BXL photographic archive #0051

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 BXL factory building.

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--1562

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 is it?

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 to find the answer click here and you will be taken to the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

Bank holiday closures

MoDiP will be closed from Good Friday (18th April 2014) and will reopen on Tuesday 22nd April 2014.

Happy Easter from

Susan, Pam, Louise, and Julie

BXL photographic archive #0050

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 oil boom on water.

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--0177

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)

Guess the object

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 to find the answer click here and you will be taken to the MoDiP catalogue.

Louise Dennis (Assistant Curator)

BXL photographic archive #0049

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 car seat being made.

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--0205

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)

Polymorphia

MoDiP is pleased to present our new exhibition, Polymorphia:

The ubiquitous nature of plastics means that they are often taken for granted. Very different plastics are lumped together in the one generic term with their special properties and capabilities often being overlooked by the consumer.

Plastics are synthetic or semi-synthetic polymers. A polymer is a large molecule made up of a number of smaller units (monomers) and joined together to create a long chain. They can be broadly divided into two groups, thermoplastics and thermosets. Thermoplastics are those which, once formed, can be heated and reformed. This means that they are easily processed and recycled. Thermosets cannot be reformed or remoulded so the recycling process poses different challenges.

Plastics truly are polymorphic. They are an extensive family of materials which take many forms, and for many decades have been the group of materials that are most widely used globally. They have a broad range of properties and many typical characteristics which set them apart from each other and make them particularly suitable for an inexhaustible list of applications. They range from semi-synthetic plastics, first developed over 150 years ago, to the fully synthesised techno-polymers designed and engineered for very specific uses today. With the growing realisation that fossil fuel resources are not sustainable, there is a renewed interest in the development of bio plastics derived from an increasing variety of sustainable biomass resources.

This exhibition looks at some of the plastics we commonly encounter in our everyday lives. It examines their history and development, explains what sets them apart from each other and shows the more typical applications, some of which have become icons of design, made possible only because of the type of plastic used. 

Polymorphia
Opens - 4th April 2014
Closes - 26th September 2014