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You can explore our collections through curated digital resources or full catalogue listings via Jersey’s shared heritage database.

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Publications

Since its foundation in 1873, the Société has used publishing as means to share knowledge of Jersey’s history, culture and environment. Our publishing output forms a key part of our educational purpose.

Library

The Lord Coutanche Library supports the work of the Société Jersiaise by collecting and preserving material relating to Jersey's history, prehistory and natural environment.

Photographic Archive

The Photographic Archive (SJPA) contains over 125,000 items dating from the mid-1840s to the present day. It is the Island’s principal collection of nineteenth and early twentieth-century photography

Field Archaeology

The Société Jersiaise archaeologist is privately funded by a generous benefactor, which is a wonderful gift, for which the Société Jersiaise are extremely grateful.
Blog Series

Ès Jèrriais, en Jèrriais: The Société Scholar who taught himself Jersey’s indigenous language
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The Polymath’s Journey
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Lithophilia: For the love of sound and stone
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The Philosophical Toy
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Rules & Reports

Blog Series

Ès Jèrriais, en Jèrriais: The Société Scholar who taught himself Jersey’s indigenous language

Martha MacDonald
October 21, 2024

Although he hails from Devon, Peter George is perhaps more knowledgeable about Jersey than many locals since writing in the Island’s indigenous language became the focus of his academic research.

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The Polymath’s Journey

Orlando Echeverri Benedetti
October 1, 2024

Arthur Ernest Mourant (1904–1994) was a pioneering biological anthropologist whose groundbreaking work in blood group serology significantly advanced our understanding of human genetics. Mourant's formative years were marked by a complex interplay between his religious upbringing and burgeoning scientific curiosity, ignited by childhood explorations of Jersey's natural landscapes. His photography captures both the beauty of Jersey and the essence of his scientific pursuits, providing valuable insights into his life. His collection, now housed at the Société Jersiaise, reflects his personal and professional journey.

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Lithophilia: For the love of sound and stone

Martha MacDonald
September 18, 2024

To mark the centenary of the historic excavation of La Hougue Bie's ancient chamber, the Société has teamed up with Jersey Heritage to commission a number of creative responses to this sacred, ancient site. One such commission is from Jersey composer Charles Mauleverer, who has created a site-specific composition that will be installed at La Hougue Bie later this month.

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The Philosophical Toy

Orlando Echeverri Benedetti
September 2, 2024

Stereoscopic photography, a hallmark of the 19th century, not only provided aesthetic pleasure but also served as a vessel for philosophical exploration. As an early form of virtual reality, it allowed Victorian audiences to traverse the globe without leaving their parlours, thereby reshaping their understanding of space and reality. Advertisements of the era promised immersive experiences, suggesting that through the stereoscope, users could touch the very essence of distant lands and cultures, a seductive proposition that blurred the line between representation and reality.

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Inaugural Société bursary supports major marine monitoring project

Martha MacDonald
August 20, 2024

The first recipient of the Société Jersiaise’s new environmental bursary, created in memory of a former States Member and dedicated environmentalist, is a major project to monitor seabirds and other marine wildlife in Channel Island waters.

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Averil Picot and Barreau Art Awards: Supporting creativity for 100 years

Martha MacDonald
July 27, 2024

As the organisation celebrates 100 years of the Barreau Art Scholarship, an award to assist with the study of fine art in the form of painting, sculpture, architecture, photography or film, I sat down with recent recipients of the bursary to find out about the difference it made for their careers.

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Through the lens of Jersey’s Renaissance Man

Martha MacDonald
June 13, 2024

If an individual were the pioneer behind lifesaving genetic research, it would be understandable for you to assume that their talents must only lie in that area of expertise. But this was not the case for Jersey’s true Renaissance Man, Arthur Mourant (1904-1994), whose talents ranged from medicine, genetics, chemistry, and haematology to geology, archaeology and also photography.

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“An invaluable record of our cultural heritage”

Martha MacDonald
May 22, 2024

Jersey’s rich journalistic history as chronicled in newspapers and magazines dating back to before the French Revolution have been digitised as part of a major project spearheaded by the Société Jersiaise.

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