Dental Hospital Photographs

We have recently completed the cataloguing and re-housing of a folder of photographs from the Edinburgh Dental Hospital and School (our ref: LHB25). These mainly date from the 1950s and feature a variety of views of, what were then, brand new facilities in Chambers Street. Each photograph has been described and given a reference number in a catalogue. The photographs feature dental treatment rooms, lecture theatres, the waiting room and a great variety of medical equipment. 


The Dentist's Chair

The images present efficient, clinical workspaces and a distinctive feature is the use of frosted glass screens to enable as much natural light through as possible, whilst retaining privacy for the dentist and patient. A Dental Hospital and School was established in 1878 in Brown Street, now Chambers Street, by the Edinburgh Dental Dispensary in co-operation with the Scottish Dental Education Committee, and apart from a move to Lauriston Place from 1889-1894, remained on this street until its closure in 1994. To conserve the photographs, each one has been placed in a protective polyester-based Melinex© sleeve within an acid free archival box, with the reference number attached to each sleeve. In this way the photographs can easily be accessed and identified when an enquirer requests an image on a particular subject.

Frosted glass screens provide privacy for patients

Engaging with our archive peers & the wider community: looking backwards, moving forwards

This week has seen the Archives and Records Association annual conference taking place in Edinburgh. The theme is ‘advocating for archives and records’, a highly relevant topic in this time of cutbacks. LHSA staff have all attended at least one day of the conference and found the presentations to be stimulating and thought-provoking. It was great to see how archives across the world are engaging with their users, arguably advocating the importance of their records through both traditional means and new social media, creating a community of users who in turn value and advocate for the archives. One of the key messages from a duo of French archivists was that in this age of information overload, an archivist’s skills of finding the right thing at the right moment are more relevant than ever. 

Nurses in the Florence Nightingale Nurses' Home, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh

Tomorrow, Laura will be presenting a talk to a group of nurses celebrating the 55^th anniversary of the day they started their training at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh on the 3^rd of September 1956. Her talk will cover a brief introduction to the Archive, followed by a look at the history of nursing in the hospital. It will feature an excerpt from a silent film called ‘The Ever Open Door’, made in 1938 to raise funds for the hospital in the days before the advent of the NHS. You can see the film in full by visiting our website: The Ever Open Door

Old archives and new artworks

Our year-long ‘Unsung Heroes’ project is coming to a close with a new exhibition in Edinburgh University Main Library. This showcases historic badges from LHSA’s collections, and artworks from Edinburgh College of Art (eca) students and staff that have been inspired by them, before permanent display in the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

The 'Unsung Heroes' exhibition

The exhibition is in the reception of the Centre for Research Collections, on the sixth floor of the Library ( 30 George Square, Edinburgh, EH8 9LJ). Entrance is free, and the exhibition will run until 24 September 2011. It’s a great opportunity to see some of our collections and some beautiful pieces of enamel work by talented artists. You’ll also get the chance to look at a selection of their sketchbooks and preliminary pieces to see how the design process evolves.

New artwork and several of our badges on the top shelf and a sketchbook below

The project has also had an oral history element – retired and current Royal Infirmary nurses have been interviewed and their stories have helped the creation of new pieces by our eca partners. The testimonies will come to us once the project is finished. For those of you with smartphones, extracts are available via QR tags in the exhibition.

‘Unsung Heroes’ has been a fascinating project to be involved with. For more information please see the project page on our website (Unsung Heroes project page). It has brought the Archive to a new audience and the collections have been used in exciting new ways as a result.