Object Gallery

Telling a history of our world through objects

  1. Gold Mourning Ring Gold Mourning Ring This ring was owned by John Holroyd, who foiled the assassination attempt on George III at Theatre Royal Drury Lane on ...
  2. Olympic Torch from 1948 London Olympics Olympic Torch from 1948 London Olympics This torch was one of the 1688 torches designed and manufactured in the UK for the ‘Relay of Peace’ which took place ...
  3. Honda Civic - 1979 Honda Civic - 1979 The Honda Civic is a notable car in the history of motoring as it was one of the first Japanese cars to make an impact ...
  4. Kiso Suzuki guitar Kiso Suzuki guitar This guitar was made in Japan by by the Kiso Suzuki Violin Company company. It is a copy of a guitar by the USA guitar ...
  5. USSR Lonely Planet guide USSR Lonely Planet guide This edition of the Lonely Planet guide to the USSR was published just as the Soviet Union collapsed. The book was ...
  6. Roll Test Edit Roll Test Edit Tell us what it says about a time, a place or a community. What does it make you think about history and the world? You ...
  7. Transistor Radio with Earpiece Transistor Radio with Earpiece Before the MP3 was the Walkman and before that was the "tranny" - the transistor radio. Personal radios existed before ...
  8. Darwin's Beagle Specimen Notebooks Darwin's Beagle Specimen Notebooks Charles Darwin's Beagle Dry Specimen Catalogues
  9. Slide Rule Slide Rule In 1966 I went to Leeds University to study Electrical and Electronic Engineering. At an introductory lecture from the ...
  10. Samuel Revill's hammer Samuel Revill's hammer Samuel Revill (1847-1932) was a bootmaker from Sturton by Stow, near Lincoln. His hammer has the iron head and ash shaft ...
  11. Victorian swimming costume Victorian swimming costume This red cotton swimming costume was left behind in lost property at Hornsey Road Public Baths, Islington in about 1900. ...
  12. 1961 Cooper Tea Cards 1961 Cooper Tea Cards 1961 Cooper Tea Cards. Collectable Tea Cards were introduced in the 1950’s as a way of advertising and retaining ...
  13. Replica of the world's first bicycle Replica of the world's first bicycle A wooden hobby horse with metal rimmed wheels. Pedal operated cranks drive the rear wheel.
  14. Sin Eater's Grave Ratlinghope Shropshire Sin Eater's Grave Ratlinghope Shropshire It is the grave of the last known Sin-Eater in England, a practice peculiar to the England/Welsh marches. Richard ...
  15. YZ bird matchstriker YZ bird matchstriker A YZ bird matchstriker in the shape of a pelican made from cast phenolic resin and ebony, by Henry Howell & Co. about ...
  16. Coronation record King George June 1911 Coronation record King George June 1911 This 78 rpm record was made at what was I believe a time of awareness and belief in the class structure of Great Britain ...
  17. William 1st Silver Penny William 1st Silver Penny Our family (Sweatman) emanated from the City of Oxford in England where we have two records from the Doomsday Book of ...
  18. Bonnie Prince Charlie's Silver Canteen Bonnie Prince Charlie's Silver Canteen Silver Travelling Canteen belonging to Bonnie Prince Charlie
  19. Transatlantic Telegraph Cable 1866 Transatlantic Telegraph Cable 1866 Made of a 5mm copper wire 'core' wrapped in a protective casing of tar, hemp and steel this short section of the first ...
  20. Red Cross butter tin from Colditz Castle Red Cross butter tin from Colditz Castle This Canadian Creamery Butter tin comes from Colditz Castle in Germany. The tin was part of a Red Cross parcel, sent to ...
  21. Mummy of Hornedjitef Mummy of Hornedjitef Mummy and coffins of Hornedjitef an Egyptian priest who lived over 1,000 years after Tutankhamun and Ramesses the Great.
  22. Polish Cooking Pot journeyed to Scotland Polish Cooking Pot journeyed to Scotland It belongs to my father-in-law, Leon. His mother took it from the Polish farm where he was born. The pot went with them ...
  23. Jimi Hendrix's first music festival Jimi Hendrix's first music festival This is the first ever festival that JIMI HENDRIX appeared on..it predates Woodstock, The Ilse of White and Glastonbury ...
  24. A Pair of Victorian road skates A Pair of Victorian road skates These road skates were owned by Charles Goodman Tebbutt, he was a well known Fen skater in the Huntingdon area, & skated ...
