05/02/2016: Can you help save a vital part of the world’s flour milling heritage?

An appeal from Liz Bartram, Development Manager, The Mills Archive

The Mills Archive, possibly the world’s largest specialist milling archive and library, is an educational heritage charity based in the UK (registered charity no 1155828).

Since 2002 we have provided a safe home for images and documents relating to traditional wind- and watermills, which we make freely available on our website and online catalogue HERE.

We now include the care and conservation of roller flour mill records, a hugely significant part of the world’s milling heritage and vital to the educational story of the evolution of milling.
   

Since we announced our intentions to establish the world’s first roller flour mill archive, in this magazine and elsewhere, we have been given more than 1500 loose issues of the important 'Northwestern Miller' journal from the USA.

The journals are very fragile, and by supporting
this appeal, you will help to prevent this from
happening to more issues

The journals capture the important revolution in the milling world during a period of rapid technological change from wind- and watermills to much larger factory-style mills. 

 The new collection extends from 1886 to 1973 and is the largest set available to the public in Europe, and possibly worldwide.

In 2015 we received a grant of almost UK£9 000 from the Mercers’ Company to bind and house these journals, in order to protect their fragile state and prevent further degradation.

However, since receiving this grant, our collection of the Northwestern Miller has grown, and we are left with a UK£2 500 shortfall to cover the cost of binding.

We are looking for a company or an individual who recognises the value of these journals and who wishes to make a difference by covering this shortfall. 

If you would like to donate to this project and ensure that this collection is preserved and made available to the world, we would love to hear from you. Once bound, the journals will become publicly accessible for the first time. 
 

We are also working to scan some of the best examples of the front covers, which display some stunning and evolving mill-related artwork and these will be available to view by anyone around the world.

Unless we act now to care for this vulnerable and increasingly rare material, we will pass the point at which it can be rescued. Can you help?

 

To find out more, or to make a donation, please email me on mills@millsarchive.org   

Visit the Mills Archive site HERE.

 

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