First Impressions

Our ‘Medieval’ Wax and the Magical Aging Chamber

May 2, 2017 Messing about in the lab

As you might remember, a few months ago we spent the day in a lab using medieval recipes to make sealing wax. We had been careful to ensure that we had followed the recipes as closely as possible in order to replicate the methods used in the Middle Ages (ignoring…

Behind the Scenes in Imprint

April 12, 2017 Adventures in archives Introduction Messing about in the lab

To find out more about what we’re up to, watch this video.

The Several Seals of Bella Hella

March 8, 2017 Adventures in archives Interesting Items women

Today is International Women’s Day, and Imprint thought this would be a good time to tell you the story of a shrewd medieval businesswoman, from her first steps as an adult in her teens to holding an established position in her community. In 1965 Francis Hill, writing on Medieval Lincoln,…

Fingerprinting as an Identity Science: A History

February 22, 2017 Fingerprints Introduction

As part of Aberystwyth University’s work placement scheme, AberForward, I was lucky enough to be placed under the direct supervision of Aberystwyth’s very own Lady of the Seals, Dr Elizabeth New, and work on the Imprint Project. I was incredibly excited to work on such an amazing project, although it…

On Making Wax Seals; Or, Why Instructions Matter

October 31, 2016 Messing about in the lab

A few weeks ago, members of the Imprint team donned white coats and headed for a laboratory to experiment with making sealing wax and applying seals to documents. The aim was to discover more about the material we are investigating, the physical process of sealing, and how and when prints…