New: Military Architecture 1600-1900

S. Vauban, Traité de l’attaque et de la défense des places (La Haye, 1743). Military Architecture 1600-1900 (Leiden, 2018), accessed 8 July 2019, http://primarysources.brillonline.com/browse/military-architecture-1600-1900.

I’m pleased to report that Oxford researchers now have access to Brill’s Military Architecture 1600-1900.

This online resource contains 99 printed works which represent the revolutionary developments in fortification in Early Modern Europe in theory and in practice.

The collection covers not only military architecture, but to some extent also the military arts (artillery, army camps, siege) and military and some naval history. While it focuses on early modern history, there are translations of works from Ancient Rome and there is at least one book on medieval military architecture (A. Hamilton Thompson, Military Architecture in England during the Middle Ages. London, 1912). A number of early modern printed books were published before 1600.

It’s possible to search the full-text of the entire collection or of individual books, but bear in mind that the collection comprises works in different languages, including Latin, and may use old language and orthography. Likewise, the rendering of the text from early modern print-type has not always been successful, so it pays to browse the books and read texts to get a sense of the content.

Many works will include illustrations of buildings, fortifications, harbours, etc. It does not appear to be possible to search for these separately.

Obsedio Bredana Armis Phillippi IIII (Antwerpen, 1629), p.9. Military Architecture 1600-1900 (Leiden, 2018), accessed 8 July 2019, http://primarysources.brillonline.com/bowse/military-architect

You will be able to copy the OCRed text of any selections or of a page; you can also download the ebook, or selections of it, as a zipped file; and you can share the link to the resource via email and social media.

Citations can be saved to Endnote and RefWorks, but also seem to work with Zotero.

More about the content

“Similar to the arts, military architecture was split up in national schools or styles, so called fortification manners.The works of Busca, Cattaneo, De Marchi, Tensini, Theti, Zanchi, reflect the Italian School, Errard and Perret the French one and Specklin’s Architektur von Vestungen is an adaptation of the Italian school in Germany.

Stevin’s Sterctenbouwing discusses Cattaneo, Theti and Specklin to assess the benefits of their fortification systems for the Low Countries. The later French school is well represented by Pagan and the works of probably the most famous engineer of all times, Vauban. His various “fortification manners” were applied all over Europe and beyond.

While these works in Military Architecture 1600-1900 allow for a comparative analysis in text and image of European fortification schools, others focus on more local conditions such as Stevin’s works in Dutch and French on the role of pivoted sluices in the fortifications of various harbor towns.

Moreover, Military Architecture 1600-1900 provides insight in the training of fortification in theory and practice for multiple “user-groups”. While the works of the classical authors Caesar, Valturius and Vegetius were used for the philological study of the military arts at universities, the reality of warfare required for training of practical skills for engineers and landsurveyors in the field. Translations of Euclid, works on the practice of geometry and landsurveying (Mallet, Nienrode, Metius, Sems&Dou) were filling that gap. Although Military Architecture 1600-1900 represents the protagonists of the history of fortification, it also includes lesser known authors such as Bruist, Capo-Bianco, Gaya, Gerbier and Pfeffinger. Moreover, the selection does not limit itself to military architecture, but includes the military arts (artillery, army camps, siege) and history.” (Military Architecture, Leiden and Boston: Brill, 2018, accessed 8 July 2019 http://primarysources.brillonline.com/browse/military-architecture-1600-1900).

The breakdown of titles per country is as follows:

  • Netherlands: 46 titles
  • France: 25 titles
  • Italy: 14 titles
  • Germany: 13 titles
  • England: 1 title

Military Architecture 1600-1900 is now accessible via SOLO or via Databases A-Z. Enjoy!

New: The War of 1812: Diplomacy on the High Seas

Our wonderful colleagues in the Vere Harmsworth Library have also arranged permanent access to the eresource collection The War of 1812: Diplomacy on the High Seas.

They write:

“We’re delighted that once again thanks to a generous donation, we now have access to another new eresource collection: The War of 1812: Diplomacy on the High Seas.

Part of the Cengage Archives Unbound platform, this collection contains records and papers from the US National Archives and US State Department. The bulk of these date from 1812-1814 and include letters of marque to private vessels engaged in the conflict, passenger lists, passport records, and correspondence relating to prisoners of war.

Access is available via SOLO or Databases A-Z. University members can use single sign-on for remote access.”

