A book on a table - front cover facing on. Title at the top of the cover is Roger Vaughton of Birmingham. Beneath this, four panels of photographs - the top two are photos of the exterior of a church and the bottom two of headstones. Behind the book on the left is a pile of paper cups.

#SundayShowcase today is Roger Vaughton of Birmingham and his Descendants by Colin Davison. Roger (1738/39 – 1817) was a member of the Vaughton family who played a part in shaping the history of the city. Ref – LF 77.2 VAU #LibraryofBham

The front cover of a coloured trade catalogue. Text at the top of the cover - Who’s Left That Door Open Again. A male figure in the bottom left of a 3D room moving ominously up towards a small door in the middle background. He is holding what appears to look like some type of metal instrument with teeth. Text in the bottom right reads – Nobody Of Course.

#CityOf1000Trades today is this trade catalogue for J. Hyland & Sons, 49 Gem Street, door spring specialists and purveyors of the Briton patent door closer - which claimed to safe time in repeatedly closing doors. Ref - Trade Cat H/426/2 #LibraryofBham

Street scene. Large groups of people on the pavements on both sides of the street. People queuing for a bus in the bottom left of the photo. Accompanying signage informing where buses from the stop go to. Shop fronts and advertisements on both sides. Multi story buildings on either side of the road. The backs of vehicles are in the middle of the street including a male figure pulling a cart in the mid bottom right. Pedestrians are crossing the road.

#PhotoFriday This bustling scene of New Street taken not long after the end of WW2, c 1946. The city was slowly emerging from the war and there are a few echoes of the recent past in the photo– notice the uniformed figures? Ref: New Street 162 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

Cover of a booklet - title at the top is Home Away From Home - the condensation trails of two airplanes weave between the title with images of airplanes on either side. Subtitle beneath this is Women’s Journeys From Mirpur to Birmingham. Below, a group photograph of a family of six - two adults and four minors. The youngest two sat on the lap or close to the adults. A scenic backdrop with a minaret in the right background.

#BritishAsianHistory Home Away From Home looks at women's journeys from Mirpur, Pakistan to Birmingham. Interviews tell the stories of the women making new lives in the city. Women’s Lives in the Archives: tinyurl.com/JourneysFrom... Ref: MS 4760/35 #LibraryofBham #raqsartstudio

A long and thin piece of parchment running vertically down the course of a table from the bottom of the photograph to the very top by a window. Archival weights have been applied liberally to the document. A chair in the top right background and a tube and a sign with the number 8 on it in the top left.

#AstonHall A very long ‘true and perfect inventory of all and singular, the goods and chattels of Sir Thomas Holte deceased’, 20 November 1654. Holte (1571 – 1654) is credited for the building of Aston Hall. Ref: [DV 330] 347952 #LibraryofBham #BM_AG

Legend at the top of the plan reads - Freehold Building Estate, Kings Norton. Beneath this, coloured vertical strips indicating the land for sale. The outline sketch of thoroughfares surrounding the plot including details of land usage. A line running across the bottom of the plan indicating the Midland railway line.

#MapOnATuesday is this c 1890 plan of a building estate showing land for sale between Northfield Road and Middleton Hall Road, including Middleton Hall. Ref - Bickley/383267 #LibraryofBham

A sketch of ten figures - five female and five male. All attired in late Victorian/early Edwardian clothes. An array of figures - some in profile and others full on. The figures rendered more in detail are named. The figure in the centre of the sketch is stood up and facing to the left - she is reading from notes held in her hand. A female figure is sat by her and looking down.

#WomensHistoryMonth2026 is about leading the change and shaping a sustainable future, which benefits all: www.history.org.uk/historian/ne... Here’s a sketch of Suffragists at the Aston Parliament on 17 October 1908. Ref – Birmingham Weekly Mercury #LibraryofBham

A book on a table – front cover of the book facing on to the camera. Title of the book at the top of the front cover is Dictionary of British Arms : Medieval Ordinary. Vol 3 edited by Thomas Woodcock and Sarah Fowler. Five rows of five coats of arms in the background. A bookcase behind the table on which the book is resting. A pile of boxes on the far left.

