Guy Baxter

Merch for The Museum of English Rural Life. Each item - a tote bag, a mug, and two coasters - is adorned with an artwork of a mouse riding a lobster, holding a scroll decorated with the device of The Museum of English Rural Life.

Right now we have hundreds of mice and lobsters making their way across the world. And we think that's beautiful.

We can't guarantee new international orders will get to you by Christmas, but there's still time for people ordering in the UK!

merl-shop.co.uk/shop/curiosi...

James Joyce's private collection goes on display in Reading An exhibition of rarely-seen documents belonging to the Irish writer are on display in Reading.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

My new album LIAR (Love Isn't A Right) is out on Friday.

Pre-save or get a limited signed copy: ttikaram.lnk.to/LIAR

Black and white photograph of the main library stacks shortly after the opening of the new wing. View across the library with wooden library stacks on either side, with lower benches down the middle.

Photograph of the main library stacks in 2025. View across the library with wooden library stacks on either side, with lower benches down the middle. Apart from the carpet on the floor and the ceiling, not much has changed in this space since its opening.

For #NationalLibraryWeek, take a look inside our main library (normally staff only)! 📖

This wing of the Herbarium was built in 1969. It houses just a fraction of the library collections which include books, maps & artworks, & spans a whopping 9 km of shelving! #KewLA

👉 https://ow.ly/PVRv50X6WEk

Our school year - The Museum of English Rural Life Learn about the highlights of our schools and learning programmes from the 2024/25 academic year.

hello if you're interested in what our learning team has been up to in the last year, boy do we have the blogpost for you

merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2025/07...

Shows a very large book open at an engraving of a section of one of the columns, full of shields and armour.

Shows a very large book open at an engraving of a section of column. The engraving is of soldiers on horseback surrounding another group of soldiers in the centre.

Shows a very large book open at an engraving of a section of column. The engraving is of shields and plaques, with a large winged figure holding a mirror or shield in the centre.

At 78cm tall, this 1770 edition of Giovanni Piranesi’s ‘Colonna di Trajano e di Antonio Pio’ is one of the largest books in our collection. It is full of beautiful engravings, as well as a fold out illustration of Trajan’s column that’s over 2m long!
[Overstone L 1H/01]

Shows a very tiny leather bound book, held in hand for comparison

Shows the title page of a very tiny book, with illustration of the giants in the story on the left hand side

Shows the box the very tiny book is stored in on the shelf

Not all big stories are in big books. This children’s book from 1740 may be about giants, but it’s only 7cm tall!
[CC 942 BOR]

Part 3 #History students working with the #Hiroshima collection @ University of Reading Special Collections 💚 big thank you to @archivesgb.bsky.social 🙏

Absolute Units: a podcast from The Museum of English Rural Life. The logo features three floating absolute units (aka very big woolly sheep) over a rolling, cartoon English landscape.

*taps mic* we're launching a podcast!

Here's a round-up of our highlights for the months ahead: from a blockbuster garden exhibition, to free talks and tours (online and in-person), and the pilot of our very own podcast, Absolute Units.

merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2025/02...

To keep fragile or small items protected, some of our material is stored in boxes like these. This tiny ‘Book of Nouns’ from 1800 may seem normal size on the shelf, but in reality it’s only 6cm tall!
[C.C. 423 BOO]

Shows a close up photo of a stained glass window. The stained glass is of a blue peacock on a green background.

Hi Bluesky! We're the University of Reading's Special Collections, based at the MERL.
Follow us for stories and highlights from our collections, including the world's largest collection of Samuel Beckett, the Archive of British Printing and Publishing, plus over 80,000 volumes of rare books.

I know it looks a bit like a red rubber glove glove but that's part of his head - he's a chicken @themerl.bsky.social

Maybe we can help you out with a reference @themerl.bsky.social?

bsky.app/profile/cura...

John Maher Photography 'Tourist Information, Isle of Harris '

'Tourist Information, Isle of Harris ' Photo John Maher ❤
#photooftheday #scotland #colourphotography

A key point here about libraries. One of the investment cases for libraries/archives/museums is that forms of knowledge are changing - the special collections we should be collecting now for humanities & social science research are digital: web/social media/personal digital collns, highly ephemeral.

@herbarium.bsky.social oh yes!

Opening Times - The Museum of English Rural Life Find out when The Museum of English Rural Life galleries, shop, cafe, garden and reading room are open and closed to the public.

today is the final day of the year for many of us at MERL. we'll keep the museum open on weekends throughout the festive period and reopen fully on 6 Jan 2025

merl.reading.ac.uk/visit-us/ope...

Consuming arts and culture is good for health and wellbeing, research finds Engaging with arts improves quality of life, increases productivity and creates financial ‘dividend’

Participating in cultural activites has a significant impact on people's quality of life, major new research suggests. Public #Libraries offer a huge range of free cultural activities. This new study is further evidence of the need to fund them adequately. www.theguardian.com/society/2024...

!!!!

100%

Why do we eat turkey at Christmas? Learn why we eat turkey for Christmas dinner, and the story behind its growth in popularity over the last 500 years.

Here's the WaPo today: "Celebrate a very British Christmas with prime rib, pudding and more!We’re taking inspiration from across the pond with a big roast, Brussels sprouts, steamed pudding and sausage rolls for the holiday."

Here's @themerl.bsky.social last week: merl.reading.ac.uk/blog/2022/12...

A mother and daughter lean out a downstairs window, two young boys are outside the window, one stands on a tyre propped up against the wall. More importantly, the boy on the left has a snake belt around his jumper.

Glasgow, 1975.
Photo Chris Steele-Perkins

Widening Participation Project Officer:London Road Reading, UK

jobs.reading.ac.uk/Job/JobDetai... @themerl.bsky.social @unirdg-artcol.bsky.social

I wrote a thing (and the brilliant @joevaughan.net tidied it up and made it web-worthy!).

Nine Stones Close, Derbyshire.
#StandingStoneSunday

Re-upping this in hopes of an answer

A ceramic, elongated pig ornament as a candle holder in a department store next to my wine glass

Saw that our local department store, Jarrolds, was getting into the @themerl.bsky.social hog vibe last night bröther 😊

My takeaway from #MuseTech24 so far is to set apart a shit ton of time for user research.