Trial until 17 Nov: Digital Downloads (The National Archives)

Oxford researchers now have access to a trial of Digital Downloads from The National Archives (UK).

digital-downloads-tna-alien-arrivals

The National Archives (TNA) is the official archive of the UK Government and for England and Wales, collecting documents dating back over 1,000 years. Digital Downloads provides full access to TNA’s digitised collection of millions of historical records relevant for medieval to modern history. Apparently 5% of the TNA records have been digitised so far, with more being added.

digital-downloads-tna-eden

digital-downloads-tna-british-army-war-diaries

The collections are very strong in military and naval history (e.g. service records), wills from 1384-1858, and migration history (e.g. alien’s registration cards 1918-1957).

Currently accessible collections include:

  • Aliens’ registration cards 1918-1957
  • British Army medal index cards 1914-1920
  • British Army nurses’ service records 1914-1918
  • British Army war diaries 1914-1922
  • Country court death duty registers 1796-1811
  • Durham Home Guard 1939-1945
  • Famous wills 1552-1854
  • French muster rolls from the Battle of Trafalgar 1805
  • Household Cavalry soldiers’ service records 1799-1920
  • Irish maps c1558-c1610
  • Logs and journals of ships of exploration 1757-1904
  • Looted art 1939-1961
  • Merchant seamen’s campaign medal records 1914-1918
  • Merchant seamen’s campaign medal records 1939-1945
  • Merchant shipping movement cards 1939-1945
  • Middlesex military service appeal tribunal 1916-1918
  • Naturalisation case papers 1801-1871
  • Prisoner of war interview reports 1914-1918
  • Recommendations for military honours and awards 1935-1990
  • Royal Air Force combat reports 1939-1945
  • Royal Air Force officers’ service records 1918-1919
  • Royal Air Force operations record books 1939-1945
  • Royal Flying Corps airmen
  • Royal Marines’ service records 1842-1925
  • Royal Naval Air Service officers
  • Royal Naval Air Service officers’ service records 1906-1918
  • Royal Naval Air Service ratings
  • Royal Naval Division service records 1914-1919
  • Royal Naval Reserve officers’ service records 1862-1964
  • Royal Naval Reserve personnel
  • Royal Naval Reserve service records 1860-1955
  • Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve service records 1903-1922
  • Royal Navy officers’ service record cards and files c1840-c1920
  • Royal Navy officers’ service records 1756-1931
  • Royal Navy ratings’ service records 1853-1928
  • Royal Navy unpaid pensions 1830-1860: claims by next of kin
  • Sir Anthony Eden’s private office papers 1935-1946
  • Victoria Cross registers 1856-1944
  • Victorian prisoners’ photograph albums 1872-1873
  • Wills 1384-1858
  • Wills of Royal Navy and Royal Marines personnel 1786-1882
  • Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps service records 1917-1920
  • Women’s Royal Air Force service records 1918-1920
  • Women’s Royal Naval Service personnel

Collections which will display on the site but which will not be accessible to anybody who does not have Ancestry.com or findmypast accounts, include:

  • Alien arrivals
  • Alien entry books
  • British Army and militia 1760-1915
  • Census records
  • Crime, prisons and punishment 1770-1935
  • First World War soldiers’ service and pension records
  • Prisoners of war: selected records 1715-1945
  • Railway employment records 1833-1956
  • Royal Air Force airmen service records 1912-1939

The trial ends on 17 November. Feedback should be sent to isabel.holowaty@bodleian.ox.ac.uk.

Also of interest:

Ancestry.com freely available in Oxford Central Library (& other public libraries)

digital-downloads-tna-wills

Remembering V.E. Day – Reginald McCarthy’s donation of Nazi books to the Bodleian Library

Today, on 8 May, seems an appropriate moment to mark the 71st Victory in Europe Day, or V.E. Day, by publicly acknowledging, thanking and remembering a kind bibliophile for donating some Nazi publications to the Bodleian Library. Such material should continue to be made accessible and preserved, ideally in a library, as a reminder to subsequent generations of the horrors of the Third Reich and the Second World War. Photos of Hitler posing with children make for very uncomfortable and unnerving viewing as do shots of the German navy, however excellent the German photographic skills and equipment are.

