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The Boulton & Watt Collection contains numerous drawings of engines including that supplied to White Gritt, Shropshire which fired local industry. Ref - MS 3147/5/553 #LibraryofBham
Drawing of a single acting engine with a 30-inch cylinder, an 8 foot stroke and a chain connection. The words White Gritt Engine April 1783 in the top left of the diagram.
November 11, 2026 at 9:01 AM
theironroom.bsky.social
#MapOnATuesday is the City of Birmingham inner ring road scheme in a booklet dated 1965. The scheme ran in stages between 1957 and 1971. Ref - L 47.13 #LibraryofBham
A map of Birmingham city centre. Title is City of Birmingham Inner Ring Road Scheme. Orientation of the ring road across the city centre highlighted in bold lines, chiefly in the centre of the map. A scale at the bottom of the map.
November 10, 2026 at 7:00 AM
theironroom.bsky.social
Join us for the launch of Stories to Remember: working class tales from Key Hill’s mass graves. Come and hear more about the project and the stories created in the anthology: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/stories-to... #LibraryofBham
A photograph of a headstone. Bare trees above the headstone which has a triangular head. A medallion insert reading – In Loving Memory of. A list of names of the occupants below this.
November 9, 2026 at 8:15 PM
theironroom.bsky.social
To commemorate Remembrance Sunday, here’s the front page of the Birmingham Book of Remembrance, 1914 – 1918. Ref - L 75.9. The original is held at Birmingham Hall Of Memory #LibraryofBham @britwarmemorial.bsky.social
Laurel garland with the handle and tip of a sword running through it. Legend below the garland reads - For King & Country. Text in the centre of the garland reads - The Roll of Honour of Birmingham Men Who Gave Their Lives in The Great War. On one side of this text is date 1914 and directly opposite 1918. Lettering and decoration in gold.
November 8, 2026 at 7:15 AM
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#SundayShowcase today is This Way Up - When Maps Go Wrong by The Map Men who selected what they believe to be some of the best wrong maps. Some centuries old and others very recent. Intrigued? I knew you would be. Ref: 912 Map Area #LibraryofBham @markcooperjones.bsky.social @jayforeman.bsky.social
Two copies of a book on a box - front covers facing on. Title of the book is This Way Up. Illustrations of two globes facing each other on the front cover. Large arrow pointing at a land mass at the top of the globes. An office space behind the books, consisting of desks and two doors leading to other rooms.
November 8, 2026 at 2:02 PM
theironroom.bsky.social
#PhotoFriday is Dogpool Lane, Stirchley photographed on 19 May 1934. Debate around how the lane acquired its name – from reference to a neighbouring pool to Dogge Lane, a Tudor trackway. Ref – WK/S4/189 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic
A street scene - a car in the bottom left of the picture in front of properties – one of which is the Liverpool Victoria Assurance office. A telephone box further down the street past the buildings. Hording on the opposite side of the road. People in the mid background either walking or on bicycles. Rows of housing in the far background of the photograph.
November 6, 2026 at 8:15 AM
theironroom.bsky.social
#CityOf1000Trades is Stanley Croft Ltd whose Head Office was at the corner of 48/49 Lancaster St and Cornwall Street. Makers of amongst many things - machine tools, lathes and drilling machines. Ref – Bham Trade Catalogue Collection #LibraryofBham
A page from a book. A photograph of a factory in the centre of the page on a street corner. Facia at the top of the building reads – S Croft City Machinery Stores. Cars and pedestrians outside of the factory. Text in the border around the page identifying the Stanley Croft Transmission Line and the premises being their main distribution store.
November 7, 2026 at 10:01 AM
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#Rubgy check out our new display highlighting the history of rugby in Birmingham if you’re passing by Level 4. Ref - LS/Sport/389 #LibraryofBham
A line drawing of a rugby player in movement with a ball held in his arm. Words in the top left read - Midland Counties and below this, the cost of the booklet. Words in the bottom right read - Rugby Football Handbook 1969 - 1970.
November 9, 2026 at 4:02 PM
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#BhamWomen today is Marjorie Brown - Birmingham’s first lady mayor in 1974. Marjorie was a Labour councillor for Small Heath ward from 1954. Ref - Birmingham Portraits Collection #LibraryofBham
A female figure sat in a chair in full mayoral regalia - gown, chain of office and hat. She is looking directly at the camera. She is sat in an office with a wooden desk to the left with two plant pots nearby. A framed photograph of the Duke of Edinburgh behind her. Flock wallpaper on the wall and plush carpeting.
