Gallery: A Treasure Trove of Britain's Old Newspapers

By Stephanie Pappas
published

Crumbling Newspapers

crumbling newspaper corners

(Image credit: Chris Close)

Crumbling newspapers held in the British Archive. An ambitious 10-year project with findmypast.com aims to digitize 50 million pages of newsprint from the collection.

British Newspaper

British newspaper broadsheet

(Image credit: British Newspaper Library)

Extra-large scanners are used to transform 8,000 pages into digital form every day.

Richard III 'Discovery'

King Richard III false discovery

(Image credit: findmypast.com)

In 1935, the Bath Weekly Chronicle and Herald reported the discovery of a skeleton thought to be Richard III's.

Einstein's Arithmetic

Daily Mail Albert Einstein

(Image credit: British Library)

A 1924 news brief gets a dig in at famed mathematician Albert Einstein.

Digitizing Newspapers

newspaper digitization process

(Image credit: Chris Close)

An archivist positions newsprint on a special scanner.

Ironing Newspaper

newspaper digitization process

(Image credit: Chris Close)

An archivist irons out creases in an old newspaper. Some severely damaged papers have to undergo special conservation before scanning.

Great Exhibition

Great Exhibition history

(Image credit: British Library)

A miscellaneous news segment from 1851 tells of a mishap at the Crystal Palace, the enormous glass building created to house the international expo.

A Lady Thief

Hereford Times robbery story

(Image credit: British Library)

The scandalous tale of a "lady thief" in Hereford.

Elephant Theft

Elephant theft article

(Image credit: Northcliffe Media Ltd, courtesy The British Library Board)

A 1934 article datelined Birmingham, Ala., tells of an alleged elephant theft.

Pink Pills

pink pills

(Image credit: The British Library Board)

Old newspapers display the medical cures of the times, including the alliteratively named "Pink Pills for Pale People."

Queen Victoria

Queen Victoria crowning

(Image credit: The British Library Board)

A newspaper supplement commemorating the crowning of Queen Victoria.

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.