As so often, libraries are the vehicles through which members of the public, scholars and students can benefit from the generosity of other members of the public. My warmest thanks must therefore go to Mr Andrew McCarthy for his kindness in donating the following books, which once belonged to his father Mr Reginald McCarthy, to the Bodleian Library:Deutscher Fuhrer Deutsches Schicksal - cover

Hans Heinz Mantau-Sadila (Hrsg.), Deutsche Führer, Deutsches Schicksal : das Buch der Künder und Führer des Dritten Reiches. (München : Steinebach, 1934)

Hans Weberstedt, Kurt Langner, Adolf Hitler & Kurt Langner, Gedenkhalle für die Gefallenen des Dritten Reiches. (München : Zentralverlag der NSDAP, Franz Eher Nachf., 1935)Hitler with boy

Heinrich Hoffmann (Hrsg.), Jugend um Hitler : 120 Bilddokumente aus der Umgebung des Führers. 1.-30 Tsd. (Berlin : Zeitgeschichte-Verl., Nationalsozialismus, 1935)

Fritz-Otto Busch, Die deutsche Kriegsmarine im Kampf: Schiffe und Taten. 1. – 20 Tsd.(Berlin : Vier Tannen Verlag, 1943)Feind Im Fadenkreuz 8

Norbert von Baumbach, Ruhmestage der Deutschen Marine: Bilddokumente des Seekrieges.  (Hamburg : Broschek, 1933)

Werner Hartmann, Feind in Fadenkreuz: U-Boot auf Jagd im Atlantik. Mit einem Vorwort vom Befehlshaber der U-Boote, Vizeadmiral Karl Dönitz. (Berlin : Verlag Die Heimbücherei,  1942)

Josef Pöchlinger, Das Buch vom Westwall. 2. Aufl. (Berlin : O. Elsner, 1940)Deutscher Jugendklang 3

Heinrich Pfannschmidt, Arthur Schmidt & Otto Roy, Deutscher Jugendklang. T. 1. Liederbuch f. VI-OI. Mit e. kurzen Elementarlehre d. Musik. 3. durchges. Aufl. (Berlin Trowitzsch, 1938)

Edwin Erich Dwinger, Zwischen Weiss und Rot : die russische Tragödie 1919-1920  (Jena : Diederichs, 1930)

Apart from the historiographical interest, those interested in the history of photography will likewise find some of the visual content noteworthy.

Below, Mr Andrew McCarthy reflects on his father’s life, his interest in German culture, his loathing of Hitler and keen book-collecting but also book-donating habits to school libraries and German prisoners of war. He sounds a fascinating and multi-faceted man.

Isabel Holowaty, History Librarian

REFLECTIONS ON MY FATHER

by Andrew McCarthy

Reginald McCarthy. © Reproduced by kind permission of Andrew McCarthy.

Reginald McCarthy. © Reproduced by kind permission of Andrew McCarthy.

I cannot remember a time when I was not surrounded by books.  My father, Reginald McCarthy, bought and read books all his life.  He taught me to read when I was four, and as soon as I could read, he bought books for me.  He was born in 1896 and died in 1982.  He served in the East Yorkshire Regiment during the Great War, and was wounded at Passchendaele.  He spent most of his working life as an architect, surveyor, and estate agent. In the 1930s he owned and edited a local weekly newspaper, the “Hornsea and District Bulletin”, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.  No copies are known to survive.

My father spoke fluent German, which he had taught himself in an era when German books were printed in Gothic type.  He would walk around the house declaiming Heine’s “Die Lorelei”, which he knew by heart.

He loathed the Nazis, Hitler, and all that he stood for, but he would buy almost anything in German if it looked interesting. I grew up seeing the books which I have given to the Bodleian Library sitting next to “Andersen’s Märchen und Geschichten”, German editions of Shakespeare,  “Im Westen Nichts Neues”, “Die Kreuzerfahrten der Goeben und Breslau”, and my boyhood favourite, “Auto, Schiff und Flugzeug.”

He was an obsessive collector, who believed that money spent on bookshelves could be better spent on books.  There were piles of books all over our house.  If my father needed a book which was at the bottom of a pile, he would pull it out carefully.  The pile would wobble, but stay upright, only to fall over days later, often in the middle of dinner.  In 1977, there were over 3,500 books in our house.

My father loved collecting, but he also enjoyed giving books away to school libraries, or anyone else who might appreciate them.  I don’t think he ever imagined that some of his books would end up in the Bodleian.  He gave books to the libraries of the schools I attended.  I have 28 letters (I’ve just counted them!) from Sister Augustine, the Headmistress of St. Joseph’s Preparatory School in Nottingham, thanking him for books.  She said:

“I think soon the Library will have to be known as the McCarthy library…  Mr Crawley has already absorbed the books into the library, and, as I have said before, thanks to you it is building up into something truly worthwhile.” 

© Reproduced by kind permission of Andrew McCarthy.

