TY - JOUR TI - ‘South Kensington is practically as far away as Paris or Munich’: the making of industrial collections in Edinburgh, Newcastle and Birmingham  AU -Kylea Little AU -Felicity McWilliams AU -Ellie Swinbank PY - 2022 VL - Congruence Engine IS - Autumn 2022 KW - Birmingham KW - collecting KW - collections KW - communications KW - Curating KW - Edinburgh KW - energy KW - history of collections KW - history of science KW - industry KW - museum history KW - museum practice KW - Newcastle KW - science KW - Technology KW - textiles AB - The provocation within the heart of the Congruence Engine leads us to consider not only the connections between our industrial collections, but the differences which shine a light on the gaps that exist nationally as well as institutionally due to the unique ways in which those collections were built. Emerging out of discussions held at the project’s launch conference, this paper will compare and contrast the foundation and development of the industrial collections held within our three institutions: National Museums Scotland (NMS), Tyne & Wear Archive & Museums (TWAM) and Birmingham Museums Trust (BMT). The dedicated industrial collections which now sit within these organisations were founded in three quite distinct contexts: the Industrial Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh in 1854, the Municipal Museum of Science and Industry in Newcastle in 1934, and Birmingham’s Museum of Science & Industry in 1951. Beyond these founding moments, their deeper roots and ongoing development have been shaped by an array of events, individuals and organisations from the local to the international, including some they hold in common and some that are unique. In charting their stories, we will explore why our collections have acquired their particular strengths and weaknesses, and the implications of this for their contributions to a distributed national collection of science and industry. This will act as the foundation for further collaborative research throughout the project as we investigate how and why particular textiles, energy and communication stories can be explored within and between our collections. N1 - For further details, see https://www.nationalcollection.org.uk/about N1 - ‘First Report of the Department of Practical Art’, Parliamentary Papers (House of Commons Sessional Papers), 1852–1853 [1615] 1–390, p 30 N1 - Due to the amalgamation, the collection never ended up being displayed within a museum specifically named The Industrial Museum of Scotland. N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Norman Bertenshaw, ‘The Place of a Science Museum in the Industrial Scene’, a lecture delivered to the Rotary Club of Kings Norton, 11 October 1955, p 9 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Press Cuttings and Pamphlets]: ‘Tangyes help Birmingham Museum of Science and Industry’, One and All magazine, n.d., p 27 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Press Cuttings and Pamphlets]: Cyril H Franklin, ‘A Scientific and Industrial Museum for Birmingham’, 8 September 1945 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Report of Discussion on the paper ‘The Making of a Science Museum’ by N. W. Bertenshaw, at the Museums Association Annual Conference, 6 July 1955 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Norman Bertenshaw, Notes for a lecture on ‘The Objects of the Birmingham Industrial Museum’ given to the Museum Assistants’ Group (no date) N1 - Although having the title of Director, Wilson was effectively – for the purposes of comparisons with Newcastle and Birmingham in this article – the Curator. N1 - Royal Highland and Agricultural Society Archive GB2229 Parcel 30/11, letter Wilson to Maxwell, 9.2.1857 N1 - National Archives ADM 337/117/33 RNVR Officers Service Record entry for Ernest William Swan, available at: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8642508 (accessed on 3 September 2022). See also further biographical information shared by users on The Great War (1914–1918) Forum at https://www.greatwarforum.org/topic/285599-ernest-william-swan/ (accessed on 3 September 2022). N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Report of Discussion on the paper ‘The Making of a Science Museum’ by N. W. Bertenshaw, at the Museums Association Annual Conference, 6 July 1955 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Press Cuttings and Pamphlets]: 1965, ‘In the Same Continuum: the story of the Birmingham Museum of Science & Industry’, Precision, 1/20, pp 10–11 N1 - Jim Andrew, Personal Communication, July 2021 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Report of Discussion on the paper ‘The Making of a Science Museum’ by N. W. Bertenshaw, at the Museums Association Annual Conference, 6 July 1955, p 4 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Norman Bertenshaw, Notes for a lecture given to the West Midlands Group of Library Association Reference and Special Libraries Section on 7 December 1955, p 2 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Report of Discussion on the paper ‘The Making of a Science Museum’ by N. W. Bertenshaw, at the Museums Association Annual Conference, 6 July 1955, p 7 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Norman Bertenshaw, Notes for a lecture on ‘The Objects of the Birmingham Industrial Museum’ given to the Museum Assistants’ Group (no date), p 2 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Report of Discussion on the paper ‘The Making of a Science Museum’ by N. W. Bertenshaw, at the Museums Association Annual Conference, 6 July 1955, p 3 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Norman Bertenshaw, ‘The History and Development of the Birmingham Museum of Science & Industry’, a lecture delivered to the Birmingham Civic Society, 7 February 1973, p 3 N1 - BMT Science & Industry Archive Files [Lecture Notes]: Norman Bertenshaw, Seminar to the Museum Assistants Group, April 1967, ‘The History of Science & Technology: the Function of the Technical Museum’, p 11 N1 - See, for example, Archer, L, Dawson, E, DeWitt, J, Seakins, A and Wong, B, 2015, ‘‘‘Science Capital’’: A Conceptual, Methodological, and Empirical Argument for Extending Bourdieusian Notions of Capital Beyond the Arts’, Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 52/7, pp 922–948. PB - The Science Museum Group SN - 2054-5770 LA - eng DO - 10.15180/221802 UR - https://journal.sciencemuseum.ac.uk/article/south-kensington-is-practically-as-far-away-as-paris-or-munich-the-making-of-industrial-collections-in-edinburgh-newcastle-and-birmingham/ T2 - Science Museum Group Journal