The Archives at Seven Stories

The main reason we Child Lit folks went down to Seven Stories last week was to visit the archives.They're actually stored in another building, so an appointment is required to have items brought over to the main building. Curators, PhD researchers, Fellows, and Archivists shared treasured pieces from the collection with us. For instance, just on this table are two of Philip Pullman's manuscripts; original artwork and dummies by Edward Ardizzone; and original artwork from Noel Streatfeild's Ballet Shoes by her sister, Ruth Gervis. Wow. We also saw original artwork by Nick Sharratt, and a gorgeous book dummy/sketchbook that I'm hoping someone can tell me who did it as I didn't write it down. I'm looking right at it in this photo as I was positively enthralled by seeing the creative joy in these original pieces! I've been trying to get back down to Seven Stories ever since my last visit, for exactly a trip like this. Truly, what a treat to geek-out with people as passionate about children's literature as I am!