BXL photographic archive #0016

In 2010, MoDiP was donated a large archive of images relating to a single company. Bakelite Xylonite Ltd, also known as British Xylonite Ltd or BXL, was possibly one of the first British firms to successfully manufacture a plastics material in commercial quantities. The company was established in 1875 and after a long history went into liquidation in the late 2000s. The images we have in the collection are concentrated around the 1960s through to the 1980s and show us glimpses of the manufacturing process, products and the company’s employees during this time. We plan to share an image each week to give a flavour of the archive. If you want to see more you can view the whole collection on our website.

This week’s image shows a bottle being pressure tested.

To get a better view of the image and find out more have a look at it on our website http://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/bxl--0084

We are still working on the documentation of the archive, some of the images we know more about than others. It would be fantastic if we could fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge, if you know anything about the company or specific images it would be good to hear from you.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Can you guess what this is?

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or find out more about the object by looking at the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

MoDiP at the Department for BIS

We have been pleased to work with the British Plastics Federation, the leading trade association for the UK Plastics Industry on an exhibition being opened today, 22 July 2013, by The Rt Hon Michael Fallon MP, Minister of State for Business and Enterprise, at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), 1 Victoria Street, London, SW1H 0ET, a stone's throw away from Westminster Abbey. The Department focuses on economic growth and invests in skills and education to promote trade, boost innovation and help people to start and grow a business.

The theme of the exhibition is 'The UK Plastics Industry - A Strategic Manufacturing Sector'. Its aim is to demonstrate how the plastics industry is an essential part of the countries DNA and how future business in Britain would be impossible without plastics. Part of the exhibition is historical featuring a plastics timeline alongside current facts and figures about the plastics industry and part is a display curated by MoDiP which explores the design freedom provided by plastics and their beneficial impact on society through eight themes: flexibility, recycling, living hinges, sustainability, colour, enablement, buoyancy and insulation. 

The display is in two tall display cases and each of the 17 objects is also featured on a huge screen.

Design, manufacture and marketing is now a global process and plastics is a global material. However all the products on display have a UK connection. Some are historical and others of today, including a ruff handmade from used plastic bags by Laura Anne Marsden, Joseph Joseph’s colander with 12 living hinges, D3O’s engineered material that absorbs shock, Kevin Moseley’s SwimFin that aims to place children in an optimum swimming position, and some Polypipe Terrain products that provide a more sustainable solution than traditional materials to drainage and ventilation. 

The exhibition will be on until 1 August. Do drop in and have a look.

Michael Fallon MP and Mike Boswell, President of the British Plastics Federation discuss the objects from the MoDiP collection.  Image courtesy of the BPF.

Susan Lambert, (Head of MoDiP)

A cheesy picture?

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or find out more about the object by looking at the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

#MusBadges

The theme this month on culturethemes.blogspot.co.uk/ is Museum badges, it is an opportunity for museums to share the badges, pins and brooches they have in their collections. 

As you might imagine here at MoDiP we have quite a few pin badges and brooches and I am pleased to be able to highlight a few of them to you in this post.

Top row L-R: AIBDC 005256, AIBDC 006274
Bottom row L-R AIBDC 006651, AIBDC 003746

Winfield Fine Art

We have a small collection of brooches and other jewellery pieces made by the Winfield Fine Art project in the 1940s, - more information can be found about the project here http://www.modernsilver.com/winfieldfineart.htm

PHSL 48.1

All of the Winfield Fine Art pieces can be found on our catalogue http://www.modip.ac.uk/category/organisation/w/winfield-fine-art




 
Cicada Jewellery 

Cicada Jewellery was founded in 1973 by Pat Thornton and Nick Orsborn.  MoDiP has a small number of butterfly and Cicada brooches in the collection. Our favourite piece relating to this collection is the open cast mould in which the bug brooches were made.

AIBDC 005491 & AIBDC 005556

Horn brooches

MoDiP has taken on the temporary custodianship of the collection of the Worshipful Company of Horners there are a number of brooches in there collection but I wanted to concentrate on the hand brooches. Hands were used in Victorian imagery as a symbol of offering friendship and affection, or conveying a message signified by what the hand is holding. Roses are a symbol of love.