November 5, 2026 at 9:02 AM
theironroom.bsky.social
#BirminghamPanoramic today is the Birmingham Gazette and Express Birds Eye View map of the City of Birmingham, 1904. Edgbaston Reservoir tucked in there in the bottom left. Ref - MS 619/35 #LibraryofBham
Text at the top of the image reads - Birds Eye View Map of the City of Birmingham. Below this a map of the centre of Birmingham. Many inter crossing roads and streets. Legend at the bottom of the map reads - The City of Birmingham Sketched 1904.
November 3, 2026 at 7:00 AM
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#BCFC: 2026 marks the 120th anniversary of the opening of the new football ground at St. Andrews in December 1906. The opening was set for Boxing Day 1906 with St. Andrew’s built from scratch in just over 10 months. Ref - LP 25.14 #LibraryofBham @birminghamcity.bsky.social
Front cover of a souvenir brochure. Photograph of a male figure in the top left of the cover – Mr W Adams. Text on the right reads – Birmingham Football Club Limited. Below this are words identifying this brochure is celebrating the opening of the new ground at St. Andrews on 26 December 1906. Photograph in the bottom right corner of another male figure - Mr W W Hart.
November 4, 2026 at 10:15 AM
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The Tree of Life memorial, which honours the 2,241 civilians who died during the Birmingham Blitz, has been installed in its new permanent home beside St Martin's Church #LibraryofBham
A photograph of a public memorial on a plinth. The sculpture takes the form of two hands emanating from a block of metal reaching upward clasping a circular object. Names are etched onto the base of the sculpture. A church in the background of the photo with its clock face in the top right of the photo.
November 2, 2026 at 4:02 PM
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As King Edward’s School celebrates its 475th anniversary - our Conservator, Lucy Angus and Arthur Green, Conservator & bookbinder look back at their involvement in conserving the school charter: theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/11/02/k... #LibraryofBham #kesbham
A framed charter written in Latin. A line drawing of what appears to be a regal figure in the top left of the charter - this has not been illuminated. A heading in Latin next to this which begins with the word Edwardus. Text below again in Latin outlining the setting up of the school - location and funds. Marginalia in the bottom right of the image just below the text.
November 2, 2026 at 8:15 PM
theironroom.bsky.social
#SundayShowcase today takes us beyond of our geographical borders. The Unofficial Wolverhampton by Lee Brickley. ‘A city that has spent centuries making history and surprisingly little time telling anyone about it’. Ref: L 96 WOL #LibraryofBham #WolvesLibraries #LeeBrickleyAuthor
A book on a box. Front cover of the book facing on to the camera. Title is The Unofficial Wolverhampton. Below this, graphics of a city skyline including a mounted figure on a horse on the left of the graphic. Below this, the subtitle - An A - Z of People, Machines, Music and Trouble. Author’s name at the bottom of the front cover. An office behind the book consisting of desks and two doors leading to other rooms.
November 1, 2026 at 11:15 AM
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#CityOf1000Trades Mackie & Gladstone, a wholesale wine, spirit and ale merchant flourishing in the 19th - 20th centuries. They had an address at 89 – 91, Dale End. Mackie & Gladstone were also owners of a private bank in Carlisle. Ref: Trade Catalogue Collection #LibraryofBham
Front cover of a trade catalogue. Words at the top read – Wine List. Beneath this is an illustrative inlay of a building in a basic Georgian style. A basic line illustration of a bunch of grapes dripping from the bottom left of the illustrative inlay. The words Mackie & Gladstone Ltd., Wine and Spirit Merchants beneath this. Birmingham address of the business below this.
October 31, 2026 at 10:01 AM
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#PhotoFriday today is this 1933 photograph of the Moor Green allotments. An allotment site since at least the interwar years and nominated in a scheme to help 1000 unemployed men learn cultivation skills in 1932. Ref – WK/M6/46 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic
A photograph of an allotment. A large pool in the foreground with vegetation around it. A circle of stones on the far left of the photo demarcating an area of cultivation. A shed behind this in the far left of the photo with a tree behind it. A row of stones in the top right of the photograph. A considerably raised area behind this with a house on top of the raised point.
October 30, 2026 at 8:15 AM
theironroom.bsky.social
#BhamWomen today is Ellen Pinsent (1866 – 1946), the first woman elected to Birmingham City Council representing Edgbaston ward between 1911 – 1913. Ellen also served as Secretary of the Harborne branch of the NSPCC. Ref – City Councillors Photo album, LF 79, vol 7, no. 28 #LibraryofBham
A photographic portrait of a female figure. She is wearing a large brimmed hat with a flower design on it. Her clothing consists of a shirt with collars and what appears to be a tie. She is dressed in a heavy winter coat with a large fur collar.
October 29, 2026 at 10:01 AM
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#BHM2026 Smethwick-integration or racialism? Published by the Co-Ordinating Committee Against Racial Discrimination (1965). CCARD was set up in 1961 by Jagmohan Joshi and Maurice Ludmer, a sports journalist - founding editor of the anti-racist magazine Searchlight. LP 21.85 (Box 2) #LibraryofBham
Front cover of a pamphlet. Title is Smethwick – Integration or Racialism? Text at the bottom reads A CCARD Publication on the left and the word Price on the right.
