Collection GB 0074 Q/CN - CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE

Identity area

Reference code

GB 0074 Q/CN

Title

CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE

Date(s)

  • 1877-1880 (Creation)

Level of description

Collection

Extent and medium

0.08 linear metres

Context area

Name of creator

Biographical history

Cleopatra's Needle was made of pink granite at the time of Thothmes (Tuthmose) III, circa 1500 BC, with later inscriptions added by Ramesses II. It was later removed to Alexandria. It was brought to London in the container ship Cleopatra, towed by the steam ships Olga and Anglia, in 1877. It was erected on the Victoria Embankment between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge by the engineer John Dixon in 1879, with two sphinxes added to the base.

Archival history

GB 0074 Q/CN 1877-1880 Collection 0.08 linear metres Various.

Cleopatra's Needle was made of pink granite at the time of Thothmes (Tuthmose) III, circa 1500 BC, with later inscriptions added by Ramesses II. It was later removed to Alexandria. It was brought to London in the container ship Cleopatra, towed by the steam ships Olga and Anglia, in 1877. It was erected on the Victoria Embankment between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge by the engineer John Dixon in 1879, with two sphinxes added to the base.

Deposited in September 1966.

Papers, 1877-1880 and undated, relating to Cleopatra's Needle, comprising two photographs of the ship Cleopatra at Alexandria {1877}; drawing of the Cleopatra by John Dixon, undated; manuscript copy of memoranda made on board the SS Olga towing Cleopatra, 1877; letters concerning the abandonment of the Cleopatra, 1877; cuttings from The Times concerning the salvage of the Cleopatra {1878} and the erection of Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment, 1878; two copies of an account of expenditure incurred in transporting and re-erecting the Needle, 1880; Cleopatra's Needle visitors' book, 1878; drawing, undated, of hieroglyphs, and tracing, 1877, of Greek and Latin inscriptions on the Needle; two copper plates apparently formerly attached to the monument relating the story of the transhipment etc, 1878; offprint of a paper on Cleopatra's Needle delivered to the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1880.

Documents in chronological order.

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to access restrictions.

Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.

English

Fit

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

August to October 2010. Historical periods Ancient history Architecture Monuments Historic monuments Ancient civilizations Egyptology Ancient monuments Cleopatra's Needle , Victoria Embankment , London Victoria Embankment London England UK Western Europe Europe

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Deposited in September 1966.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

Papers, 1877-1880 and undated, relating to Cleopatra's Needle, comprising two photographs of the ship Cleopatra at Alexandria {1877}; drawing of the Cleopatra by John Dixon, undated; manuscript copy of memoranda made on board the SS Olga towing Cleopatra, 1877; letters concerning the abandonment of the Cleopatra, 1877; cuttings from The Times concerning the salvage of the Cleopatra {1878} and the erection of Cleopatra's Needle on the Embankment, 1878; two copies of an account of expenditure incurred in transporting and re-erecting the Needle, 1880; Cleopatra's Needle visitors' book, 1878; drawing, undated, of hieroglyphs, and tracing, 1877, of Greek and Latin inscriptions on the Needle; two copper plates apparently formerly attached to the monument relating the story of the transhipment etc, 1878; offprint of a paper on Cleopatra's Needle delivered to the Institution of Civil Engineers, 1880.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Documents in chronological order.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

These records are available for public inspection, although records containing personal information may be subject to access restrictions.

Conditions governing reproduction

Copyright to this collection rests with the depositor.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

  • Latin

Language and script notes

English

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Please see online catalogues at: http://search.lma.gov.uk/opac_lma/index.htm

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Description control area

Description identifier

Institution identifier

London Metropolitan Archives

Rules and/or conventions used

Compiled in compliance with General International Standard Archival Description, ISAD(G), second edition, 2000; National Council on Archives Rules for the Construction of Personal, Place and Corporate Names, 1997.

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation revision deletion

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

    Sources

    Accession area