Directory of Research and Expertise

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Research Summary and Profile

Research interests:

English Literature, History of art, History of the book, Manuscript studies, Palaeography

Regions:

England, Europe, North America, United Kingdom

Languages:

	Spoken	Written
French	-	Good
Spanish	-	Good
Latin	-	Intermediate

Publication Details

Related publications/articles:

Date	Details
01-Jul-2024	Alumina; Pagine miniate, ‘Medieval Women: In Their Own Words; a Blockbuster Show from the British Library’ Journal articles Preview of British Library exhibition: 'Medieval Women: In Their Own Words' opening October 25th 2024
01-May-2024	Book Madness; A Story of Book Collectors in America, Denise Gigante, (Yale, 2022), for American Literary History, 2024 (ALH 36.2) Review Book review; ALH Volume 36 Issue 2
01-Nov-2023	English Association Newsletter 2023 ‘Value-added Fiction: Seeing the value of English Studies in Contemporary Culture’ Articles
01-Jun-2023	Readers in a Revolution: Bibliographical Change in the Nineteenth Century, David McKitterick, (CUP, 2022) for Review of English Studies, 2023 (RES-2023-0053) Review Book review:The Review of English Studies, Volume 74, Issue 315, June 2023, Pages 581–583
01-Sep-2021	Collecting the Book (Series) Monographs Lead Editor for a new strand within the Cambridge Elements series entitled Elements in Publishing and Book Culture,'Collecting the Book'.
01-Feb-2021	A British Book Collector: Rare Books and Manuscripts in the R.E. Hart Collection, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery and Art Gallery Edited Book Cynthia Johnston (ed),(2021) A British Book Collector: Rare Books and Manuscripts in the R.E. Hart Collection, 248pp, ISBN: 978-0-9927257-9-2
01-Jan-2020	Holding the Vision: Collecting the Art of the Book in the Industrial North West Monographs Curatorial essay and exhibition catalogue for Holding the Vision: Collecting the Art of the Book in the Industrial North West Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, January 2020 ISBN: 978-1-5272-5537-1-2
01-Sep-2019	The Concept of the Book: The Progression, Production and Dissemination of Information Edited Book Cynthia Johnston (ed), Institute of English Studies, University of London, 2019, 146pp.ISBN: 9780992725747
01-May-2019	The Medieval Clothier Review Cynthia Johnston, (2019), The Medieval Clothier. By John S. Lee. Woodbridge, U.K.: The Boydell Press, 2018. xix 365 pp. Illustrations, photographs, maps, figures, tables, glossary, appendixes, bibliography. ISBN: 978-1783273171. Business History Review, Harvard Business School, 93(1), 173-175. doi:10.1017/S0007680519000370 Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 May 2019, pp. 173-175
01-Sep-2018	Collecting the Past British Collectors and their Collections from the 18th to the 20th Centuries Edited Book Toby Burrows and Cynthia Johnston (eds) ISBN 9780815382348 Published September 11, 2018 by Routledge 144 Pages - 15 B/W Illustrations
01-Sep-2018	Spending a Fortune: Robert Edward Hart, bibliophile and numismatist, an industrialist collector in Blackburn, Lancashire Articles in Collecting the Past: British Collectors and their Collections from the 18th to the 20th Centuries, Toby Burrows and Cynthia Johnston (eds), Routledge, 2018
01-Sep-2018	The Psalms and Medieval Literature; From the Conversion to the Reformation Review The Review of English Studies, Volume 69, Issue 291, September 2018, pp. 771–773 Tamara Atkin and Francis Leneghan (eds). The Psalms and Medieval English Literature: From the Conversion to the Reformation. Pp. xviii+344 (18 illustrations). Cambridge: D. S. Brewer, 2017
15-Aug-2016	‘In the custom of this country’: The Migration of Decorative Style in Thirteenth-century Reading Abbey Manuscripts Journal articles  Reading Medieval Studies (2016)
01-Jan-2015	Cotton to Gold: Extraordinary Collections of the Industrial North West Edited Book  Exhibition catalogue for 'Cotton to Gold: Extraordinary Collections of the Industrial North West' at 2 Temple Place, London, from January-April 2015
01-Jun-2014	A Model Community? An Investigation into the use of models in the work of William de Brailes Chapters Chapter in The Use of Models in Medieval Book Painting, ed. Monika E. Muller (Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2014), pp. 89-109
01-Nov-2013	Blackburn's Worthy Citizen: The Philanthropic Legacy of R.E. Hart Edited Book Exhibition catalogue (IES Publications) for AHRC funded exhibition in Senate House Library of 10 manuscripts from the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Lancashire in November 2013.
01-Jan-2009	'For What Purpose Do They Spend? Some Preliminary Thoughts on Penwork Produced by William de Brailes and his Collaborators Journal articles This article was published in Cambridge University's online medievalist journal, Marginalia, in June of 2009. I propose that the penflourishing techniques used by William de Brailes and his collaborators found its genesis in book making ateliers of early thirteenth-century Paris.

