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This week at The Archive has been an especially busy one, as we have added 150,624 brand new pages from titles to be found across the world! Not only have these 150,624 new pages joined us this week, we have added nearly 150 years’ worth of headlines, from 1771 to 1920.Furthermore, this week sees the continuation of our commitment to publish the international titles held by the British Library. To this end, new titles join our collection from the Caribbean, including Barbados, Jamaica and…

Nicknamed the ‘Idle Women,’ although they were about as far from idle as anybody could possibly be, the women canal workers of the Second World War performed vital war work which is all but forgotten today, some seventy years later.Some of the ‘Idle women’ arriving at a canal dock | The Sphere | 15 April 1944The curious name of ‘Idle Women’ came from the badges that these pioneering women wore, with the initials ‘IW,’ which stood for ‘Inland Waterways’. This moniker, given…

‘Plastic surgery, born in one war and perfected in another,’ had been practiced before the First World War, but it took this global conflict, and a second one, to develop plastic surgery as we know it today.The Sphere | 20 May 1933In this special blog, using newspapers taken from The Archive, we will trace the development of plastic surgery, from the work of Harold Gillies in the First World War, to its move into the cosmetic mainstream in the 1920s and…

‘Sea shanties are having a great vogue right now,’ reports the Leeds Mercury in January 1927. The writer may well have been describing the sea shanty trend of the present day, as the haunting harmonies of traditional sea shanties once again have captured the popular imagination.And one hundred years ago, during the 1920s, sea shanties were also incredibly popular. You could listen to them on the radio, or on your gramophone, and they were even performed by MPs.Sailors turn…

This week at The Archive we have been busy adding 144,382 brand new pages to our collection, including four brand new titles from England and Wales. We also have extensive updates to a very special best-selling weekly title, whilst our new pages this week span 160 years of headlines, running from 1801 to 1961.So read on to discover which new titles are joining us this week, and to discover which record-breaking weekly we have added to, as well as finding out about a…

What began as rumours from Spain was soon to become a nightmarish reality, as the Spanish flu pandemic began to take hold in the United Kingdom, where it would go on to kill approximately 250,000 people, and 50,000,000 globally.Staff from the Michie Hospital | Graphic | 26 July 1919In this special blog, as part of medicine month on The Archive, we will take a look at how newspapers from the time reported on the deadly disease, from those first rumours, to the devastation it…

We’ve scoured The Archive to bring you some of the most dubious medical remedies from our newspapers. From magic cure-all pills to blood-letting, from cigarettes to liquorice, we take a look at some of the most bizarre cures from the last two centuries, using pages taken from the British Newspaper Archive.The Graphic | 8 April 1922It might go without saying, but we thought we better say it anyway – please do not try any of these cures at home!Want to learn…

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…

It may be Christmas week but our presses have not stopped, bringing you a special Christmas cornucopia of new and updated titles, the perfect festive present from the Archive.With 126,524 brand new pages added, including four brand new titles and updates to twenty five of our existing titles, get ready to discover this week’s fare on the Archive, which spans three centuries’ worth of headlines. Read on to also discover more about how an Edwardian Christmas was celebrated at Sandringham…

Our familiar Christmas customs – decorating our houses with holly and ivy, enjoying chocolate yule logs and giving presents – have, for the most part, their origins in ancient pagan practices. In this special blog, using articles taken from the rich pages of the British Newspaper Archive, we take a look at how our Christmas traditions have evolved through time, with Druid, Roman and Norse influences.Want to learn more? Register now and explore The ArchiveFrom Saturnalia to The Lord of…