This article examines the relationship between electroplating and photography in 1840s Birmingham, exposing significant improvements that electroplated silver offered to the daguerreotype process using recreative methodologies. These technologies were developed by a group of scientists centred around Queens College on Paradise Street in Birmingham, George Shaw (1818–1904), John Percy (1817–1889, John Woolrich (c. 1791–1843 and John Stephen Woolrich (1820–1850).

How can we most usefully interconnect the collections of energy artefacts in our museums? The Congruence Engine project’s energy team explore the challenges and possibilities of doing so, focusing initially on the twin themes of steam turbines and coal-mining disasters.