Exhibitions
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 The Royal Family around a Christmas Tree Illustrated London News Dec. 1848 Periodicals Collection |
Friend and Foe: Anglo-German Affinities and Antipathies in the Long Nineteenth Century
7 November 2003 - 2 April 2004
Introduction
"Friend and foe" examines Anglo-German relations and cross-cultural influences from the beginning of the nineteenth century up to and including the First World War. Much of the material was published in and concerns this period. Some was generated during the nineteenth century and looks backwards; some is more recent. Collectively, the exhibition illustrates the thinking which helped to shape those times.
The long nineteenth century was a period of considerable interaction between England and Germany, both of people (travellers, exiles, royal spouses) and ideas (literature and philosophy). There was a certain antagonism between the English and German peoples: for example, English insular dislike of Prince Albert as a foreigner; German naval development intended to rival the British fleet, with hostility reaching its head in the First World War. More harmoniously, the two countries simultaneously embraced each other's literature, music and thought. Testimonies of German influence in England remain in features as diverse as memorials to Prince Albert and the presence of kindergartens.
The exhibition divides into the following linking and overlapping themes:
- Literature
- German thought
- Exile
- War
- The Royal Family
- Travel
Literature can reflect philosophy; there may be a fine division between short-term exile and extended travel; the contributions made by the exiles to whom England gave security included literature; the decisions of Queen Victoria 's German eldest grandson were among the causes of the First World War.
We hope that you enjoy the selection, and welcome your comments.
Dr Karen Attar - Rare Books Librarian
Collections featured in this exhibition
Senate House Library
Senate House Library was formally opened in 1877 in Burlington Gardens. It moved from its second home, in South Kensington, to its current location in 1937. The Library holds nationally and internationally important collections across the humanities and social sciences. The holdings comprise over 2 million titles and fill the 4th to the 19th floors of the Senate House Tower. The books exhibited here are taken from the Library's research collections and from the following named special collections:
Francis Bacon Society Library: Approximately 1,500 items on deposit from the Francis Bacon Society, mainly works by and about Francis Bacon and his contemporaries.
Durning-Lawrence Library: Approximately 5,750 items bequeathed by Lady Durning-Lawrence in 1929. This was, with some additions, the library of Sir Edwin Durning-Lawrence (1837-1914), a protagonist in the Bacon-Shakespeare controversy, and is especially strong in works by or relating to Francis Bacon.
Goldsmiths' Library of Economic Literature: Over 66,000 items covering economic literature very broadly, built upon the first library of Herbert Somerton Foxwell, which the Goldsmiths' Company purchased and presented to the University of London in 1903.
Playne Collection: Over 500 books and 22 boxes of pamphlets and cuttings pertaining to World War I and the psychology of nations, given by Caroline Playne in 1938.
Porteus Library: Approximately 4,000 items covering ecclesiastical affairs and a wide range of other subjects, chiefly published 1750-1809 and from the library of Beilby Porteus (1731-1809), Bishop of London. William Howley (1766-1848) added a later collection, mainly volumes of sermons and charges.
Quick Memorial Library: Approximately 1,000 volumes concerning education, given in 1929 by the Education Guild. The greater part of this collection was previously owned by schoolmaster and author Robert Hebert Quick (1831-91).
Sterling Library: Approximately 7,000 items built upon the 4,200-item strong collection of Sir Louis Sterling (1879-1958), presented to the University of London in 1956. The library comprises primarily early and fine editions of English literature.
Further information about these and other named special collections, archives and manuscripts is available here
Institute of Germanic Studies Library
We have borrowed three items from the Library of the Institute of Germanic Studies. The Library is devoted principally to German language and literature from their respective beginnings to the present day. It holds substantial collections of relevant books (65,000 volumes), journals (20,000 volumes), microfiches, theses and archives. Two of the three items shown here are from the collection of Robert Priebsch, Professor of German at the University of London, 1902-31. His books form part of the Priebsch-Closs Collection, which is particularly strong in material from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The Institute of Germanic Studies acquired his collection in 1949. Further information about it and other collections at the Institute is available on their website
University College London
We have also borrowed three items from University College London, whose 1914-18 Collection within Special Collections comprises over 300 books and approximately 1500 pamphlets as well as postcards, posters, broadsheets and maps. It is a collection of contemporary publications relating to the First World War. The Collection was bequeathed in 1925 by Leonard A. Magnus, a student at UCL 1896-1904. Further information about special collections at UCL is available from their website
