Archive conservation staff are to be reunited with an ‘old friend’ with their latest project.

The letters of John Russell in the Eyre-Matcham archive document his career as a naval administrator at Woolwich, then Deptford, as Consul General in Lisbon and Consul in Morocco.

 
The letters before conservation

His correspondence, between the years 1733-1752, offers insights into many aspects of naval and social history of the period. The content of the letters is mainly administrative but with much concerning preferment and patronage and contain many letters of thanks for gifts from Russell, notably exotic animals for the Duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey and requests for advancement of individuals.

This is a large collection and a significant number of letters (almost 400) are in an extremely fragile condition, with weak paper and surface mould. Many cannot be handled without the risk of further damage.

Conservation work on the letters was initially undertaken over 30 years ago (by the present team!) but as the content is of little specific relevance to Wiltshire, the program was curtailed.

However, a recent survey of the collection by archivist Steve Hobbs has highlighted what an important resource these letters are for students of the 18^th century, and so conservation work is to resume.


One of the letters after conservation


After Conservation If you have enjoyed this article, the following entries may also be of interest:

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