List of Objects

Telling a history of our world through objects

Click on the titles in the blue bar below [Location, Theme, Contributor Type, etc.] and then choose a category to see a list of objects - e.g. click Theme and then click War. (All objects have been classified by their contributor.)

You can also chose to see objects from a particular time period by clicking on the dates in the box below.

To start again and see all the objects, click this link: Start again

Time Periods

  1. The 'Uthman Quran (Othmanic Recension) The 'Uthman Quran (Othmanic Recension) The Othmanic Recension is the standardised version of the Qur'an, believed by the vast majority of scholars & historians ... Contributed by Individual
  2. Miners safety lamp Miners safety lamp I grew up in South Wales and was surrounded by the coal mining industry. Journeys always had a back drop of pit heads ... Contributed by Individual
  3. Swords into Plowshares badge, GDR 1980 Swords into Plowshares badge, GDR 1980 This is a cloth badge one of 100.000 printed in the GDR by christian peace groups in 1981. These groups and a general ... Contributed by Individual
  4. Test tube with early Penicillin Test tube with early Penicillin This test tube, thought to contain early Penicillin from 1942, has been given to me by my mother. She was Ruth ... Contributed by Individual
  5. cotton reel cotton reel The reel is empty and is now among our toys for the grandchildren, too precious to be thrown away. It is wood and was ... Contributed by Individual
  6. Tin ingots - Melton Works, Humberside Tin ingots - Melton Works, Humberside The Melton Works in Capper Pass, Humberside, operated from 1937 to 1991 and was a major producer of tin and an important ... Contributed by Individual
  7. Marmalade cutter Marmalade cutter This marmalade cutter has been in the family for as long as I can remember. I have also seen one at the Ulster Folk and ... Contributed by Individual
  8. King Charles I Gold Toothpick King Charles I Gold Toothpick Gold toothpick made for King Charles I of England Contributed by Museum
  9. 17.72in RML 100-ton gun gas check 17.72in RML 100-ton gun gas check This is a gas check - the driving band behind a shell - of a 17.72in (450mm) 100-ton coast defence gun from near ... Contributed by Individual
  10. Portion of a limestone Stelae Portion of a limestone Stelae This is the upper left-hand portion of a limestone stelae of Pahemy. A Stelae is a tall slab usually made of stone or ... Contributed by Museum
  11. Embryo incubator for first IVF baby Embryo incubator for first IVF baby The fertilization of human oocytes in vitro was first achieved by Rober G. Edwards in 1968 but it was to be a further ... Contributed by Individual
  12. Drinking water vessel from Lifeboat Drinking water vessel from Lifeboat During the Second World War the Merchant Navy sailed back and forth across the dangerous Atlantic keeping supply lines ... Contributed by Individual
  13. Wool staple mark Wool staple mark This mark was removed from St Peter's Church in Tiverton during restoration work in 1853-63. The production of ... Contributed by Museum
  14. Chinese coin Chinese coin I bought this coin in the museum shop at Xian in China in 2001. It does not have much value but is a constant reminder ... Contributed by Individual
  15. A CURTA high precision calculator A CURTA high precision calculator This calculator was used by my Father in Law he was an electrical engineer for the CEGB and died at the age of 72 in ... Contributed by Individual
  16. Point Blank - Bruce Springsteen fanzine Point Blank - Bruce Springsteen fanzine I started this fanzine at a time (1980) when Bruce Springsteen fans such as myself were isolated, with little means of ... Contributed by Individual
  17. Great Great Aunt Eliza's Paint Box Great Great Aunt Eliza's Paint Box Great Great Aunt Eliza was my Grannie's Aunt - sister of grannie's father. My Grannie is still alive at the age of 100 ... Contributed by Individual
  18. Dr Marten Boots Dr Marten Boots These are a pair of Boots I have had since I was 15, They came with me though out me teenage years, have been to many ... Contributed by Individual
  19. Tram pass for Inspector John Spratling Tram pass for Inspector John Spratling This pass for tram transport is written out to Inspector John Spratling of J Division (Bethnal Green) of the ... Contributed by Individual
  20. Pocket watch made by Joseph Windmills Pocket watch made by Joseph Windmills This is an example of an early pocket watch and demonstrates the craftsmanship of the maker. Pocket watches were often ... Contributed by Museum
  21. Kodak No. 2 Box Brownie Model E Camera Kodak No. 2 Box Brownie Model E Camera Kodak no 2. Box Brownie. It was the world's most popular camera and succeeded in making photography an activity for ... Contributed by Individual
  22. Cabinet Maker's Toolkit Cabinet Maker's Toolkit This toolkit was manufactured by Holtzapffel & Co, a firm of master toolmakers founded in London by a family of German ... Contributed by Individual
  23. Soviet 'peace dollar' Soviet 'peace dollar' This "disarmament dollar/ruble" was given to me by the Soviet Peace Committee in 1989, when I met them as one of a ... Contributed by Individual
  24. Neolithic Stone Axe Neolithic Stone Axe This Neolithic stone axe was found within a prehistoric pit at Clifton (Worcestershire) during an archaeological project ... Contributed by Individual
