‘A Very Pretty Little Christmas Carol’ #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 24

Posted on 24 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

‘A Very Pretty Little Christmas Carol’ from A Garland of Christmas Carols (Chapbooks 821.89 GAR)

Chistmas day is growing near so here’s a little carol to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This carol is from A Garland of Christmas Carols chapbook, which consists of many other Christmas Carols. A Chapbook is an early type of popular literature. They were produced cheaply, were commonly small paper-covered booklets that were usually printed on a single sheet and folded into books with 8, 12, 16 and 24 pages.

Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle, 1848 – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 23

Posted on 23 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

Christmas Tree at Windsor Castle from ‘Illustrated London News, Christmas Supplement’, 1848 (19th Century Collection, 19th C. Coll, 030 ILL)This illustration from the December 1848 Christmas Supplement to the Illustrated London News, shows the royal family gathered round a christmas tree at Windsor Castle. When this image first appeared in the Illustrated London News, it attracted a huge amount of attention. The upper classes had been decorating trees for some time, having been introduced by Queen Charlotte in the 18th century, but this image spread the fashion to the rest of society.

Decorating a tree with candles and gifts was a German tradition that was enthusiastically enjoyed by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. This image of the royal family, which depicts children, parents and grandmother, all enjoying themselves around the tree was influential in promoting Christmas as a family occasion. By the end of the 1840s, Christmas had become a festival celebration of the Victorian calendar.

The Twelve Days of Christmas – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 22

Posted on 22 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

The Twelve Days of Christmas (Broadsides, BROA Volume 1/2/10)

“On the fourth day of Christmas
My true love sent to me
Four colly birds
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves, and
A partridge in a pear tree.”

Has anyone sent you anything for the fourth day of Christmas?

Crawhall’s Couple Kissing – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 21

Posted on 21 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

Print of Couple Kissing from 'Impresses Quaint', 1889

Kissing Couple from ‘Impresses Quaint’, 1889 (Joseph Crawhall II Archive, JCII/7/96)

Is kissing under the mistletoe a Christmas tradition for you?

Joseph Crawhall II was born in Newcastle in 1821 and was the son of Joseph Crawhall I, who was a sheriff of Newcastle. As well as running the family ropery business with his brothers, he also spent his time illustrating, making woodcuts and producing books.

The Story of a Cup of Tea in Rhymes and Pictures – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 20

Posted on 20 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

Title page from ‘A History of Cup of a Cup of Tea‘ (Rare Books, RB 821.8 SIX)Here’s one for you tea lovers out there…

“We meet in China’s sunny clime,
A Tea Plantation as here seen,
Where plants the sloping hill-side climb,
In straggling tufts of evergreen.
This then as you will plainly see,
Depicts the origin of Tea.”

Above transcription taken from page 1 of The Story of Cup of Tea in Rhymes and Pictures. Beautifully illustrated, this book takes you through the tea plantation, culture, gathering, drying, roasting and rolling, sorting, buying, mixing, carrying and finally drinking tea. The story ends…

“Hurrah! at length we see it here,
Upon our own Tea Table placed;
And soon our spirits it will cheer,
From out the Urn that it has graced.

Let each and all the grateful be,
And hail a welcome guest in Tea”.

If you’re interested in more like this, go on over to CollectionsCaptured to see illustrated stories in Rhymes and Pictures of the history of a cotton bale, a scuttle of coals, a golden sovereign, and a quartern loaf.

Christmas dinner in the trenches – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 19

Posted on 19 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

Letter from Thomas Baker Brown to his father, 29th Dec 1917 (Thomas Baker Brown Archive, TBB/1/1/1/1/248)This letter from Thomas Baker Brown to his father is written from France. He describes his Christmas dinner, and remarks that there were ’30 men to a turkey’. See transcript below…

“29.12.17

My dear Father

Just a few lines to let you know that things are all ok and going strong.

Today we had our so called Xmas diner and gee wiz it was some dinn. There were 30 men to a turkey so you can imagine how much we saw of it after the Sergt Major and the NCOs had a dig in. So I made up with Nestles Choc afterwards.

I don’t know whether I told you that the razor blade (singular) arrived all right.

I’ve had a letter from Mr Drew and he proposed drinking my health this Xmas.

Have just to move so will now pip-pip

Love to all

Your loving son

(SB) – Tommy”

Thomas Baker Brown, born 22nd December 1896, a soldier who fought in World War I. In December 1915, he was serving in the ‘Clerks Platoon’ for the 6th Northumberland Fusiliers at a training camp at Scarcroft School, York. As a soldier, or “tommy”, training would begin with basic physical fitness, drill, march discipline and essential field craft. Tommies would later specialise in a role and Brown received training in bombing, signalling and musketry. He suffered from poor eyesight and was issued with glasses. After failing to be transferred to the Royal Flying Corps, Brown was placed into the signalling section and later drafted to France alongside his brother George, as part of the 2/6th Northumberland Fusiliers, 32nd Division.