Publications available on SAS-space:

Date	Details
Sep-2014	The Development of Penflourishing in Manuscripts Produced in England between 1180 and 1280 NonPeerReviewed The development of penflourishing in manuscripts produced in the thirteenth century is a significant factor in the design and aesthetic of the central and late medieval book. The rise of commercial production, undertaken by lay professionals in urban centres, is associated with the emergence of penflourished decoration to books in a broad range of genres, sometimes as a cheaper alternative to painted embellishment, but sometimes also as an aesthetic choice by the patron. This dissertation examines the development of penflourishing in English manuscripts from c. 1180-c. 1280. Firstly the historiography of art-historical criticism on the subject of penflourishing is examined. Both the specific components of the flourishes and consideration of their heuristic function are discussed. A consolidation of diverse vocabulary from European critics is proposed. Discussion of the development of penflourishing in English manuscripts in the twelfth century follows and it is proposed that the techniques that will be developed in thirteenthcentury flourishing are already present within the design vocabulary of the decorated twelfth-century letter. The influence of Italian flourishing technique, developed in tandem with the production of books associated with the study of law at Bologna and other northern Italian centres, is identified with regard to specific components. This process of identification makes it possible to recognize Italian technique in the context of books produced in both Paris and Oxford. The circle of Oxford’s most prolific illuminator, William de Brailes, is investigated to evaluate the influence of Italian penflourishing techniques. The use of these techniques, and others, notably the use of filigree puzzle initials, is examined with regard to the type of book produced and the implied financial expenditure by the patron. Finally the use of flourishing in the work of two contemporaneous circles, those of the Sarum Master and William of Devon, are analysed and the role of penflourishing in the de Brailes corpus is compared. It is concluded that Italian penflourishing technique had a significant impact on the development of penflourished embellishment in England in the thirteenth century, and that de Brailes’ use of this type of flourishing was an early and influential part of the development of this style.
Nov-2016	‘In the custom of this country’: The Migration of Decorative Style in Thirteenth-century Reading Abbey Manuscripts PeerReviewed This paper discusses the emergence of a specific decorative technique, developed by scribes producing legal textbooks in late twelfth-century Bologna. The migration of this marginal, penwork technique is traced from Bologna to Paris and Oxford, and identified in surviving manuscripts known to have been in the possession of Reading Abbey in the thirteenth-century.

Publications available on SAS-space

Publications available in Senate House Libraries

Research Projects & Supervisions

Research projects:

Details
Books on Book Collecting for CUP due September 2026
Holding the Vision: Collecting the Art of the Book in the Industrial North West Funded by the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art, the Society of Antiquaries and ACE. 2 year research project culminating in an exhibition of rare books and illustrations from Blackburn with Darwen Library and Information Centre, Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, the Harris Museum, Preston, Towneley Hall Museum and Art Gallery,Burnley and the Grundy Art Museum, Blackpool.
Research in Translation, AHRC funded training scheme with the Museum School of Leicester University (2015)  I participated in this year long AHRC funded project run by the Musuem School at Leicester University to train academics to engage with the public via exhibitions. The project culminated with a display of projects produced by the 12 ECRs who worked on the project. My interactive display featured my research on penwork in 12th and 13th century manuscripts. The exhibition of 'Research in Translation' is on display at the Musuem School at Leicester University through February 2016.
The Nature of Gothic; exhibition for Blackburn Museum as outcome of NPO funded collaboration from September 2023- September 2026
UCL Public Engagement Train and Engage (2015-16)  My project, a podcast for the Blackburn Musuem, was chosen for development by this research group. The project will run through June of 2016.