#SundayShowcase today is the Dictionary of British Arms: Medieval Ordinary. Vol. 3 edited by Thomas Woodcock and Sarah Flower. Designed to identify medieval British coats of arms. Part of our collection of Heraldry books. Ref: A 929.60941 #GoAllIn2026 #LibraryofBham #collegeofarms

A colour illustration of a male figure in Edwardian driving gear sat astride a motorcycle. He is wearing a peaked and voluminous driver’s hat and a long overcoat. His feet are on the pedals. Behind is a tree in full leaf with cottages in the background – the words ‘motor cycling in comfort’ imposed on the branches and foliage. Beneath the illustration are the following words - Beardmore precision motor cycle.

#CityOf1000Trades is this trade catalogue for FE Baker of the Precision Works, Kings Norton and the pioneering Beardmore precision motorcycle frame which claimed to offer a more comfortable ride. Ref - Trade Catalogue B/10/1 #LibraryofBham

The interior of a reading room in a Victorian era library. The photograph is taken from a high point looking down at the room. A packed room of students sat at desks in the centre of the photograph. A bookcase on the far right and a much larger and expansive bookcase in the background separated from the reading room by a series of stone pillars. Two busts on either side of the entrance to the room in the back midground of the photo.

#PhotoFriday today is this view of studious readers in the Interior Reading Room in the Reference Library at the Central Library in Ratcliffe Place way back in April 1949. Imagine all the shushing back then. Ref – WK/B11/8530 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

Illustration of three female figures. The figure on the left is upright and stood at an angle so her face is visible, but she is also side on to the female figure next to her. Behind the two upright figures is a piano with its keyboard visible - the second figure is touching the keys. Both are dressed ornately in Victorian attire – large bustling skirts with corseting and ribboning. Both have intricate flower arrangement in their hair. The figure on the right has her back to us and appears to be kneeling. She has her hair in a bun and is wearing a hat.

Birmingham has always been at the cutting edge of fashion – just what were the fashionistas of the Victorian era wearing? Here’s a fashion plate from the Crompton Rhodes Collection. Ref - MS 3383, F 391, S 623 - Plate 227 theironroom.wordpress.com/2021/11/15/s... #LibraryofBham

A rendering of a road traffic sign. A triangle at the top of the sign with two figures holding hands and walking. Beneath is text - with the word School written backwards in a small box. Below this, the following words - Dyslexia, a guide for teachers and parents.

#NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek - a chance to transform how neurodivergent individuals are perceived and supported, revealing the talents and strengths of neurodiverse minds. Details of the campaign here: www.neurodiversityweek.com Ref - LP 65.02, 1971 #LibraryofBham

A route map - title in the top left corner is St. Patrick's Day Festival 2010 Route Map. Beneath this in the bottom left of the map, a heading which reads Recognised Watering Holes. Rows of pint glasses with the names of public houses. Centre of the plan dominated by a series of parallel lines indicating streets and roads. A dark line running through the course of the map highlighting the route of the parade. In the top right of the plan, a key highlighting different stages of the route.

A Happy #StPatricksDay to all. We’re sorry to hear the 2026 parade had been postponed, but events have been taking place in the city - www.stpatsparade.co.uk/come-along-t... Here’s the route of the 2010 parade as a reminder of days gone by. Ref: LF 21.7 #LibraryofBham #brumirish

A sketch of a parrot on a swing on the left of the illustration. Various symbols beneath the parrot’s beak symbolising the sound the bird makes. A vase on a shelf on the right of the sketch.