By the 1st August 1916, Brown was moved to the 21st Northumberland Fusiliers (2nd Tyneside Scottish 37th Division) and was sent on his first journey to the front line trenches. Later, in March 1917, Brown was awarded the Military Medal for his ‘heroism’ and ‘bravery’.

Christmas Entertainments Prologue #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 18

Posted on 18 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

Prologue from ‘Round about the coal-fire: or Christmas entertainments’ (19th Century Collection, 19th C. Coll 398.268 CHR)To get you in the Christmas spirit, here’s the Prologue from ‘Round about our coal fire, or, Christmas Entertainments’ “wherein is described abundance of Fiddle-Faddle-Stuff, Raw-heads, bloody-bones, Buggybows and such like Horrible Bodies; Eating, Drinking, Kissing & other Diversions…” produced in 1734.

The Fig Tree #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 17

Posted on 17 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

‘The Fig Tree’ illustration from Elizabeth Blackwell’s Herbal Vol. 1

Plate 125. The Fig Tree. Ficus.

It seldome grows to be a Tree of any great Bigness in England; the Leaves are a grass Green and the Fruit when ripe of a brownish Green; it beareth no visible Flowers, which makes it believed they are hid in the Fruit.

Its Native soils are Turky, Spain and Portugal; and its time of Bearing is in Spring and Autumn; the Figs are cured by dipping them in scalding hot Lye, made of ye Ashes of the Guttings of the Tree, and afterwards they dry them carefully in the Sun.

Figs are esteem’d cooling and moistning, good for coughs, shortness of Breath, and all Diseases of the Breast; as also the Stone and Gravel, – and the small Pox and Measels, which they drive out. – Outwardly they are dissolving and ripening, good for Imposthumations and Swellings; and pestilential buboes.

Latin, Ficus. Spanish, Igos. Italian, Fichi: French, Figues. German, Fengen. Dutch Uygen.

The seasons from 1890 Kate Greenaway’s Almanack – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 16

Posted on 16 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

Page from Kate Greenaway’s almanack 1890 (19th Century Collections, 19th C. Coll 030 GRE)

The below extract is taken from Kate Greenaway’s 1890 almanack and describes the seasons through rhyme and accompanying illustrations…

“SPRING

The lambs are playing, and the day
Is sweetly scented with the May.

Summer

The sun is warm, but sweetly cool
The waters of the rippling pool.

AUTUMN

The corn is cut, and on the bough
Are reddest apples hanging now.

WINTER

The cold is keen, for north winds blow,
And softly falling comes the snow.”

Catherine Greenaway (1846 – 1901), known as Kate Greenaway, was an English children’s book illustrator and writer. Her almanacs ran from 1883 up until 1897, with no 1896 issue being published. Each almanacks included a Jan-Dec calendar, beautifully drawn illustrations and short poems. Her almanacs were sold throughout America, England, Germany and France and were produced with different variations and in different languages.

Spiral Nebula in the Snow – #ChristmasCountdown Door no. 15

Posted on 15 December, 2022 by nspeccoll

Photograph of Herschel Building and ‘Spiral Nebula’ sculpture, 1963 (University Archives, NUA/026961-4)

Here’s a snowy and wintery image from our University Archives.

Photograph of Geoffrey Clarke’s sculpture, in the snow, in front of Sir Basil Spence’s Herschel Building at Newcastle University, for the Department of Physics, taken 1963.

‘Spiral Nebula’ (also known as ‘Swirling Nebula’) was designed by noted post-war sculptor Geoffrey Clarke in 1962. It is a leading example of post-war public art. It is one of the few from this period that is situated in Newcastle.

It was commissioned by the architect Basil Spence as part of the design of the Herschel Building for the Physics Department of Kings College, University of Durham (which later in 1963 became Newcastle University). It reflects the scientific advances being made at this time, such as Britain’s first satellite, ‘Ariel 1’, which was launched in 1963 (the same year as the building was opened and sculpture unveiled).

Read more about the sculpture’s history and its revival here.

‘Spiral Nebula’ was one of five pieces of post-war public art in the North East to be given listed status at Grade II by Historic England in August 2016 (announced by Historic England September 2016). Read more here.

This photograph is part of the photographic section of the University Archives. To see more images of ‘Spiral Nebula’ in situ and being constructed, visit CollectionsCaptured.

Special Collections

Newcastle University

Category Archives: Christmas Countdown