The Lit & Phil

@litandphil.bsky.social

440 Followers 408 Following

Newcastle's independent library, the Lit & Phil, is home to more than 200,000 books and music items, and has a rolling programme of events and activities. www.litandphil.org.uk

A copy of a book plate showing the Corona of the Eclipsed Sun, 1871
An image of the Pudding Chare Music Festival 2026 flyer (13th - 15th August). Several heads of composers and performers are sticking out of the roof of the Lit & Phil Library. The Text reads: The Lit & Phil, Westgate Road, NE1 1SE TICKETS ON SALE NOW. Bach, Beach, Jacek Brahms, Dvorak, Tabitha Appel, Zany Denyer, Cameron Walls, Sophia Lim, Magdalena Riedl, Matthew Hayes, Seth Collin, Alma Vink, Isobel Neary-Adams, Richard Taylor.
A cello performance on stage from a previous Pudding Chare festival.
An image of the Pudding Chare Music Festival 2026 flyer (13th - 15th August). Several heads of composers and performers are sticking out of the roof of the Lit & Phil Library. The Text reads: The Lit & Phil, Westgate Road, NE1 1SE TICKETS ON SALE NOW. Bach, Beach, Jacek Brahms, Dvorak, Tabitha Appel, Zany Denyer, Cameron Walls, Sophia Lim, Magdalena Riedl, Matthew Hayes, Seth Collin, Alma Vink, Isobel Neary-Adams, Richard Taylor.
A photo taken within the Lit & Phil venue space showing a pale green painted room with several oil paintings on the walls. 4 musicians are playing a variety of instruments in front of a grand piano.
A photo of some of the musicians from the Pudding Chare festival posing at the bottom of the main staircase at the entrance to the Lit & Phil Library. They are framed by the stairs and the statue of James Losh looms over them in the background.
An image of the Pudding Chare Music Festival 2026 flyer (13th - 15th August). Several heads of composers and performers are sticking out of the roof of the Lit & Phil Library. The Text reads: The Lit & Phil, Westgate Road, NE1 1SE TICKETS ON SALE NOW. Bach, Beach, Jacek Brahms, Dvorak, Tabitha Appel, Zany Denyer, Cameron Walls, Sophia Lim, Magdalena Riedl, Matthew Hayes, Seth Collin, Alma Vink, Isobel Neary-Adams, Richard Taylor.
Photo of a dapper man in waistcoat, tie, moustache and bear standing in a library by a table adorned with all manner of trinkets, baubles, fossils and knick-knacks.
A scan of a coloured bookplate showing a beetle with very large and powerful back legs, at an angle and on it's side.
A scan of a colour bookplate showing a scientific illustration of the top of a ragwort plant with the different life stages of the Cinnabar Moth including caterpillars, pupa and a colour variant.
A scan of a bookplate showing, according to the caption 'A PORTION OF THE SUNS DISC as seen in May 1870 by Mr. Browning F.R.A.S. with a 12.5 inch BROWNING WITH REFLECTOR'. Several dark features are visible on the surface of the Sun.
A scan of a bookplate showing a man seated by a strange contraption, a 'Book-Wheel', allowing him to look at several open books at once. Picture Source: ‘Recueil d'ouvrages curieux de mathématique et de mécanique: ou, Description du cabinet de Monsieur Grollier de Servière’. 1719. Nicolas Grollier de Servière (1596–1689) was a French inventor and ornamental turner who became well known for creating a series of fantastic machines.
A scan of a novelty postcard by A.G. Steglitz from 1904. It is faded, perhaps originally coloured by hand. A young lady in a rural scene gazes at what appears to be a gigantic egg a metre tall which is cracking, about to hatch.
A scan of a plain, uncoloured illustration showing; 'Part of the Wall near BENWELL HILL, with an Apple Tree growing upon it's Summit.' The portion of the wall is marked as being '36 feet long, 9 wide & 5 high' Hutton, producing an account of his journey in The History of the Roman Wall. Walking 600 miles from his Birmingham home, along the wall, and back home again, he wrote in the preface, "I have given a short sketch of my approach to this famous Bulwark; have described it as it appears in the present day, and stated my return. Perhaps, I am the first man that ever traveled the whole length of this Wall, and probably the last that will ever attempt it ..."
A photograph of a corner bookshelf of the Lit & Phil library, chock full of history books!
A colour photograph of a stairlift at the bottom of a flight of stairs, ready for use.
A scan of a small section of an old map of Lower Egypt.
A scan of a coloured print illustration of a Coprosma Cuncata(?) plant showing the stages and structure of fruit and seed development.
The Lit & Phil Bi-Centennial Logo, it says 'The Lit & Phil 200, at home since 1825'
A stark book cover in black, white and orange for MAN AGAINST MICROBE showing 3 artillery pieces firing, as though at falling microscope slides showing the outline of microbes.
