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In late 1937 in the borough of Croydon, South London, people began to fall ill with typhoid. Typhoid is a disease that is associated with contaminated water and outbreaks of the illness, at least in the United Kingdom, is something that we might associate today with the nineteenth century, before an age of improved sanitation and safe supplies of drinking water.And so, in this special blog, we will take a look at how the Croydon typhoid epidemic gradually unfolded, as…

In early May 1933 reports that some kind of monster had been spotted in Loch Ness, in the Scottish Highlands, near Inverness, reached the press. By the end of the year, national weekly publication The Sphere wrote:When the Loch Ness monster first came into the news many believed that the stories published in the Press were nothing more than mere sensationalism. To-day this theory does not hold good. People, whose judgement can be relied on, have seen the ‘monster,’ and…

This week at The Archive has been an extremely busy one as ever – we have added 199,897 brand new pages as we continue to augment our collection of newspapers from across the United Kingdom and Ireland. Over the past seven days alone we have added seven brand new titles, from Finchley to Liverpool, from Glasgow to Skegness, whilst we have updated nineteen of our existing titles, with significant additions to some of our Nottinghamshire titles.So read on to discover more…

This week at The Archive we are excited to bring you 95,362 brand new pages, which span over 200 years of headlines. Meanwhile, we have added five new titles, from Swanage to Sheffield, and South London, and we continue to tell the story of the British Empire, and the struggle for independence from the Empire, with the addition of India, the original organ of the Indian National Congress.So read on to discover more about our new titles of the week, as…

The popularity of walking or ‘hiking,’ as it is termed, is amazingly on the increase. ‘Sabbath day journeys’ are undertaken by the youth of both sexes, armed with knapsacks. Starting from Waterloo to the Surrey hills and commons, where they walk, either in clubs or in private companies, or alone, all day, to return by train at night.So relates The Sphere in the September of 1930 in an article entitled ‘Knapsackery on the Surrey Hills.’ Regarded as the ‘Phenomenon of…

We’re welcoming the New Year at the British Newspaper Archive with a swathe of brand new titles, eight in all, as the presses have continued to whirr over the Christmas period. Over the past fortnight we have added 180,462 brand new pages, with new titles spanning England, Scotland, Wales and beyond.So read on to find out about the 115 years’ worth of headlines we have added, as well as to discover which new titles have joined our Archive, and how the…

At the British Newspaper Archive, we have started to digitize international newspapers from the British Library.  These rich titles explore the story of the British Commonwealth, from the time when the sun didn’t set on the British Empire through to states gaining their independence.   At times, the subject of the newspapers brings us face to face with the stark and sometimes inhuman reality of colonialism and the legacy of the British Empire across the world.Below we will explore some…

This week at The Archive we have added nearly 180 years of historic headlines, with 167,302 brand new pages joining us, spanning the years 1820 all the way through to 1999. We have four very exciting new titles joining us this week too, with additions to our collection of international newspapers, as well as to our Irish and national holdings.Read on to discover more about our new titles, the updates we have made to our existing publications, as well as one of the…

‘Times have brightened,’ writes one 1938 beauty commentator in the Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette, as she reflects on how women of the past used to regard their faces.Do you remember how as a young girl, you looked at your face in the mirror and wished that you had a differently shaped mouth, not to mention nose, teeth, ears, and hair? You used to believe that the only thing to do with your face was to be resigned to…

In May 1844, the below advertisement appeared in the Cheltenham Chronicle:A Six Weeks Tour, by Steam, to Athens, Smyrna, and Constantinople, calling at Gibraltar and Malta – with the option of visiting, en route, Vigo, Oporto, Lisbon, and Gibraltar. The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company’s well-known splendid Steam Ship ‘Tagus,’ 900 tons and 300 horse power, will start from Blackwall on Thursday, 20th June, for the above ports.Time occupied in the Passage, out and home, about six weeks – very superior accommodation…