National Maritime Museum: Caird Library & Archive

Today we went to the Caird Library and Archive at the National Maritime Museum!

The Caird Library and Archives has approximately two million items, including 100,000 printed books and 80,000 maps and charts. The collections cover a range of topics such as maritime history and exploration, Merchant Navy, and family history.

During our visit, we saw a selection of items from the Lord-McQuitty collection, which contains letters and ephemera from the Titanic. In addition, we saw the personal journal of Edward Barlow. Barlow learned to read and began the journal, which details his life from 1659 until 1703, 1672 whilst imprisoned by the Dutch. He died at sea in 1706, fortunately leaving his journal in the care of his wife. As pictured here, it is beautifully illustrated!  

Barlow's journal can be found online at http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/505786.html

For more information about the Caird Library and Archive, see the full website at https://www.rmg.co.uk/national-maritime-museum/caird-library