Current PhD topics supervised:

Dates	Details
From: 01-Sep-2016 Until:	The Significance of Heraldry in Thirteenth and Fourteenth-century English-produced Psalters Co-supervised with Dr Nigel Ramsay (UCL)
From: 01-Oct-2018 Until: 2024	From Field to Philosophy: Structures, Content, and Context of Notebooks at the Natural History Museum co-supervised with Dr David Pearson
From: 01-Jan-2021 Until: 2026	The Desire to Collect and Preserve Erotic Literature in 19th Century England co-supervised with Dr Andrew Nash
From: 01-Jan-2019 Until:	Usuard martyrologies in England from the ninth to the thirteenth century Co-supervised by Dr Alan Thacker at the Institute of Historical Research

Available for doctoral supervision: Yes

Professional Affiliations

Professional affiliations:

Name	Activity
The Biographer's Club
Palaeography Teachers Group	networking and collaboration
Friends of Senate House Library	Chair of Committee
Academic Partnership with the Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery	Research and public engagement programmes
Willison Foundation	Board member

Collaborations:

Name	Type	Activity	Start date	End date
NPO Oversight Board Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery	Board member with responsibility for delivery of exhibition in 2025		01-Sep-2023	01-Sep-2026
Bloomsbury Chapter UCL/IES	Research and teaching	Lecture series	01-Sep-2017	continuing

Relevant Events

Related events:

Date	Details
01-Jul-2024	The Impact of Creative and Cultural Research Collaborations, for Creative Lancashire with ceramic artist Nehal Amir Invited by Creative Lancashire with ceramic artist Nehal Amir
01-Apr-2024	News Talk on Irish National Radio ; Panel member for ‘Talking History’ hosted by Patrick Geoghegan, on ‘The Library of Alexandria’ with Willeke Wendrich, Research Professor of Egyptian Archaeology and Digital Humanities, UCLA, and Prof Islam Issa, Professor of Literature and History at Birmingham City University, 24th April, 2024
01-Mar-2024	‘Blackburn’s Forgotten Literary Heroine: Dorothy Whipple’, for Friends of Blackburn Cathedral
01-Mar-2024	‘Getting Medieval with Stranger Things’, for Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society
01-Oct-2023	English Association Panel participant ‘How do we best express the value of English Studies?’
01-Jun-2023	‘Perspectives on Penflourishing in Late Medieval Manuscripts’, Senate House, University of London
19-Nov-2020	Over the Wall: Cultures of Collecting for Being Human Festival In collaboration with Blackburn artist Jamie Holman, and Dr Peter Shukie of Blackburn College, I discussed artistic responses to historic book collections held by Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery, Blackburn with Darwen Library and Information Centre,the Harris Museum Preston and Towneley Hall Museum, Burnley.
26-May-2020	The Art of the Book in the Industrial North West Review of Holding the Vision exhibition in Fine Books and Collections Magazine (USA)
10-Feb-2020	Rare Books from Lancashire Archives on Display in Blackburn Review of Holding the Vision Exhibition at Blackburn Museum and Art Gallery
19-Jul-2019	Burlington Courtyard Lates Society of Antiquaries Public engagement event for researchers funded by the Society.
01-Nov-2017	'Something for my Native Town': Recent Discoveries and New Directions in the R.E. Hart Collections Two day conference
01-Nov-2017	Finding Mr Hart; a new play by Christopher Adams Created for the Being Human Festival, a collaboration with playwright Christopher Adams
01-Apr-2016	Collecting the Past: British Collectors and their Collections from the 18th through the 20th centuries 1 day conference at Senate House
07-Mar-2015	• ‘Dissemination and Production: The Progress of Information’, 3rd-4th July 2015, IES, SAS, University of London
05-Feb-2015	"Robert Elms" BBC London Radio  Interview with Robert Elms about Cotton to Gold exhibition.  c. 500,000 listeners to Robert's 1:30pm slot
28-Jan-2015	Front row: Internet Vice, Dara, Teen Film Tropes, Cotton to Gold"  Lead interview for BBC Radio 4's Frontrow programme with Samira Ahmed
01-Jan-2015	• ‘Cotton to Gold: Extraordinary Collections of the Industrial North West' exhibition with Dr Jack Hartnell of the Courtauld Institute, 2 Temple Place, London, January-April, 2015.  Collections of eleven Edwardian industrialists from Pennine Lancashire including R.E. Hart’s collection of manuscripts, incunables, early printed books, early writing material, first editions and nineteenth-century illustrated books, Hart’s collection of coins, including the only complete collection of Roman Imperial coins outside the British Museum. Other collections include Europe’s largest collection of Tiffany glass, Russian icons, Japanese prints, ivories, preserved beetles and taxidermied birds, as well as ten undisplayed Turner watercolours, early Millais prints and Landseer lithographs.
23-Nov-2013	• ‘Blackburn’s Worthy Citizen: The Philanthropic Legacy of R.E. Hart’, IES, SAS, University of London, 23rd November 2013, AHRC-funded project
01-Nov-2013	• ‘Blackburn’s Worthy Citizen: The Philanthropic Legacy of R.E. Hart’, Senate House Library, November, 2013 (Manuscripts and Incunables from Blackburn Museum)
23-Nov-2011	The Future Perfect of the Book: A One -Day Colloquium sponsored by the Book History Research Network This colloquium drew together speakers from Europe and the United States to address the question of not only the future of the book in the age of digital media, but also the future perfect of the book. We queried whether similar transitional periods, from scroll to codex, from manuscript to printed book, and from printing on the handpress to machine and offset printing had witnessed familiar anxieties in the transition from one culture of production to another. Speakers also addressed the future of the book with regard to the practice of reading via digital mediums, the positive and perilous conditions of digital academic publications, and the future of bookshops themselves in sociological terms.