A photo of a small statue of Joseph Swan with a jolly little knitted santa claus in his lap.
A photograph of our new Christmas card for 2025, featuring an old woodcut illustration of a Reindeer with the addition of a shiny red nose.
A scan of the black and white illustration of 'THE NEVER-NEVER LAND', showing Peter Pan playing his pipes surrounded by wild beasts, with the pirate crew marching and singing in the background along the coast to their ship.
A scan of an uncoloured print showing a sea otter at rest on the Canadian coast.
A colour plate depicting the lifecycle of the Lobster Moth. It is shown as an egg, a caterpillar on a leaf, a cocoon and an adult moth.
A scanned, uncoloured etching of the Scotswood Bridge surrounded by a bucolic rural idyll.
A zoomed in shot of the Phoenix plate with, annotated by hand, the comment 'A Phoenix as vulgarly painted'
'Fable of the Elephant and the Bookseller' An illustration of a man in an 18th century bookshop implores an elephant to share his wisdom. The elephant declines.
A detailed and animated woodcut by Blasius Weffring, showing equipment and procedures explained in the text for mining.
A promotional image for ClassicsFest at the Lit & Phil Society, Newcastle. Prof. Arlene Holmes-Henderson and Prof. Vittorio Bufacchi sitting by a 'WHY CICERO MATTERS' banner on a stage in the centre of the Main Library. Photo Credit: Sound Ideas Media
A scan of a coloured print showing the Gemini constellation beautifully illustrated with the text: 'Published February 1.1822 by G& W.B.Whittaker T. Cadell & N. Hailes, London
A CD / Vinyl single cover for Scottish band IDLEWILD's track 'i understand it' showing a stylised picture of a lighthouse against a grey background.
Two scanned illustrations put together. The smaller inset is a map of Scotland and the coast of Northern Ireland with red and white marks denoting the range and location of Lighthouses and Lightships. The larger is a cross section of the lighthouses at Bell Rock & Skerryvore.
An uncoloured lino cut of 4 species of owls at varying degrees of accurate description.
An uncoloured illustration, somewhat naïve, of a tiger lying down by a rockface flanked by trees with 'ORIENTAL FIELD SPORTS' seemingly painted or carved into the stone. The tiger has magnificent whiskers.
A coloured illustration of several varieties of dianthus flower stem. Titled, 'DIANTHUS' showing yellow, pink and white types.
A coloured print showing the 'New Library' of the Lit & Phil as it would have appeared after shortly after being built.
A colour photograph of an actor dressed as an early 19th century cleaning lady in the persona of the spirit of Mrs Affleck, who worked in the early days of the Lit & Phil Library. She has a long feather duster and is dusting the old plaster ledges high up on the Gallery in the Main Library. Photographs by Donna-Lisa Healy
A colour photograph of Alexander Armstrong giving a speech, flanked by Mary Durkin, the chairwoman of our Board. They are standing in the Gallery overlooking the Main Library of the Lit & Phil Library, Newcastle upon Tyne. Photographs by Donna-Lisa Healy
A scan of a somewhat stained uncoloured illustration of a train composed of individual reindeer attached to single person sleds. The men in the sleds are thickly dressed in furs. The caption reads: "THE AUTHOR IN HIS WINTER DRESS AS HE TRAVELLED THROUGH LAPLAND WITH AN APPEARANCE OF THE NORTHERN LIGHTS"
An uncoloured illustration of wild seas in a squall with 2 small boats perilously close to rocks with seabirds rising in the distance. Sir William Edward Parry (1790 1855) was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer. His 1819 voyage through the Parry Channel was probably the most successful in the long quest for the Northwest Passage. In 1827 he attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole. He reached 82°45′ North latitude, setting the record for human exploration farthest North. This stood for nearly five decades before being surpassed at 83°20′26″ by Albert Hastings Markham in 1875–1876.
A coloured illustration showing 3 coaches in the countryside suffering in very deep slush and snow. One has been completely abandoned by horse and rider - the second is in the process of being abandoned and the 3rd, overcrowded, struggles past. The caption reads: "THE BRUCE PASSING THE PEVERIL COACH AND MANCHESTER MAIL"
An uncoloured bookplate showing 3 of the famous pale cows against a dark background of trees and fields with Chillingham castle in the background. The label reads: "WILD CATTLE in Chillingham Park"
A printed and hand coloured illustration of a fennec fox. #books #nature #naturalworld #illustration #libraries
A scan of the Systema Cosmicum book, with Latin text and a model for a heliocentric Solar System.
