This is the first in a series of blog posts on the theme of Hope and Fear in library and archive collections. Selected images will form an online exhibition at History Day in November 2016 to coincide with the Being Human festival.
Click here to listen to the audio file (m4a format)
This recording was distributed with “Lansbury’s Labour Weekly” (1925-1927). It features a speech by the magazine’s editor, the future leader of the Labour Party, George Lansbury (1859-1940). Lansbury was on the left of the Labour Party and at the time of this recording had not long completed a spell in prison for his part in Poplar Council’s refusal to remit money to the London County Council. Here, he defines the Labour movement as a revolutionary movement. In support of this, he quotes lyrics from the series of songs which are to be published on gramophone record by “Lansbury’s Labour Weekly”. Lansbury’s rhetoric is significant, focusing on unity, the struggle and the need to win emancipation for the workers. The recording is from the archives of Communist lawyer and activist Jack Gaster (1907-2007) and the image from the archives of international peace campaigner Muriel Lester (1885-1968), both held at Bishopsgate Institute.
This image is taken from the Campaign For Homosexual Equality (CHE) archive at Bishopsgate Institute. The photograph was taken by Brian Hart at the first London Gay Pride rally in 1972. Following the first London Gay Pride rally in 1972 the event has grown, and is now a regular fixture in the social calendar which is widely attended. Bishopsgate Institute holds a wealth of archives, pamphlets, books, press cuttings and other material, documenting the experiences of the LGBTQ community in Britain. Most notably, it holds the Lesbian and Gay Newsmedia Archive (LAGNA), a collection of around 350,000 press cuttings from the straight press about the LGBTQ community, and more information can be found at: www.lagna.org.uk.
About the Bishopsgate Institute
The purpose of Bishopsgate Institute’s Special Collections and Archives are to inspire, educate and entertain. The collections document our shared history and are open to all. More information about accessing the Special Collections and Archives can be found at: http://www.bishopsgate.org.uk/Library/About-the-Library