On call in Africa

We are delighted to be representing images from the fascinating collection of Dr N.P. Jewell documenting his time as a young doctor in the Seychelles (1910–14), as a Medical Officer in the army in East Africa during the First World War, and in Kenya working in the Colonial Medical Service (1920–32). The photographs are featured in a recently-published book On Call in Africa, in War and Peace, 1910–1932, a remarkable account based on Dr Jewell's official medical diaries and personal memoirs, and include some terrific scenes of life in wartime Kenya and Tanzania. There's more about the book and Norman Jewell himself at https://oncallinafrica.com

And you can view a selection of these rare photos here.

All that jazz

Mary Evans Picture Library is partnering with The Fashion and Textile Museum's upcoming 1920s JAZZ AGE exhibition where images from the Illustrated London News archive will be displayed alongside a glittering array of haute couture and ready-to-wear fashions from 1919 to 1929. American illustrator and designer Gordon Conway's stylish and colourful illustrations will complement the flapper dresses, velvet capes and silk pyjamas and help to highlight the role of magazines in promoting the 1920s look. The exhibition is on from 23rd September 2016 to 15th January 2017 at the museum on Bermondsey Street, London.

See our lovely Gordon Conway images here, and for more information visit www.ftmlondon.org

Open House London

We're lucky, here at the library, to work in such a gem of a building as that at 59 Tranquil Vale, Blackheath, so we're throwing open the doors on Saturday 17th September to invite people to visit as part of free architectural festival, Open House London.

Built in an Arts and Crafts style in 1928, the architecture of this former parish hall exhibits many of the same features as William Morris's Red House in Bexleyheath, Cragside in Northumberland or the Horniman Museum in south London.

We'll be open from 10am to 5pm with guided tours every half-hour. See www.openhouselondon.org.uk for more details and to order your guidebook for the weekend.