Knowledge transfer activities:

Details
"Rags and bones. A mummy unearthed when cotton was king» Maev Kennedy  The Guardian 2 February 2015
"Colour of money" Caroline Bugler   Country Life 4 February 2015
"Get a foot in the door" Sara O’Reilly  Time Out London 13 February 2015   Two page spread/ review of exhibition
"Cotton to Gold" Kate West  Barbican Life March 2015 Review of Cotton to Gold
«Cotton to Gold: Extraordinary collections of the industrial North West» Marian Maitland  Kensington Chelsea & Westminster Today March 2015   Review of Cotton to Gold
Tendencias del Mercado del Arte  Review of Cotton to Gold March 2015   Spain
"World of treasures from the North" Laura Gascoigne  The Oldie March 2015   Review of Cotton to Gold
"Culture Navigator»  Japan Journal 5 February 2015
"‘I would prefer that my bankers did not know just how much I am spending on books…’: The Collections of R.E. Hart’  for the Schoenberg Database of Manuscripts, Kalamazoo International Medieval Congress,
• ‘In the Custom of this Country; The Transmigration of Bolognese Decorative Style in Thirteenth-century Oxford and Reading Abbey Manuscripts’,  for Reading, Scholarship and the Art of the Book at Reading Abbey Conference, 17th April, 2015. Proceedings to be published in 2016.
• ‘‘Because it was just his life’: The Collections of R.E. Hart’ for 2 Temple Place, London  Presented as part of public engagement programme for 2 Temple Place
"Capital set to be dazzled by treasures of north"  Lancashire Telegraph 3 January 2015, by be dazzled by treasures of north" Jon Robinson   Preview of Cotton to Gold Exhibition
"Cotton to Gold" Jackie Wullschlager  Financial Times 31 January 2015/ 1 February 2015
"Cotton to Gold" David Gleeson  World of Interiors February 2015   Review of Cotton to Gold exhibition
"Heading south: treasures of the cotton barons"  London Evening Standard 6 January 2015, by Louise Jury   Preview of Cotton to Gold exhibition
"The Medici of Victorian England"  The Independent 18 January 2015 by Claudia Pritchard   Preview of Cotton to Gold exhibition
"Community conscious? ‘Cotton to Gold’ explores industry and philanthropy" Wessie du Toit  Apollo Magazine 30 January 2015

Consultancy & Media

Available for consultancy:

Yes

Media experience:

Yes

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