This week’s blog looks at an intriguing Coroner’s Inquest that has nothing to do with a dead body but rather deceased parrots and parrot fever. Monty Python sketch anyone? theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/03/16/p... #LibraryofBham

An illustration of the exterior of an imposing four storey gothic Victorian building on the junction of several avenues. A large cartouche in the shape of a shield on a part of the building jutting out on to the street. Text inside the cartouche identifies the building as the Birmingham and Midland Eye Hospital. Pedestrians and vehicles teeming with life outside of the building.

#BirminghamHistory Birmingham Eye Infirmary opened in April 1824 on Cannon Street. Moving to Steelhouse Lane in 1853/4 the Infirmary changed its name to The Birmingham and Midland Eye Institution. The building on Church Street was erected in 1884. Ref: WK/B11/2760 #LibraryofBham

A book on a table - front cover face on. Title at the top of the cover - Library Story, History of the Birmingham Central Library. Below this, a ziggurat of concrete in the Brutalist style. Author’s name in the bottom left. Behind the table is a bookcase and a small pile of boxes on the right.

#SundayShowcase #BirminghamLibrary today is Library Story – History of the Birmingham Central Library. Charting construction through to its closure and demolition. #GoAllIn2026 Ref - L 53.31 CLA #LibraryofBham

A coloured illustration of three male figures gathered around a chalk drawing of a bicycle on the floor of a property - a typograph. The figures are wearing late Victorian attire. A workman’s bench behind them. Above, the following headline - They designed it in chalk. Illustration of a bicycle in a box in the bottom right. Text below and to the side of this relating to the history of bicycle manufacture at BSA. The company’s logo below this.

#CityOf1000Trades #BSA made bicycles from 1880 at the Armoury Road factory after making guns from 1861. The bicycle business was sold to Raleigh in 1957. Ref – LS 10/ B- 299/1 #LibraryofBham #bsa_bicycles

A photograph with carts in the left foreground used for transporting animals and other goods. Small groups of people gathered nearby. A row of shops in the right background. Brick properties in the left background. A tram on the roadway separating the two blocks of buildings.

#PhotoFriday today is the Old Smithfield Market, c. 1887 adjacent to the Bull Ring markets and St. Martin’s church. Ref - WK/B11/327 #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

Photograph of a male figure wearing a checked blazer and tie. A wristwatch on his left hand. Behind is the front entrance to Birmingham Council House.

#BlackBritishHistory Birmingham’s first Black councillor, Bert Carless was first elected in 1979. Councillor Carless was awarded an OBE for services to the Handsworth College Group in 1998 #LibraryofBham

Floor plans for three schools. Left to right - George Auden, Victoria and Longwill. Details of the architects and contractors in the bottom left.

#BirminghamSchool plans of the George Auden School, Longwill and Victoria schools are also included in the official opening brochure of the George Auden School, 21 April 1964. George Auden School closed its doors in 1999. Ref – LP 48.7 #LibraryofBham

An illustration of a panoramic scene - a gathering of properties in the background of the image. A gathering of buildings on a raised point including church spires. In the foreground, a more rarefied feel with open fields and haystacks - a train of cows in a field in the central foreground. The title of the panoramic is in the centre of the bottom panel along with the details of the publisher.

#BirminghamViews today is J. Lycett’s (not Joe) 1826 North View of Birmingham published by R.P. Stone of 13 New Meeting Street. Ref – WPS/Large Views Box #LibraryofBham

Coloured line drawing of three thin British wildflowers gathered. Each flower has a number printed below its stalk. Below the drawing is text indicating each flower with a number - 1: Traveller’s Joy, 2 : Meadow Rue, 3 : Pheasant’s Eye.

As spring is fast approaching, we thought we'd treat you to this illustration of Traveller's Joy, Meadow Rue and Pheasant's Eye from The Book of British Wildflowers by Jane London: theironroom.wordpress.com/2016/08/30/a... Ref: JL 43 #LibraryofBham

A poster. Text at the top of the poster reads Women’s Freedom League for Female Suffrage. Text below this indicates the meeting will take place at the Temperance Hall on 4 November 1913. The speaker will be Miss Nina Boyle. Free admission and an open-air meeting at the Bull Ring will take place at noon on the same day.