A scan of the hardback cover for 'A Fourth Form Friendship' by Angel Brazil featuring one schoolgirl comforting another sat on a rug on the floor. Angela Brazil (1868 –1947) was one of the first British writers of modern schoolgirls' stories written from the characters' point of view and intended primarily as entertainment rather than moral instruction. In the first half of the twentieth century she published nearly 50 books of girls' fiction, the vast majority being boarding school stories. She also published numerous short stories in magazines. While her stories have been much imitated in more recent decades, and many of her motifs and plot elements have since become clichés or the subject of parody, they were innovative when they first appeared. Brazil made a major contribution to changing the nature of fiction for girls. She presented a young female point of view which was active, aware of current issues and independently minded; she recognised adolescence as a time of transition, and accepted girls as having common interests and concerns which could be shared and acted upon. #books #children #kidslit #literature #libraries #illustration
An oval colour plate depicting a distraught woman in 18th Century clothing sat on a log with a man approaching behind her. The text beneath reads: '"The Lass of Livingstone" Stipple-Engraving by T. Gaugain, after George Morland. (Published 1789.) From the collection of Major E.F.Coates, M.P.'
A colour photograph of Iona Brown playing the violin against a black background. 200th Anniversary Concert 1st July Free 7pm Scarlatti and Avison Concertos The concert will show how Charles Avison orchestrated and developed Scarlatti's initial harpsichord work. Harpsichordist John Treherne MBE will play the Scarlatti solo. He will then be joined by a group of incredible musicians who will explain and perform how the solo works are developed and expanded. Iona Brown, violin Jane Nozzek, viola Mike Gerrard, viola Gabriel Waite, cello John Treherne MBE, harpsichord The ensemble will be performing concertos 2, 3, 6 and 12. #music #livemusic #live #classical #newcastle #newcastleupontyne #litandphil #performance #bicentenary #200
A scan of a page of 4 black and white pictures in the Strand Magazine showing amusing and unusual potatoes alleged to have been found by readers. The top two pictures are of a blob of 5 potatoes budded together. The bottom left is titled 'A POTATO MASHER: Found at Preston, and Photographed by Mr. Luke Berry, of Chorley'. It is wrapped in a cloth which makes it look like a profile photo of a bald man. The bottom right picture is labelled 'Photograph of a curious potato was taken by the late Mr. Fox and sent to us by Mr. J.S. Clarke, of New Wandsworth. It appears to be sculpted into a shape of a tiny bird.
A lithograph of Stonehenge framed by clouds with the title: "The North East View of Stonehenge"
A brown landscape book cover with gold text reading: "Cigars and all about them. Boby Bros., and Chapman London.Bury St Edmunds and Leeds" (sic) The library holds a number of tracts outlining the evils of tobacco, mainly printed in the 19th century, as well as several publications celebrating its virtues.
Image of a runner in a victory pose atop a pile of books framed by a setting sun.
A coloured illustration of the layers of 3 different areas in Yorkshire showing different types of rock. 'No.5 From Haiburn Wyke to Sandsend'
A banner showing a man running atop books with the text: Keep the Lit & Phil running THE WALL ULTRAMARATHON 14TH JUNE FROM CARLISLE TO NEWCASTLE SPONSOR NOW #LitAndPhil #Newcastle
A close up colour photograph of a decayed spine of one of our books embossed with the Lit & Phil Society stamps. The leather spine of the book has 'red rot' which causes older books exposed to gas light fumes to perish.
A black and white photo showing 'A Typical "Bible Van"' Copyright Photo lent by Bristol Wagon Works Co., Ltd. The wagon text reads 'THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH'' 'HIM THAT COMETH UNTO ME I WILL IN NO WISE CAST OUT' 'I WILL ARISE AND GO TO MY FATHER' 'PURE LITERATURE & GOSPEL TEMPEREANCE CHURCH ARMY' The Lit & Phil also holds a number of books and tracts relating to the Temperance movement, including the Official Guide to the National Convention for the Prohibition of Liquor Traffic which took place in Newcastle in 1897. Participants in the convention included Robert Spence Watson, then a Vice-President of the Lit & Phil, and David Lloyd-George, M.P. The guide includes a map of Newcastle upon which “the black spots show the facilities for obtaining intoxicating liquors.”
A colour plate with the text: "Mr.T.Y. Hall's Plan for penetrating dangerous Gases". It shows a man dressed in an airtight suit with an air tube fitted to his waist and another tube feeding air to a gas lamp he holds. In his left hand he holds a walking stick.
A colour plate depicting how those with colour vision deficiency may view an image differently to someone with standard sight.
A photograph taken of the illustration of a side on / profile plan of STEPHENSON'S PATENT LOCOMOTIVE ENGINE, showing part of the coal tender.
A cross section of a steep cliff side showing the interior of a cave. The legend reads: "SECTION OF THE CAVE CALLED GOAT HOLE In the Sea Cliffs 15 Miles West of Swansea"