Tywyn and District History Society Forum

Following Rhidian Griffiths’ talk on the creation of the National Library of Wales in September, the society’s members-led meeting on Monday 18th October completed the theme introduced by Dr Griffiths. Their focus this time was collections and the links between collecting and history. Liz Deakin opened with a comprehensive and stimulating overview, establishing the symbiotic relationship between collecting and history, the many locations – public and private – where collections are held, the immense variety of collecting, its dangers as well as advantages and how a child’s collecting activity can influence their career choice. She completed her talk with an insight into what can be learnt about theatrical history from her set of National Theatre programmes collected at a seminal time. Wendy Marshall followed with a fascinating presentation on her collection of newspaper cuttings reporting the 1948 Olympics taking place at Wembley, just a stone’s throw from her home. Di Drummond took us to the exotic with her collection of historic Indian Railway posters, illuminated by her knowledge as a social historian of railway transport. Georgina Gittins explained how a collecting passion for geological specimens grew after finding a beautiful crinoid fossil as a child, leading to a love of history later on. Sue Whitehouse described how her love of old postcards developed into a lifetime passion, with some fine examples. Julia Wilson shone a light on a Welsh favourite, love spoons. Society chairperson, Hilary Harrison, closed the formal presentations with a consideration of the psychology of collecting and examples of the most famous of celebrity collectors of modern times. Other members made interesting contributions in the general discussion that followed.