Celebrating #IWD2026, a poster for a meeting of the Women’s Freedom League for Suffrage at the Temperance Hall in November 1913. Ref - LE/Women/6 #GiveToGain #LibraryofBham #womensday

A book on a table, front cover facing. Title is Ethnicity, Religion and Muslim education in a changing world. Editors are Karamat Iqbal and Tahir Abbas. The front cover has a series of highly colourful geometric shapes on it. A blank wall behind the table on which the book is standing.

#SundayShowcase this week is this anthology bringing topics such as race, religion and identity to the fore, addressing challenges facing Muslim schoolchildren. Ref - L 52.41 IQB #LibraryofBham

A trade card. Writing at the top states Henry Moorley, Artist in Hair, Hair Cutter. A large oval shape in the top centre with a drawing of a memorial stone in it. Below this is writing highlighting Moorley as a manufacturer of ornamental hair with premises on Union Street. A series of framed objects and trinkets running around the oval shape - four on either side and two below. The objects are numbered.

#CityOf1000Trades - this trade card for Henry Moorley, hair artist and ornamental hair maker, Union Street. The key identifying each of the objects is nowhere to be seen. Ref - MS 4834/1275 #LibraryofBham

A sepia toned photograph looking down on to a street scene. A wide open expanse in the foreground with pedestrians and lamp posts liberally dispersed. A large building in the mid background with the facia Corbett’s Temperance Hotel between the various rows of windows. An advertisement hoarding attached to the roof of the building. A street leading off on the left of the photo and another on the right.

#PhotoFriday today is Corbett’s Temperance Hotel, Paradise Street. Opened in 1842 by Joseph Corbett as a boarding and coffee house. The hotel was demolished c.1888—89 to make way for the building of the Post Office. Ref: WPS Large Views #LibraryofBham #Brumpic

An illustration - a group of figures wearing working class clothing gathered around a large low-level table. A figure stood on the far left by a sign which reads Pea Soup one penny a basin. A figure stood on the other side of the table across from them with their head bent over a cloud of steam. Pillars and arched windows in the background.

#BirminghamHistory this illustration of a dinner stall in the Market Hall. Cheap food such as soup which was easy to make and consume was often purchased from street sellers. Ref - LS 12/Birmingham Scrapbook Vol.4, page 234 #LibraryofBham

A photograph of two young female figures stood outside of a building – they both have a hand on their left hips. They are wearing head scarfs and aprons to protect their clothing. Behind on the left, the door to building is open. A notice is pinned to the door.

#BlackCountry this 1907 photograph of women brick workers in Cradley Heath is from MS 4618 : Industry and Employment photographs collection (Black Country Workers) #LibraryofBham #Sandwelllibs #SandwellArchive

Dedication of the map to the Prince of Wales in the top left of the image. A map of the county of Cornwall on the Island of Jamaica, James Robertson, 1804. The map is beneath the dedication - coastal outline with the names of locations written along the line between the land and the sea.

#BlackBritshHistory #MapOnATuesday today is James Robertson’s map of the Island of Jamacia (1804) included in the Boulton & Watt Collection:
theironroom.wordpress.com/2022/10/17/b... Ref - MS 3147/31/84 – 86 (Accession 614066 – 614068) #LibraryofBham

Photograph of a large factory interior, an expansive shop floor. Large groupings of long metal poles laying on industrial trolleys. Two tall metal wheels in the top right of the photo. Large piles of equipment in the top mid centre of the photo.

For this week’s blog, to mark the centenary of ICI and as it’s British Science Week, we look at the history of its IMI metals division at the Kynoch Works, Witton: theironroom.wordpress.com/2026/03/02/i... Ref - MS1422/28/7/4/4 @ScienceWeekUK #LibraryofBham