a unique collection of 165 miniatures dating from around 1798 to 1844, primarily watercolour on

0603, 2017

Archives of the Council for World Mission

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|6th March 2017|Collections & Research|0 comments

Since the early 1970s, SOAS Library has been custodian of the archive collections of the Council for World Mission. Comprising the records of the Council’s predecessor bodies – the London Missionary Society (1795-1966), the Commonwealth (formerly Colonial) Missionary Society (1836-1966) and the English Presbyterian Mission (1843-1972) – these archives are a unique historical resource for the study of Christian mission over the last 200 years, and are used by academic

1910, 2016

Black History Month 2016: Seretse Khama

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|19th October 2016|Collections & Research|0 comments

As SOAS marks Black History Month we continue to hi-light historical collections held by SOAS Archives, which reveal the long-standing Black presence in the UK, as well as the contributions and achievements of Black peoples in local, national and international arenas. This week we look at papers in the archives relating to Seretse Khama (1921-1980), the first President of Botswana, who spent some of his early life in Britain. He is also the subject of a

1510, 2015

Black History Month 2015: Malagasy art in the archives

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|15th October 2015|Collections & Research|4 comments

To mark Black History Month 2015, this week’s blog highlights the presence of art works by two renowned Malagasy artists, Emile Ralambo and James Rainimaharosoa, in the collections at SOAS Archives, and reflects more broadly on the strength of the Madagascar collections at SOAS, which have attracted the interest of academic researchers from around the world and also the Malagasy community within Britain, through our contact with the Anglo-Malagasy Society.

0108, 2014

The Man Who Wouldn’t Run on a Sunday: Eric Liddell in the SOAS Archives

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|1st August 2014|Collections & Research|

As Scotland prepares for the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games 2014, our blog this week looks back on a famous Scottish sporting hero who appears in the SOAS Archive collections. Eric Liddell achieved fame as an Olympic athlete whose life is chronicled in the 1981 film, Chariots of Fire. Born in Tientsin [Tianjin], China, 16 January 1902, to Scottish missionary parents, he was educated at the London Missionary Society

2305, 2014

The Life and Afterlife of David Livingstone: ‘Afterlife’

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|23rd May 2014|Collections & Research|0 comments

The Life and Afterlife of David Livingstone: exploring missionary archives has been running at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, over the past 6 months, and has just closed its doors to the public. This blog series highlights some of the fascinating stories and archives selected for the exhibition from the collections at SOAS Library. The history of how Livingstone’s life has been remembered and reinterpreted is a complex and changing one. Initially missionaries

1205, 2014

The Life and Afterlife of David Livingstone: The ‘Bombay Africans’

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|12th May 2014|Collections & Research|2 comments

The Life and Afterlife of David Livingstone: exploring missionary archives is running at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, until 17 May 2014. This blog series highlights some of the fascinating stories and archives selected for the exhibition from the collections at SOAS Library. As the British Navy began to crack down on the East Coast slave trade, they were faced with the question of what to do with the hundreds of young enslaved

0705, 2014

The Life and Afterlife of David Livingstone: Map-making

By Special Collections, SOAS Library|7th May 2014|Collections & Research|0 comments

The Life and Afterlife of David Livingstone: exploring missionary archives is running at the Brunei Gallery, SOAS, until 17 May 2014. This blog series highlights some of the fascinating stories and archives selected for the exhibition from the collections at SOAS Library. Livingstone’s maps, reports and published narratives of his travels gave the world their first view of the interior of south-central Africa and changed people’s perceptions of that continent. By looking