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‘As snug as a bug in a rug’: post-war housing, homes and coal fires
This article examines the image of the open coal fire in redefining the home in post-war Britain. Rather than a timeless source of reverie and comfort, the post-war fire articulated values that were central to the nation in this period of reconstruction.
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‘Something simple and striking, if not amusing’ – the Freedom 7 special exhibition at the Science Museum, 1965
The Mercury capsule Freedom 7 was displayed at the Science Museum in 1965–66. This was well documented through photographs in addition to textual documents. This paper proposes an analysis of the exhibition in the light of these records.
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'½ vol. not relevant': The scrapbook of Winifred Penn-Gaskell
Ephemera in collections of science and technology museums are often understudied and even less frequently displayed. This paper argues for a re-evaluation of the scrapbook of Winifred Penn-Gaskell as a key item in her collection of aeronautica.
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A statistical campaign: Florence Nightingale and Harriet Martineau’s England and her Soldiers
An essay on the making of England and her Soldiers, a book written by Harriet Martineau and based on the statistical work of Florence Nightingale.
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A symposium on histories of use and tacit skills
The histories of use of the objects in museum collections, and the unrecorded skills of their operation, have posed pressing research questions for museum people and university scholars alike. This symposium drew together different perspectives on this emerging area of study.
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A tale of two telegraphs: Cooke and Wheatstone’s differing visions of electric telegraphy
William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone were two of the most recognised figures behind the Victorian telegraph. Their conflicting visions of telegraphy provoked an acrimonious dispute between them. The paper explores this dispute’s impact on the development of telegraphic instruments.
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Acoustics on display: collecting and curating sound at the Science Museum
This article looks at the historic role of sound in displaying the Science Museum’s acoustics collection. It exposes both the practice and problem of using sound in the process of displaying sounding objects.
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Adapting to the emergence of the automobile: a case study of Manchester coachbuilder Joseph Cockshoot and Co. 1896–1939
This paper will analyse the relationship between the horse-drawn and the motorised vehicle in the UK. It argues that the emergence of the automobile was not a simple matter of technological progress, but involved complex relationships between manufacturers, coachbuilders and customers.
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Engineering and the family in business: Blanche Coules Thornycroft, naval architecture and engineering design
The article describes the role of Blanche Thornycroft as a naval architect in the family business of John I. Thornycroft. It explores her role in the family business and examines some of the products she was involved in building.
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Capturing the song of the nightingale
An article exploring the effects of the first ever broadcast from a natural location made by the British Broadcasting Company – the famous Nightingale broadcast of 19 May 1924, and the role of the innovative microphone that made it possible.