A 125-year-old magazine has been found hidden in the coat-tails of Bristol’s infamous Edward Colston statue.
The copy of Tit-Bits magazine was uncovered when the toppled monument to the slave trader was retrieved from the city’s harbour on Thursday.
It was carefully cleaned and dried, revealing handwritten notes on who had erected the statue and the date – October 26 1895.
Protesters tore down the monument during a Black Lives Matter march in Bristol on Sunday before hurling it into the harbour.
Bristol City Council has confirmed the statue, complete with graffiti and some of the rope used to bring it down, will go on display in the M-Shed museum along with placards from the demonstration.
In a Twitter thread, the team at M-Shed said: “Despite only being in the water for a few days, mud had filled the inside and obscured the evidence of its journey into the harbour.
“We spent the morning removing mud from its inside with a hose and extendable brush.
“The painted graffiti was particularly at risk from the cleaning so this was done very carefully to ensure it wasn’t washed off.”
They added: “The symbolism of his graffitti'd body has been preserved and the significance it has for us will be an important story to tell.
“We ended up with two surprise additions. Firstly a bicycle tyre which emerged from the harbour with the statue, and then the discovery of a clue to the people who first installed it in Bristol: A 1895 magazine rolled up inside the coat tails.
“After careful cleaning and drying we found someone had handwritten the names of those who originally fitted the statue and the date on the inside pages.”
Bristol University’s Library explained that Tit-Bits was a popular weekly magazine, launched in 1881 by George Newnes.
It focused on human interest stories as well as fiction, poetry and humour.
The Society of Merchant Venturers (SMV) – which plays an active role in managing three institutions that bear Colston’s name – issued a lengthy statement on Thursday.
“The use of Edward Colston’s name on buildings, streets, landmarks and institutions is a divisive topic in Bristol,” the SMV said.
“It undoubtedly provides a stark reminder of Bristol’s troubled past and the brutality of the slave trade.
“It also causes great offence and distress to many of Bristol’s citizens.
“As a city, we must explore whether there are more appropriate and powerful ways to acknowledge and remember Bristol’s past and its role in the transatlantic slave trade.”
The society said it shares a determination for Bristol to become an inclusive, sustainable and successful city and is examining how it can “accelerate” its part in that.
It described the schools sponsored by SMV as inclusive and diverse, and acknowledged the name Colston “does not always sit comfortably”.
“This is something that we have reviewed together regularly and whilst it is not a change that should be taken lightly, it is certainly something that we are looking at again,” it said.
“The view of the school communities will be central to how the discussion moves forward.”
On Thursday, signage displaying the name of Colston Tower was removed from the high-rise building.
A commission of historians and other experts is to be set up in Bristol to consider the city’s past and share its stories, the council announced on Wednesday.
Decisions on what will happen to the plinth where Colston’s statue stood will be made “democratically through consultation”, Mayor Marvin Rees said.
