Maritime Archive and Library

Displays and online exhibitions

Online exhibitions

Photograph of Captain James Robert Rae and his wife on board 'City of Corinth'. Reference DX1507

Have a look at some of the treasures from the archives in this new series of online exhibitions.

• Royal visits to Liverpool - marking the Diamond Jubilee year
• Christmas at sea
• Moustaches from the past - celebrating Movember
• The Cunard Queens - the predecessors of today's luxury liners
• "For you, the war is over!" - Merchant Navy Prisoners of War in the Second World War

Temporary displays

Visitors to the museum can see special displays of topical and unusual archive material in the cabinets by the entrance to the Maritime Archives and Library on the second floor of the museum.

The current display is: Liverpool and the American Civil War

Previous displays:

• Whisky for all! - the true story behind 'Whisky Galore'
• John Masefield, poet of the sea
• China
• Cargo
• 150th anniversary of HMS Conway
• Merchant Navy uniforms
• Liverpool - port of cultures
• The Age of Nelson - celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar
• Photographs of the ship CSS Alabama - a special display of rare photographs purchased in 2005
• Maritime records for family historians - part of the 2004 Archive Awareness Campaign

Stewart Bale collection online exhibitions

A series of online exhibitions of photographs from the Stewart Bale collection to highlight the breadth of its subject matter. They cover the following themes in sequence:

• Waterfront, docks and shipping
• The Liverpool Blitz
• Entertainment (covering cinemas, theatres, leisure and outdoor pools)
• Work (covering engineering and construction, including the Queensway Mersey tunnel, shipbuilding and factories)
• Architecture (including both Liverpool cathedrals)
• Retail (including street scenes and vehicles)
• Christmas

The first major exhibition of photographs from the Stewart Bale collection held in the archives, Metropolis - capturing modern Liverpool, was held at the National Conservation Centre in Liverpool from 21 March to 10 August 2008.