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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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Challenges of conservation: working objects
A review of conservation concepts and practice, and provision of access to objects. Discussion of the conservation issues which arise when industrial objects are operated, and of the need for research into the effects of operation and the visitor experience.
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‘A Chamber of Noise Horrors’: sound, technology and the museum
This article analyses the 1935 Science Museum exhibition on Noise Abatement in order to draw wider conclusions about technological sound and the museum and to make an argument in favour of hearing museum sound historically.
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Coming home - Bally’s miniature phrenological specimens
Close inspection of William Bally’s miniature phrenological specimens – a set of 60 small plaster busts – has led to a reappraisal of their origin and use. Made in 1832, they helped position Bally as ‘one of the best practical phrenologists in England’.
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Contexts for photography collections at the National Media Museum
In 2016 the National Media Museum transferred parts of its photographic collections to the Victoria and Albert Museum. This article examines the reactions to this decision to understand what it can tell us about public perceptions of the role of museums, and places the transfer in the wider contexts of sustainable collecting practices, economic pressures and local circumstances.
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The Science Museum and the Leonardo da Vinci Quincentenary Exhibition of 1952
This article tells the story of the Science Museum’s role in an exhibition at the Royal Academy, London, in 1952, to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of Leonardo da Vinci, and in particular in displaying mechanical models based on Leonardo’s drawings.
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Doping at the Science Museum: the conservation challenge of doped fabric aircraft in the Flight gallery
A review of the materials used to make doped fabric aircraft, the Science Museum’s collection and the conservation challenge of such objects.
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Editorial
Editorial
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Flying Scotsman: modernity, nostalgia and Britain’s ‘cult of the past’
This article explores the rescue and restoration of the world famous steam locomotive Flying Scotsman in 1963 and explores wider questions about what it means to preserve cultural objects and how, if at all, their authenticity can be preserved.