Discover the Archives

Summer Stargazing: Nevil Maskelyne, Astronomer Royal

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! The middle of August is an astronomically interesting time. The Perseid meteor showers are at their peak in the Northern Hemisphere, and the Delta… Read More »

International Politics by Proxy: The Marriage of Princess Louisa, 1743

Portrait of a woman in a white dress with panniers and white wig.

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! Princess Louisa (or Louise) of Great Britain was the youngest daughter of George II and Caroline of Ansbach.[1] Born in 1724, she married Prince… Read More »

Was George III Really A Tyrant?

George III's coronation portrait by Allan Ramsay

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! Was George III really a tyrant? The answer to that question certainly depends on who you ask. The writers of the Declaration of Independence,… Read More »

The Dog Blog: Pups in the Georgian Papers

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! English royals have always loved their dogs. Queen Elizabeth II’s corgis seem to be everywhere, from the 2012 Olympics to the silver screen. But… Read More »

The Curious World of Benjamin Franklin: Hans Sloane, the British Museum, and an Asbestos Purse

Benjamin Franklin, c. 1746, in a painting by Robert Freke.

Emily Sneff is a graduate student in early American history at William & Mary and a Digital Apprentice at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. There is an object in the British Museum that was bought from Benjamin Franklin. A small asbestos “purse.” With only these details, the modern mind imagines the… Read More »

Musical Moments: Handel's "Messiah," Musical Patronage, and Princess Augusta

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! Handel’s oratorio “Messiah” is staple of the Christmas season, and December inevitably brings about performances of this piece. However, George Frideric Handel (1685-1759),… Read More »

Fading in to the Archives: Queen Charlotte’s (Missing) Papers

By Rachael Krier, Metadata Creator at the Royal Archives Who was Queen Charlotte? Wife of George III and mother to George IV (and many others) is only part of the answer. As with many queens in history, Queen Charlotte is often overshadowed by the larger personalities of her husband George III and her favourite son,… Read More »

Behind the Scenes in the Chapel Royal: The Chapel Royal Memorandum Book

This is a watercolor image of the interior of the Chapel Royal at Whitehall c. 1811. The Chapel Royal at Whitehall was in the former Banqueting House, which was renovated by Sir Christopher Wren after the a 1698 fire. Image courtesy of the British Library.

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! What’s so special about the Chapel Royal? That phrase refers not to the building itself, but to the group of people responsible for… Read More »

Ghosts! In the Archives! We Thought You Ought to Know

Portrait of Prince Octavius, a 1782 painting by Thomas Gainsborough, depicting a young boy with long blonde hair.

By Marie Pellissier, Omohundro Institute Apprentice, William & Mary Welcome back to our Georgian Goodies blog series, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian Papers Programme! It’s almost Halloween! We may or may not have found some ghosts in the archives… but we shall leave the final determination about… Read More »

Introducing the Georgian Goodies Series

George III, by Allan Ramsay, 1762. In this portrait, George III wears a wig with a silk bag over the ponytail.

Marie Pellissier is a Digital Projects Apprentice at the Omohundro Institute. She is a first-year PhD student at William & Mary, and works on Early American women’s intellectual history. This is the first in a series of blog posts called Georgian Goodies, where we highlight interesting, timely, or just plain nifty documents from the Georgian… Read More »