November 1834: Wrecks and Wickedness
From the newspapers of November 1834. The illustration is a detail from Cecilia Montgomery's ink and gouache sketch, Pier, Castle Cornet, in the Library Collection.
Social History
1786 and all that
Translations from the French of selections from the early Gazettes.
April 1809 and 1819
From local newspapers.
March 1820
Guernsey newspapers of 1820. Cemeteries, magicians, orang-utans and hot baths.
21 December: A Love-Spell for St Thomas' Eve
'The night of 21 December was thought in Guernsey to be a night when spirits walked abroad, when it was dangerous to be outside; but this made it a very auspicious night for magic.' From Guernsey Folk Lore, p. 408.
A Link with the Past: Ah! Mon beau laurier!
Guernsey's favourite dance, the rather flirtatious 'Ah! mon beau laurier!.' The illustration is of a modern hurdy-gurdy, or 'chifournie,' used in the old days to accompany the dancing: with thanks to Guernsey Post Office, who also produced a superb video of the chifournie being played in Le Hurel barn in Guernsey. The chifournie has been replaced in Guernsey by the fiddle or accordion in modern times.
From Guernsey to Norwich, 1682-style
Another interesting letter from the physician Sir Thomas Browne to his son, describing his beloved daughter Elizabeth's voyage from Guernsey in May 1682 to visit him in Norwich, in the King's yacht Monmouth. Browne died later that year.
23 December: La Longue Veille
The best mulled wine ever; the history of the Longue Veille; a memoir of a pleasant Longue Veille from 1824; A mon beau laurier, a dance for the Longue Veille.
Servants in Silks
From The Sarnian Monthly Magazine, July, 1815. The illustration is from My Sketch Book, part of the Library's extensive collection of works illustrated by George Cruikshank, which can be viewed on request.
The first flower show, July 1833
The Gardener's Magazine, Vol. 9, 1833, and other extracts from local newspapers.