In 1868 Henry Cole left London, where he ran both the Department of Science and Art and the South Kensington Museum, for a three-month trip in Italy. There he aimed to investigate historical techniques of architectural mosaic and allied crafts, which might be revived to the benefit of contemporary British design and education. Cole’s handwritten diary of this expedition is held today in the NAL: Notes of a journey to Palermo and back … . It contains also sketches, prices of objects acquired, and observations on matters such as terracotta, maiolica, Cosmati work and sgraffito. Cole draws up lists of objects to be acquired - or reproduced - for the Museum, to inspire artists, attract the public and inform students of the Mosaic class at the School of Design.

The aim of this PhD placement is to digitise, transcribe and index this important, so far unresearched source. The student will then be able to conduct research to contextualise this source and to develop public facing outputs, to be agreed depending on the length of the placement as well as the interests and skills they bring and/or would like to develop. Placement candidates will expect to acquire the following skills and knowledge from this placement.

• Object-focused research skills

• Transcription, indexing and digitisation skills

• An understanding of how to translate research into information for a collections management system

• Blog writing and public presentation skills.

PLEASE MAKE SURE TO CAREFULLY READ THE INSTRUCTIONS IN THE ATTACHMENTS FOR HOW TO APPLY