WCHL 276.8, WCHL 146 & WCHL 269

Other museums and museum visitors will be sharing their badges on twitter - find out more by searching #MusBadges or following @Culturethemes

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

BXL photographic archive #0015

In 2010, MoDiP was donated a large archive of images relating to a single company. Bakelite Xylonite Ltd, also known as British Xylonite Ltd or BXL, was possibly one of the first British firms to successfully manufacture a plastics material in commercial quantities. The company was established in 1875 and after a long history went into liquidation in the late 2000s. The images we have in the collection are concentrated around the 1960s through to the 1980s and show us glimpses of the manufacturing process, products and the company’s employees during this time. We plan to share an image each week to give a flavour of the archive. If you want to see more you can view the whole collection on our website.

This week’s image shows an over head luggage rack.

To get a better view of the image and find out more have a look at it on our website http://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/bxl--0432

We are still working on the documentation of the archive, some of the images we know more about than others. It would be fantastic if we could fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge, if you know anything about the company or specific images it would be good to hear from you.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

What could this be?

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or find out more about the object by looking at the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Beastly response

MoDiP’s Beastly designs exhibition has been met with approval across the age ranges. Groups as diverse as adult learners U3A (University of the Third Age) and year 4 school children have all experienced this particularly appealing collection of artefacts and enjoyed its colour and impact. 

Artefacts have been grouped together in thought provoking ways and have provided the opportunity for engagement at different levels. Some of our youngest visitors from our nearest neighbours, St Marks School, tackled the visitor quiz with admirable enthusiasm recently. They took the questions on the tricky subject of biomimetics in their stride and many of them enjoyed sharing with us their own experiences of some of the familiar objects on display. Being in a design environment, we thought we would also challenge their artistic strengths by asking them to design something inspired by what they had seen in the exhibition. Just a bit of fun really, but we enjoyed seeing what they could come up with as much as they enjoyed drawing. 

They left us with a chorus of ‘Thank yous’ and went away clutching precious MoDiP pencils and one of our illustrated booklets. The beautiful ‘Thank you’ cards which the children sent show off their creative talents and we are proud to show them here. 

 

The Beastly designs exhibition will run until October 2013. 

Pam Langdown, (Collections Manager)

BXL photographic archive #0014

In 2010, MoDiP was donated a large archive of images relating to a single company. Bakelite Xylonite Ltd, also known as British Xylonite Ltd or BXL, was possibly one of the first British firms to successfully manufacture a plastics material in commercial quantities. The company was established in 1875 and after a long history went into liquidation in the late 2000s. The images we have in the collection are concentrated around the 1960s through to the 1980s and show us glimpses of the manufacturing process, products and the company’s employees during this time. We plan to share an image each week to give a flavour of the archive. If you want to see more you can view the whole collection on our website.

This week’s image shows a lined drinks can.

To get a better view of the image and find out more have a look at it on our website http://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/bxl--07433 

We are still working on the documentation of the archive, some of the images we know more about than others. It would be fantastic if we could fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge, if you know anything about the company or specific images it would be good to hear from you.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Can you guess?

MoDiP has the kind of collection that you may think you are very familiar with. We have objects which we all use every day, and some pieces which are more unusual.

By looking at this distorted image are you able to guess what the object is? What do you think it could be used for?

Post your answer in the comments below or find out more about the object by looking at the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

BXL photographic archive #0013

In 2010, MoDiP was donated a large archive of images relating to a single company. Bakelite Xylonite Ltd, also known as British Xylonite Ltd or BXL, was possibly one of the first British firms to successfully manufacture a plastics material in commercial quantities. The company was established in 1875 and after a long history went into liquidation in the late 2000s. The images we have in the collection are concentrated around the 1960s through to the 1980s and show us glimpses of the manufacturing process, products and the company’s employees during this time. We plan to share an image each week to give a flavour of the archive. If you want to see more you can view the whole collection on our website.

This week’s image shows a cupola being manoeuvred by a helicopter.

To get a better view of the image and find out more have a look at it on our website
http://www.modip.ac.uk/artefact/bxl--08272

We are still working on the documentation of the archive, some of the images we know more about than others. It would be fantastic if we could fill in some of the gaps in our knowledge, if you know anything about the company or specific images it would be good to hear from you.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)