16 Autumn 2021 Issue 16
Issue 16 features a strong strain of research from within the Science Museum Group. Robert Gwynne brings together railway and computer histories by looking at the long engagement of the railways with data driven technologies; Abigail Wilson looks at the impact of Joseph Whitworth’s legacy on Manchester’s built environment; and Alex Rose discusses a collection of seismographs originally located at Eskdalemuir Observatory in Scotland. Charles Ormrod looks at the history of mechanised production in luxury goods while Pippi Carty-Hornsby discusses a methodology for capturing and preserving the disappearing (and often tacit) knowledge required to operate large working exhibits. In other articles, Curator Imogen Holmes-Roe discusses the history and direction of the Whitworth gallery, whilst David H Lee contributes a study of audience responses to a health exhibition in the USA with objectives to change behaviours. Our growing reviews section allows discussion of the crucial contemporary issues faced by museums. Here Subhadra Das discusses Corrine Fowler’s 'Green Unpleasant Land' while 'Photography Off the Scale' (eds Tomáš Dvořák and Jussi Parikka) is reviewed by Surya Bowyer.
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Editorial
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Preserving skills and knowledge in heritage machinery operations
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A long engagement – railways, data and the information age
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The Whitworth: a place for Industry and Art
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Reports and commands: deciphering a health exhibition using the SPEAKING mnemonic
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From Renaissance medals to the Jaguar E-Type car bonnet: mechanised production and the making of luxury goods
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Seismographs at Eskdalemuir Observatory, 1908–1925: tools for rethinking the origins of international cooperation in seismology
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Philanthropy, industry and the city of Manchester: the impact of Sir Joseph Whitworth’s philanthropy on Manchester’s built environment
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Book review: Photography Off the Scale: Technologies and Theories of the Mass Image
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Book review: Green Unpleasant Land: Creative Responses to Rural England’s Colonial Connections by Professor Corinne Fowler
Featured content
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Seismographs at Eskdalemuir Observatory, 1908–1925: tools for rethinking the origins of international cooperation in seismology
Four seismographs now preserved in the collections of the Science Museum Group were originally installed at Eskdalemuir Observatory, Scotland, between 1908 and 1925. By attending to their provenance, this paper reconsiders the role of John Milne in forging international cooperation in seismology.
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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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Philanthropy, industry and the city of Manchester: the impact of Sir Joseph Whitworth’s philanthropy on Manchester’s built environment
An exploration of the buildings philanthropically funded by Sir Joseph Whitworth’s legacy and their impact on the development of Manchester’s built environment.
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The Whitworth: a place for Industry and Art
Informed by the ‘SMG Research Conference 2019: The Place of Industry’, this article reflects on the Whitworth’s history; from its founding principles to its new mission and vision to explore the continuing debates surrounding the relationship between art and industry.