October 28, 2026 at 9:15 AM
theironroom.bsky.social
#MapOnATuesday is this Goad Fire Insurance map of Bull Street dated October 1889. Originally produced by the firm of Charles E. Goad Ltd. to aid companies in assessing fire insurance premiums. Ref – Map cabinet 1/3, HRA Map Area #LibraryofBham
A map - a series of named streets and roads in Birmingham city centre. Title in the top right - Birmingham Oct 1889. An architectural diagram of the Grand Theatre below this and a compass below that. Properties on the street are generally named and have house numbers. Some colour shading at certain parts of the map.
October 27, 2026 at 7:00 AM
theironroom.bsky.social
#Birmingham The Malt Shovel Inn from a sketch made in 1869. The pub was located on Smallbrook Street, near to the junction with Suffolk Street. Recorded in directories from the mid – 19th century, the inn disappeared during the post -war redevelopment of the area. Ref – WK/B11/3486 #LibraryofBham
An illustration of a multi storey building with numerous windows and the facia of the Malt Shovel Inn between the top and middle tier of windows above the entrance. A second property on the left with the sign Wine & Spirit Vault above the entrance. People walking by on the pavement. A cart in the street in the mid – bottom of the illustration with figures unloading a barrel.
October 26, 2026 at 8:15 PM
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#BHM2026 In 1895, three representatives of Bechuanaland (now Botswana) visited British cities including Birmingham to enlist support for their campaign to protect their lands from colonial expansion. Ref - Illustrated London News, 21 Sep. 1895. Ref - BF 072 #LibraryofBham @blackhistorymonth.org.uk
A group portrait of four male figures. The two in the foreground are seated and the two behind standing. Their attire is the traditional frock coat and suit of the late nineteenth century. The décor in the background is also of the period. The two seated figures and the figure standing on the left are of African heritage. The figure standing on the right is Caucasian. He is wearing spectacles.
October 26, 2026 at 4:01 PM
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#SundayShowcase is A History of Parish Registers in England & Wales by John Wintrip. A comprehensive survey of the history of parish registers from 1660 - 1837. A detailed account on the changes in format and content of parish registers. Ref – 929.342 #LibraryofBham @boydellandbrewer.bsky.social
Two books stood on a box. Title of the book is a History of Parish Registers in England & Wales : From the Restoration to Registration. Author’s name – John Wintrip beneath this. Below is a photograph of a church. Office scene behind the book - comprising of a desk and shelving behind it. A window in the far right of the photo.
October 25, 2026 at 11:15 AM
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#CityOf1000Trades Chance Brothers glassworks were based in Smethwick but members of the family owned factories in Birmingham. This plate for a staircase window is in a 1867 catalogue. Ref – Birmingham trade catalogue collection #LibraryofBham #sandwelllibs #SandwellArchive
A coloured plate - an arts & crafts frame around the plate. Text at the top of the plate reads - staircase window. Text at the bottom reads Chance Brothers, 1867. An ornate design chiefly consisting of images of flora and fauna. A rhombus in the centre of the illustration. Inside the shape is a relief of a female figure, possibly a mythical deity. She is holding a long garland in her left hand and has another in her lap. A large billowy cape is across her shoulders.
October 24, 2026 at 9:01 AM
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#OperaConnects Today is World Opera Day which celebrates the power of opera to create connections on a personal and global footing. Here are two examples of performances in Birmingham. Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (LB 38.01) and Paul Robeson (LP 22.41) #LibraryofBham
The front cover of a programme for a concert performance by Elisabeth Schwarzkopf at Birmingham Town Hall on 13 October 1975 at 7.30 pm. Photograph of the opera singer at the top of the programme and details of the performance below this. The front cover of a programme for a performance by Paul Robeson at Birmingham Town Hall on Saturday 21st May 1949. Below this is a photographic portrait of Paul Robeson. Beneath this is biographical detail about Paul Robeson. The price of the programme is at the bottom.
October 25, 2026 at 8:15 PM
theironroom.bsky.social
#PhotoFriday today is the Big Top fair and circus which pitched up on a bombsite on the corner between the High Street and New Street. The fair was held from the 1940s. Ref - WK/B11/7755. Do you have any memories? Share them with us, in the comments #LibraryofBham #Brumpic
An aerial photograph looking down at the tops of several tents. One larger tent is in the top centre and another on the left of the photograph. Four smaller tents are on the right of the photo. The tops of a row of stalls are in the foreground of the photograph. Figures can be seen at different points in between the tents and stalls.
October 23, 2026 at 7:15 AM