Unit X - Mini Archive - Belle Vue Gardens

After the lecture on Wednesday I thought that the Belle Vue Gardens would be the ideal research point for my work, I learnt briefly about the history and how many different sections there were that pieced together to create it all, and there seemed to be a lot of research available. With the different areas such as the zoo, circus, sports arenas, ballroom dance halls and many more, I knew that something would inspire me and create an exciting starting point to the ‘Fairground’ unit.

At the Chethams Library visit we had the chance to look at some of the Belle Vue collection, I found the scrap book enlightening; it gave insight to the animals, the park and all of the performances. Looking at the posters and leaflets was also interesting because it provided the opportunity to see how things like adverts etc. were produced and it allowed me to feel more informed about Belle Vue, knowing what would have been available at the time. Knowing that these were also all produced at Belle Vue due to the fact that they had their own publishing company made me again feel more connected to all of the archive objects.

  Images from Flickr: Chetham's Library

To me one of the most inspiring items at the archive by far was the small booklet that would be sold to customers for one penny. The cover art work was beautiful and very inspiring, it is something I would defiantly like to try and incorporate into my work, or at lease capture that similar essence.