Innes M. Keighren

@inneskeighren

Professor of Historical Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London. Co-convenor of the London Group of Historical Geographers. Writing a book on the global lives of William Macintosh (1737–1813). www.inneskeighren.com

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Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· 4d

I think you've got it! It's probably describing this folder (or one very like it).

A photograph showing the handwritten cover of a folder of archival documents.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· 4d

Periodic palaeographical plea (pour polyglot pals particularly). What are the words underlined in yellow?

An extract of a handwritten document in French.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· 10d

Food for thought.

A French shop front, "Boulangerie Diderot".

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· 21d

Sunset in the Umbrian Apennines.

A photograph of a partly wooded, hilly landscape with hills in the background and the sun setting to the right of the image.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· 24d

How your email finds me.

Statue depicting Saint Peter Martyr in the church of San Lorenzo Martire in Spello, Umbria.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jul 17

Time for one of my paleographical pleas. "...that they are as much due to the corruption of the neighbouring states and their inhabitants as to military skill and valour (altho’ military skill & power was not to ??? of France[)] and that they have already cost France 62 Milliards tournois..." 🙏 #C18

An extract of a 19th-century handwritten document (an 1840s transcription of a letter from 1800).

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jul 8

Looking forward to reading @andreawulf.bsky.social's biography of Georg Forster, an early Germanophone reader/reviewer of William Macintosh's "Travels in Europe, Asia, and Africa" (1782). Forster valued the book for what it had to say about India, but thought it wasn't up to snuff as a travelogue!

A copy of book, Andrea Wulf's "The Traveller: The Revolutionary Life of George Forster and his Search for Humanity", on a wooden desk.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jul 6

New blog post: "21 years to go..." inneskeighren.com/williammacin...

Nine books relating to émigrés and the counter-revolution on a wooden desk.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jul 3

Absolute unit. (N.B.: permission granted for photography)

A photograph of a large, thick book, laying open on a bookrest in a library.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jun 26

A final treat from the archive: a sketch by James Talbot of a scene from Charles-Pierre Ducancel’s play "L’Intérieur des comités révolutionnaires," which Talbot went to see with James Harris, Lord Malmesbury, in Paris in 1796. Bodleian Archives & Manuscripts, MS. Talbot c. 12, f. 32r. #C18

"The figure at the top of the table writing is Aristide, that upon his
right hand is Caton, that on his left Torquatus & the two at
the bottom of the table are Scévola and Brutus the latter is in the
light coloured waistcoat with blue trousers."

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jun 26

I like the traces of earlier researchers that you sometimes find tucked in archive files. Here is Elizabeth Sparrow (1928–2016) consulting MS. Talbot b. 27 and 28 in 1979, presumably as part of the research that led to her book "Secret Service: British Agents in France, 1792–1815" (1999). #C18

An archival consultation slip for archival material held by the University of Oxford, showing material ordered by Elizabeth Sparrow in 1979.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jun 26

I forgot to mark my Thaw Point™ earlier this week, but, appropriately, I have reached my melting point in Oxford today.

A view of the Weston Library in Oxford from an archway opposite the building.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jun 12

Thoroughly enjoyed reading “A Passage to Europe: The Extraordinary Travels of an Indian Prince in the Age of Revolutions,” by Rahul Markovits. Beautifully written, with some fascinating reflections on identity, credibility, translation, hospitality, rumour, go-betweens, and cultural encounters. #C18

A copy of a book, "A Passage to Europe: The Extraordinary Travels of an Indian Prince in the Age of Revolutions," on a wooden table.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Jun 5

Really interesting (and largely sunny) day in Glasgow for "Scotland, Britain and the Counter-Revolution: Colonial and Transnational Perspectives, c. 1789–c. 1815." I learned a huge amount. Vive la (contre)révolution! #C18

A photograph of a stone bridge over a river. There are leafy trees on both riverbanks. The sky is blue, with fluffy white clouds.

Scotland, Britain and the Counter- Revolution: Colonial and Transnational Perspectives, c. 1789–c. 1815

International one-day symposium organised as part of the Memorandum of Understanding agreement between Sorbonne University and the University of Glasgow

Friday 5 June 2026 09.00-16.00

University of Glasgow, Advanced Research Centre, 11 Chapel Lane Room 237A

Organisers:

Thomas Archambaud (University of Glasgow) and Jean-François Dunyach (Sorbonne University)

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· May 25

No heatwave in Orkney today, but there are some compensations.