  25. Roman bell Roman bell This rare bell, one of the largest known from the Roman world was discovered by Leslie Alcock,OBE.,FRHS whilst he was ... Contributed by Museum
  26. Brewster 3D photograph viewer Brewster 3D photograph viewer The Brewster Viewer is a Victorian stereo photographic instrument, for the first time people could view the world in 3D, ... Contributed by Individual
  27. H bomb Christmas Island official booklet H bomb Christmas Island official booklet This booklet was given to servicemen involved in Operation Grapple, the H Bomb test, carried out on Christmas Island in ... Contributed by Individual
  28. A Faraday experimental electrical coil A Faraday experimental electrical coil This was given to me as a boy by the daughter of Sylvanus Phillips Thompson, the biographer of Michael Faraday, who ... Contributed by Individual
  29. SADDLER'S STOOL SADDLER'S STOOL This saddler’s stool came from the workshop of my grandparents’ saddlery and sports business, Wright Brothers in Bank ... Contributed by Individual
  30. Solar-powered lamp and charger Solar-powered lamp and charger A solar-powered lamp with a charger for mobile phones that can provide renewable energy to the developing world Contributed by The British Museum
  31. The Duke of Devonshire's watch The Duke of Devonshire's watch The watch is a dumb quarter repeater with (possibly) a slightly later lever escapement. It is signed Gregson, Hger du ... Contributed by Individual
  32. Hudson's Bay Bark Letter Hudson's Bay Bark Letter My grandmother left this letter written on birch bark. July 29 18 Phillips Hudson's Bay Exploratory Party Fort ... Contributed by Individual
  33. Small useful cupboard Small useful cupboard My family moved to Highbridge after the Bath Blitz. A neighbour made the object out of wood packaging from the ... Contributed by Individual
  34. Bronze Shield from Northern Rhodesia Bronze Shield from Northern Rhodesia Jean Mottram my neighbour writes: "I worked in the Secretariat (Government HQ) in Lusaka, Northern Rhodesia from May ... Contributed by Individual
  35. A piece of a pottery African head A piece of a pottery African head My object is a small piece of pottery, showing the right side of a beautifully potted African head. Just 1 inch high, ... Contributed by Individual
  36. A Japanese flag from Burma in WW2 A Japanese flag from Burma in WW2 One wet Saturday afternoon, when I was in my early teens, I decided to take all the records out of the record cabinet - ... Contributed by Individual
  37. The Little Golden Fish that returned The Little Golden Fish that returned My grandfather presented this little golden fish watch to my aunt when she qualified as the first Muslim woman doctor ... Contributed by Individual
  38. A small Davy Lamp A small Davy Lamp My Granddad worked in the mines with this Davy lamp nearly 40 years ago in Doncaster. He told me a story about what it ... Contributed by Individual
  39. 17th century pub bowls 17th century pub bowls These were dug up when excavating our back garden for a redesign - the garden has been part of the former pub we live ... Contributed by Individual
  40. vhs tape vhs tape The vhs tape changed the way a rising generation viewed films and television. It meant, for example, audiences were ... Contributed by Individual
  41. Fire Axe from the first Queen Elizabeth Fire Axe from the first Queen Elizabeth The SS "Queen Elizabeth" sailed from Southampton to New York for decades. I would see its funnels over the rooftops, ... Contributed by Individual
  42. 1920 Glasgow City Police Whistle 1920 Glasgow City Police Whistle A 1920 Glasgow City Police Whistle. Glasgow has the oldest Police Force in the world which first took the streets in ... Contributed by Individual
  43. a postcard from Theresienstadt 1944 a postcard from Theresienstadt 1944 This is the only link I have to my grandmother,Sophie Storch, this postcard from Theresienstadt Poland 1944 was a ... Contributed by Individual
  44. three comemorative moustache tea cups three comemorative moustache tea cups These three cups are part of a larger collection made by my Great Aunt who was born in 1917. She was born at the birth ... Contributed by Individual
  45. Relic from Senghenydd Mining Disaster Relic from Senghenydd Mining Disaster The object is an ink well formed from the hoof of a pit pony called Kruger who was killed in the Senghenydd Colliery ... Contributed by Individual
  46. Stop watch Stop watch A Barrington's chronoscope watch that is engraved "Donald Pain from Harold M Abrahams XIVth Olympiad 1948". It was left ... Contributed by Individual
  47. WSPU hunger strike force feeding medal WSPU hunger strike force feeding medal Mabel Capper was a young Suffragette in 1909, living near the Pankhursts in what was then known as Chorlton on Medlock, ... Contributed by Individual
  48. Sundial, copper, c1652, shows eclipse. Sundial, copper, c1652, shows eclipse. This small, formerly fixed (somewhere in the garden possibly) sundial was found buried in the earth floor of a Tudor ... Contributed by Individual
  49. 19th century Mexican Serape 19th century Mexican Serape Made in Mexico, a serape or (zerape) is a soft rectangular blanket with an opening in the middle for one's head. It is a ... Contributed by Individual
  50. Kodak 'One' camera box Kodak 'One' camera box This box once held one of Major Powell-Cotton’s early cameras – a Kodak ‘One’. This camera was produced by the Eastman ... Contributed by Museum

BBC iD

Sign in

bbc.co.uk navigation

BBC © 2013 The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.