To facilitate exploration of local history and the Brontë family, the Keighley Local Studies Library now has a catalogue file of all images that have appeared in its bound editions of the Brontë Society’s Transactions and Journals from 1898 through to 2014. This means that it is possible to find, for example, a facsimile of a letter written by Patrick Brontë, or a pen sketch of the Black Bull pub by Arthur North, given the name of the author or item.

This collection comprises over 1000 Brontë related images, including familiar ones that may be found on exhibition at the Brontë Parsonage Museum, as well as others of interest such as photographs of extended family members, charts of family genealogy, pictures of places that may have featured in their novels, andgeographical locations that hold the Brontë name (e.g. Brontë, Texas).

There are also pictures of Brontë Society members, who have appeared over the years,
including Butler Wood, the Society’s first editor and Bradford’s Chief Librarian 1887-1925, international members as far away as China, and visiting dignitaries to the Parsonage Museum, such as James Roosevelt, son of U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, whose family was connected to the Butterfields in Keighley.

The Keighley Local Studies Library of Bradford Council is opened Monday-Saturday and is located at the Keighley Library, an historic Andrew Carnegie Library on North Street,
Keighley BD21 3SX.

Email: keighleylocalstudies@bradford.gov.uk
Phone: 01535 618215

Mary E. Adamson
Library Volunteer and Brontë Society Member