A Passage to India: Shipboard Life
We are busy preparing for our exciting event on 19 June - A Passage to India: Shipboard Life. The lives of passengers and crew on board East India Company ships will be explored through the prism of little-known personal papers held at the British Library.
Performers Rebecca Tremain and Penny Dimond came to look at the collection items which have been selected for the event by researchers at the University of Southampton in collaboration with British Library curators.
They were thrilled to see the diary of Henry Nicholetts…
British Library MSS Eur F706
…and the letters of Judith Weston …
British Library MSS Eur B162
…and the beautiful illustrations in an anonymous journal from 1773.
British Library MSS Eur E292
British Library MSS Eur E292
And as they read snippets out loud, I was treated to a sneak preview of just how vividly these documents from the past will be brought to life by Rebecca and Penny!
Join us on 19 June to hear more about the shipboard experiences of voyagers to India as revealed in their private papers.
Margaret Makepeace
Lead Curator, East India Company Records