A photograph of a sunset, with the gable wall of a stone house on the left, a rocky shoreline in the foreground, a stretch of sea, and some islands on the horizon.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· May 14

Periodic palaeographical plea: what is this name? Fallet, Sallet, Jallet, or something else entirely? Context: Avignon, 1788. Merci! #C18

Various examples of a handwritten surname, the initial letter of which is somewhat ambiguous.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· May 4

Dog of the day—Mug, ugly and remarkably fat—from The Morning Herald, 2 June 1786. #C18

STOLEN: or Strayed; a large Mastiff-dog, ugly and ill shaped, and uncommonly made about the knees; he answers to the name of Mug. Whoever will bring him to A. B. at the New Hummums, Covent Garden, shall receive half a guinea reward. No greater reward will be offered. He is remarkably fat, having been gelt when a puppy.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Apr 21

New blog post: "The mysterious de Leahy and Lee" inneskeighren.com/williammacin... #C18

The signatures of two women: B de Leahy and E Lee.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Apr 20

Periodic palaeographical plea: any thoughts on the obscured surname, a maîtresse at the Couvent de Berlaymont in Brussels in 1783. Could it be Choisy? Chossy? Or something else entirely? Merci beaucoup! #C18

"I am now a convict at the Convent at Berlaymont under the special tuition [of] Madlle [?] a Lady who for 30 years past has served the difficult department of Education with success equal to her reputation. I wish by my docility and attention to merit..."

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Apr 19

And here we have it on the map, albeit as "Couvent de Petits Beggards":

Detail from the Ferraris map of the Austrian Netherlands, showing the Couvent des Petits Beggards.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Apr 14

Might any #C18 scholars familiar with Belgium be able to identify the beguinage mentioned in these 1783 documents? The beguinage was either in or close to Brussels. The only other clue I have is that the confessor is identified variously as "Herdies", "Herdy", and "Herdie". Thank you kindly!

Three 1783 documents mentioning the "cleynen beygaerde", "petits Begards", and "Pettit Beygards" respectively.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Apr 4

New blog post: "The beginning of the end, and other wishful thoughts" inneskeighren.com/williammacin...

Leonor de Almeida Portugal, Marquesa de Alorna, by Józef Pitschmann (1780).

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Apr 3

It's a good Friday on the Via Ferrata Carlo Giorda alla Sacra Di San Michele.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Mar 29

Periodic palaeographical plea: any thoughts on the underlined text in this c. 1784 notarial act? "L'an de l'??? est comparu..." Merci beaucoup! #C18

Image of an 18th-century handwritten French document.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Mar 22

Grease is the word.

Photograph of a bookshelf displaying a book titled "A History of the British Lubricants Industry".

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Mar 11

Have you ever wanted a hands-free ear trumpet that won't mess up your hair? Look no further than M. Bernard's latest innovation. #C18

A scientific figure offering various views of an over-the-head ear trumpet, and showing how it can be worn by women with bouffant hair. Source: Journal polytype des sciences et des arts, vol. 1, no. 9 (17 April 1786).

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Mar 8

New blog post for International Women's Day: "The forgotten labour of Nancy Dupont" inneskeighren.com/williammacin... #IWD2026 #C18

The inscription to Nancy on the family monument in the Père Lachaise cemetery, reading "Marie Anne Dupont, veuve Aublay, décédée le 17 décembre 1839. Celui qui croit en moi, dit le Seigneur, vivra éternellement." © Amis et Passionnés du Père Lachaise.

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Feb 18

New blog post: "Jacque-Pierre Brissot in the Sponging House" inneskeighren.com/williammacin... #C18

Portrait of Jacques-Pierre Brissot (c. 1790), by François Bonneville. Musée Carnavalet, Histoire de Paris (P2608).

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Feb 17

Are any historians of #C18 London familiar with Thomas Phillips' lock-up house on Gray's Inn Lane? Although Phillips died in 1770, I believe this is where Jacques-Pierre Brissot was briefly imprisoned in 1784. I would love to know more about it. Thank you kindly!

Cutting from The St. James's Chronicle; or, The British Evening-Post, no. 137 (11–14 June 1768), [3].

Innes M. Keighren@inneskeighren· Feb 15

New blog post: "Macintosh, Washington, and Goethe's birthday present" inneskeighren.com/williammacin...