© Reproduced by kind permission of Andrew McCarthy.

I also have some letters which were sent to him in 1946 and 1947 from the Commandant of the Prisoner of War Camp in Wollaton Park, in Nottingham, thanking him for several donations of books.

The Second World War had only just ended, but my father felt sorry for the German prisoners, so he gave them books in German.  He loathed the Nazis, but he’d fought against German soldiers on the Somme in 1916 and at Passchendaele in 1917, and was able to see “Jerry”, as he always called the German soldier, as a human being.

It’s interesting to learn how the system at the Prisoner of War Camp worked.  My father was asked if he would send the Commandant the full details of any books he wanted to give to the camp library, so that they could be approved (or not) by “the appropriate department in London”.  “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” was welcomed with enthusiasm, but “ANILIN” was on the banned list.

© Reproduced by kind permission of Andrew McCarthy.

© Reproduced by kind permission of Andrew McCarthy.

My father’s record-keeping was chaotic – just like his shelving of books – but I am fairly sure that he bought the Nazi books from Foyle’s on the Charing Cross Road in the 1930s.  He told me that the staff kept them on one side for him.  When a young British Nazi, or Fascist, had repeatedly asked if they had any books about Hitler and the Nazis.  Foyles’ staff pretended that they didn’t.  They were keeping the books for my father, because they knew he hated Hitler.  My father was a loyal reader of the “Daily Telegraph”, which, along with the “Manchester Guardian”, reported the activities of the Nazis in the 1930s fairly accurately.  The editor of the “Times”, Geoffrey Dawson, was an appeaser, and would suppress or modify news stories which might anger Hitler.

From 1922 until 1932 my father lived in Hornsea, in the East Riding of Yorkshire.  He was an architect, surveyor, and estate agent.  He owned and edited the local weekly newspaper, the “Hornsea and District Bulletin.”  As if he didn’t have enough to do, he also ran a private library.  This was in his office in Newbegin, Hornsea.  Books could be borrowed for a small annual subscription.  This was the heyday of the private library, when Boots and and W.H. Smith’s branches would lend books for a small fee.

From "Beverley Guardian", 8 February 1930

From “Beverley Guardian”,
8 February 1930

 

From 1927 until 1931-1932, my father was a member of the Hornsea Urban District Council.  He said that there were: “Three Colonels, a major, a plumber, a cobbler and a postman M.P.  Politics were banned, they sat round the table classless, for the good of their town.”

In 1930, the council proposed establishing a public lending library.  At first, my father objected, because Hornsea ratepayers would have to bear some of the cost, as this cutting from the “Beverley Guardian”, of February 8th 1930, explains.  When the East Riding County Council offered a library of one thousand books, paid for by the County, my father withdrew his objection.  The library, in the Town Hall, opened on March 14th, 1930.  It opened 101 times in its first year, and 29,542 books were issued.  Some residents were not as conscientious as they should have been.  In June, 1931, the Waterworks, Fire Brigade, Museum and Library Committee decided to write “strong letters to persons who had failed to return books within the allotted time”.

My father’s obsession with books lasted all his life.  He would have been astonished and delighted to learn that some of his books have ended up in the Bodleian.

 

Andrew McCarthy is the author of “The Huns Have Got My Gramophone: Advertisements from the Great War”, Bodleian Library Publishing, 2014. http://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/bodley/news/2014/jun-24

New ejournal: International journal of maritime history, 11, 1999-

Historians now have online access to the International journal of maritime history, 11, 1999- (ISSN 0843-8714).

International Journal of maritime historyFully-refereed, this international scholarly journal has been published for the International Maritime Economic History Association since 1989. It publishes quarterly on a broad range of multi-disciplinary topics. They include maritime historical themes, including shipping, shipbuilding, seafaring, ports, resorts and other coastal communities, sea-borne trade, fishing, environment and the culture of the sea.

“These themes have been developed in scholarly articles as well as research notes that inform readers of important new scholarship which has not yet reached the stage of a formal monograph, historiographical essays, and essays on source. A series of “forums” have explored important issues in maritime history. The book reviews are recognized as being the most extensive in the field, and a signature feature in every journal has been a “Roundtables” comprising essays by eight participants who use an important new book as a platform for discussion of a variety of themes, methodologies and perspectives which are suggested by the book; these are accompanied by a response by the author.” http://www.mun.ca/mhp/ijmh.htm

The Editor-in-Chief is David J Starkey, Professor in Maritime History, Hull University and the editorial board draws from an international community of experts.

Access is via SOLO or OU eJournals.