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‘Iron lung’ as metaphor
I will argue that ‘iron lung’ became eponymous as it connected the material reality of the NPV with imagined sensory experiences for publics in the UK, highlighting the often contradictory earlier metaphors of modernity and sound.
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A long engagement – railways, data and the information age
Despite the steam locomotive being the persistent image of railway history, this article aims to show that the railway’s early use of electrical technology within its business systems meant it was in closer alignment with the emergence of computer technology and its forebears than is usually assumed.
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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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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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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.
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Collecting the personal: stories of domestic energy and everyday life at the National Museum of Scotland
The Energise gallery at the National Museum of Scotland explores the sources, generation, distribution and use of energy and questions how science and technology transform how we power our lives. This article details three objects around which a focus on personal stories was adopted.
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Energy/Culture: a reading guide for historical literature
This reading guide maps the existing literature on energy history by focusing on changes in the scholarly understandings of the relationship between energy and culture. It aims to provide an entry point for thinking about energy’s past, present and future.
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Festschrift: experimenting with research: Kenneth Mees, Eastman Kodak and the challenges of diversification
Pioneering principles of research laid down before the First World War served Kodak well for several decades. But ultimately the company evolved a conservative management culture which failed to adapt to market realities, with disastrous consequences.
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Festschrift: how do we value artefacts in museum research?
How have museums of science and technology responded to the growing academic interest in their collections, and how have museum professionals contributed to the formation of new research agendas both inside and outside the walls of their respective institutions?
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Festschrift: of mice and myths: challenges and opportunities of capturing contemporary science in museums
This essay considers some challenges of collecting contemporary artefacts, and questions whether such artefacts actually offer any greater challenges for museum storytelling than those from earlier periods. The article also discusses some opportunities of contemporary collecting, many of which have yet to be fully harnessed by science and technology museums.