Curatorial statement by Milly Earnshaw-White
The PenPals Exhibtion: My Experience as a Student Intern
I began my internship at the end of May, very excited to start something new and equally anxious to live up to the great ideas which the Special Collections team had for the PenPals project.
Using archives of South West Writers held by the University of Exeter, my goal was to read through letters from a range of influential writers and create links between them, which would eventually become an exhibition around the city. I was surprised by the sheer number of letters which Special Collections had and impressed by how well they had all been preserved. It was a unique experience to read the author’s personal letters and imagine things through their eyes. Despite not knowing much about any of the writers prior to the project, through my time as an intern I felt I got to know them on an intimate level, experiencing their handwriting and picking up on the phrases and habits which frequented their letters.
Through handling large amounts of letters, I became better at deciphering some very challenging handwriting (Agatha Christie was the worst culprit for this) and it also became clear that many of the writers were linked to historian A.L. Rowse. Rowse seemed to have built strong friendships through letter writing and was a figure that many looked to for advice. Due to these findings, it was obvious that Rowse was a key part of the project, and thus we made the decision to include him on two of the boards.
Once we had finalised the focus of the six boards so that they each carefully link to the next (Agatha Christie to Daphne du Maurier, du Maurier to A.L. Rowse, Rowse to Charles Causley, Causley to Jack Clemo and then Clemo back to Rowse) the project picked up speed. I used the University archives to look at photos and manuscripts which could also be used on the boards and undertook research to provide information throughout the exhibition. I particularly enjoyed looking through the photos as there was a heart-warming sense in seeing what people had chosen to capture and preserve.
I also used the University of Exeter’s Digital Humanities lab to digitise the selected materials. I was impressed by the equipment, and it provided me with high quality imagery to use as I began designing the exhibition boards.
For the final stage of the internship, I used digital software Photoshop to compile the boards. As I had previously studied Graphic Design at A Level, I took the opportunity to brush up on my skills and experiment with design. I had the idea to make the boards look like letters as I thought it would be visually pleasing and make them more engaging and appealing to the public. I also had to factor in that logos and important information needed to be included throughout. Overall, I was really pleased with how the designs turned out and it was great to see my months of work had paid off.
The designs have now been printed and delivered to six venues around Exeter where they will be on show for the public to view until the beginning of September. You can find them in the RAMM Cafe, Customs House, Oxfam Bookshop, Bookbag, Exeter Phoenix and Exeter Cathedral!
The experience was extremely insightful, allowing me a unique chance to get to know each author and their relationships to one another through the preservation of the letters. I am extremely grateful to the University of Exeter and my line manager Sarah-Jayne Ainsworth for this valuable experience. I loved getting to speak with the rest of the Special Collections team who offered support and valuable insight throughout my internship.
By Milly Earnshaw-White