  25. Colt Dragoon Revolver Colt Dragoon Revolver Colt's revolver was the first truly mass produced item made using modern industrial techniques. This Colt Dragoon was ...
  26. Grand Christmas Fete poster Grand Christmas Fete poster This festive advertisement announcing the Grand Christmas Fete at Islington’s Royal Agricultural Hall is one in a ...
  27. First World War Christmas Tin First World War Christmas Tin This is a little brass tin issued to soldiers by Princess Mary in Christmas 1914, originally containing chocolate & ...
  28. John Walker's Friction Light John Walker's Friction Light John Walker's first friction match revolutionised the production, application and the portability of fire.
  29. My Mother's Suitcase My Mother's Suitcase This is the suitcase my mother was carrying when she was forced to leave Nazi Germany in 1939. I have a photo of her ...
  30. Colossus World's 1st Electronic Computer Colossus World's 1st Electronic Computer Colossus was designed to break the Lorenz cipher, used by German High Command.
  31. Song Dynasty tomb tile used as road fill Song Dynasty tomb tile used as road fill Tile for a child's tomb in Northern China. Woman is oldest female relative. Tomb destroyed during Cultural Revolution. ...
  32. My Father's Rice Box My Father's Rice Box This box contained my father's daily rice ration when he was a Prisoner of War in Japan. My father was arrested in ...
  33. Royal typewriter Royal typewriter This object is a link to my boyhood, both my parents, and a reminder that had it not been for the Second World War, I ...
  34. Chocolates presented to troops NY 1900 Chocolates presented to troops NY 1900 These boxes were New Year 1900 presents from Queen Victoria to the troops in the Boer War in South Africa. They marked ...
  35. condom condom The condom is one of the few tools which does not further our evolution. The social, religious, and political issues ...
  36. False Leg False Leg Artificial leg, made in 1919, and used by a miner who lost his leg in a mining accident in Emlyn Colliery, Penygroes, ...
  37. the eye the eye My Father fought in the Second World War with the DLI and was seriously injured at the Battle of Mareth, in the North ...
  38. A cannonball made of Wealden iron A cannonball made of Wealden iron A few years ago, this cannonball was found under the road outside Hammer Mill Farm on the borders of Biddenden and ...
  39. A 1914-1918 war Entrenching Tool. A 1914-1918 war Entrenching Tool. This was my Father's - for getting underground quickly. It symbolises what he had to do on The Somme and at ...
  40. Felinfoel Brewery beer can Felinfoel Brewery beer can The small brewery at Felinfoel was the first brewery outside the USA to commerically can beer
  41. A violin A violin Andrea Amati (1505-1577) crystalised the design and manufacture of the violin at Cremona in Italy for ever after. All ...
  42. Statuette of Jupiter Statuette of Jupiter This small figure, height 92mm is probably Romano-British
  43. Bomb Disposal Poster from 1942 Bomb Disposal Poster from 1942 This poster came to me from my father, who was in the Royal Engineers as a sapper during the Second World War, in the ...
  44. Early porcelain plate Early porcelain plate This a plate passed down through my family and is believed to have been made by my family. It is early English porcelain ...
  45. 1793 £5 Note 1793 £5 Note Paper money as we recognise it today originated in Britain in the 17th Century as a receipt for gold deposited with ...
  46. Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book Mrs Beeton's Cookery Book This book is a real treasure. It's a second edition of Mrs Beeton's world famous cookery book. It belongs to my mother, ...
  47. Travelling Microscope Travelling Microscope We believe that the travelling microscope was made well over 100 years ago and was used by my great great grandfather, a ...
  48. handmade brick handmade brick I found this brick in a cellar hole on a friend's property in Maine. Cellar holes, or house sites, can be found in ...
  49. JFK/Johnson election campaign badge JFK/Johnson election campaign badge this badge represents the beginnings of a huge change in world affairs. The sixties began with a feeling of hope for a ...
  50. Sputnik 1, first journey into space. Sputnik 1, first journey into space. Sputnik 1 was the object that began the era of space exploration when it was launched from the USSR in 1957. Many people ...

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