In a Bloomsbury Square: TS Eliot the Publisher

TS Eliot. A new exhibition at the British Library uses original manuscripts, correspondence, art works and sound recordings drawn from the library's own collections, as well as previously unseen material from the Faber archive and the Eliot estate, to explore the ways in which Eliot nurtured and developed some of the most significant writers of the 20th century Photograph: Angus McBean/Faber Archive

Faber's offices in Russell Square, London. Eliot worked with authors including James Joyce, WH Auden, Marianne Moore, David Jones, and Ted Hughes during his long career with the publisher Photograph: Colin Tait Studios/Faber Archive

TS Eliot and a Faber secretary. Eliot was nicknamed 'the elephant' by his colleagues for his wisdom and long memory Photograph: Faber Archive

Eliot in a stern pose. An accomplished businessman as well as a poet, an internal Faber memo to be included in the exhibition shows Eliot protesting about the number of books Faber was publishing - too many, in his opinion. He was also a skilled writer of book blurbs Photograph: John Gay/Faber Archive

The Faber Firewatching Register: the Faber staff including Eliot used to take turns to firewatch on the roof of the Faber Russell Square office during the Blitz (Eliot had vertigo but still did his duties). He also signed up as an air-raid warden for Kensington, but worried that the responsibilities of the position left him too tired to work on his publishing and his own writing Photograph: Faber Archive

Faber Book News, detailing the story of Morgan, the Faber cat. 'One of the firm's directors, having a special affection for Morgan, who comforted him during the trying nights of fire-watching, offered to approach Morgan personally about his lives, and Morgan, with some show of affected diffidence, handed him the following a few days ago,' the newsletter runs. 'We were astonished to find the biographical note written in verse...' Photograph: Faber Archive

TS Eliot, his wife Valerie and Ted Hughes at - in Hughes's words - 'one of the champagne and guinness parties' that Faber used to throw Photograph: Faber Archive

A journal entry by Ted Hughes about the Faber cocktail party on 23 January 1960, where the poet describes the 'reptile wrinkles' and 'lively warm brown eyes' of the 'shortish' WH Auden, whom he met there Photograph: Ted Hughes Estate/The British Library

Poets Louis MacNeice, Ted Hughes, TS Eliot, WH Auden and Stephen Spender at a Faber cocktail party. Spender, said Hughes in his diary, was 'drunk', while MacNeice was 'glib' Photograph: Mark Gerson/Faber Archive

This photograph of the mantelpiece in Eliot's Faber office was taken in 1965 just after he died (nothing had been moved). It shows photographs on the mantelpiece of key people in his life including Virginia Woolf, Djuna Barnes and WB Yeats Photograph: Moreton Prichard/Faber Archive

Journal entry by Hughes about the death of Eliot on 7 January 1965. Calling Eliot the 'guru-in-chief', Hughes said that hearing of Eliot's death was 'like a crack over the head, exactly, followed by headache'. 'From now on everything will be different,' Hughes wrote. 'He was in my mind constantly, like a rather over-watchful, over-powerful father, and now he has gone. I shall have to move - be able to move, maybe.' Photograph: Ted Hughes Estate/The British Library