Latrine slab, Oxfam, 2022

My favourite object from the ‘In a crisis’ case within MoDiP’s current exhibition, Endurance, is the rather plain looking latrine slab. Easily overlooked, it is actually a very important structural design solution to the problem of providing toilet facilities for the humanitarian sector.

AIBDC : 009124
Image credit: MoDiP

Designed by Oxfam's WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) team, circa 2000, in collaboration with manufacturing partner K.K. Nag Pvt. Ltd, in India, this self-supporting latrine slab was considered to be revolutionary at the time and has subsequently been adopted by aid agencies across the world.

2005 image of the latrine slab in use.
Image credit: https://www.oxfamwash.org/en/sanitation/excreta-disposal/EXCRETA%20DISPOSAL%20in%20Emergencies%20Manual%20-%202021-min.pdf

MoDiP’s example is manufactured by Dunster House (Bedford, UK), Oxfam’s current official supplier. It is rotationally moulded in high density polyethylene (HDPE), thin and lightweight to allow for efficient stacking in order to reduce shipping costs and ease user handling. It is also very tough and strong, reinforced so that it can be placed over a trench or pit without the need for additional support from below.

Efficient stacking and lightweight.
Image credit: https://www.oxfamwash.org/en/innovation

It has a key-hole shaped lid with a small lip that can be opened and closed with the foot, ensuring minimal contact, engraved with a 'Wash your hands' symbol to promote good hygiene.

Moulded detail on the key-hole lid.
Image credit: MoDiP

There are raised, non-slip foot plates to keep the user elevated from draining fluids and the material is less permeable to chemicals and moisture with an easy-clean, low maintenance finish. Ready to use, it is easy to install and can be adapted to incorporate a pour flush if sufficient quantities of local water are available.

Latrine superstructures need to consider both local materials and cultural preferences.
Image credit: https://wedc-knowledge.lboro.ac.uk/resources/
booklets/G028-Latrine-superstructures-online.pdf

Intended as a temporary toilet during the first phase of an emergency, to be housed within a superstructure for privacy, security and dignity (refer image above), one slab is recommended per 50 people, gradually reducing to 20 people per latrine over time.
 
Endurance is on display in the museum until 10^th March 2023.
 
Katherine Pell
Collections Officer 

A pair of celluloid heels, part 1.

We recently acquired this lovely pair of celluloid heels (refer image below).

Image credit: Katherine Pell

They consist of a wooden heel that has been covered by a thin layer of black coloured cellulose nitrate (celluloid), which has then been decorated with paste stones and metal granulation/picotage. The heels are slightly different in height, and both have stones missing but this shows us how they were attached originally, ie. glued into a pre-drilled hole.
 
Cellulose nitrate had many uses and MoDiP has a great collection of decorative hair combs, billiard balls and table tennis balls (the material is still used today for the latter), smoking accessories, various tokens, ornamental boxes, and lots of other small housewares. British Xylonite Ltd were reportedly manufacturing celluloid covered boot heels in 1896 but surviving examples of the elaborately decorated women’s evening shoe heels seems to originate predominantly in France and the US. The Met Museum reports that ‘plain black celluloid-covered heels appeared in the late 1910s’, with jewelled versions becoming all the rage around 1925.

As hemlines became shorter, attention turned to the feet.

French wooden heel manufacturer Fernand Weil, Emile Petit & Co.was awarded
a gold medal at the International Exhibition of Industrial and Decorative Arts in 1925.
Image credit: https://www.tourismesaintleu.fr/patrimoine-industriel.htm

The advantages of celluloid as a heel covering material were its affordability, consistent quality and availability, water-resistance and non-scuff qualities, as intimated in the advert below. Additionally, it could be produced in a variety of colours and finishes that imitated expensive natural materials such as tortoiseshell, ivory and mother-of-pearl.

Illustration from ‘The Shoe Buyer’s Manual’ 1933.
Image credit: Mustafaev, 2018, p.22.

To make the heels, first the celluloid sheets would be cut to the required size and shape – to demonstrate this, the image below is a 1932 patent for an efficient design to limit waste when covering Louis heels. Next, the individual covers are softened to make the material workable and when ready, a wooden heel blank would be clamped in a jack and the celluloid stretched around it and glued into place. Once cool, the decorative design would be laid out and holes drilled in the appropriate places for the insertion of paste stones etc.

Image credit:

https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/
family/024575959/publication/US1997317A?q=1997317

Here are some great contemporary reports, courtesy of Nazim Mustafaev’s 2018 book ‘Celluloid heel’:
 

“Jewelled heels, which have been a Parisian specialty for some time, will become more and more popular. Nothing can look richer than a black celluloid heel, studded with imitation diamonds. There is infinite scope here for the decorator.” 

(Shoe and Leather Reporter, 1921, cited in Mustafaev, 2018, p.47).

 

“One great objection there was to the forerunners in celluloid heels; the possibility of them catching fire when the fair wearers happened to be toasting their feet, on a winter evening, before an open grate. This danger did indeed exist in some countries, although not in France, where we use stoves and central heating, nor in any part of the United States. Conservative England was the market where the danger was rife. However, British ladies may now choose celluloid heels without the slightest fear, for the substance is not inflammable, and dress materials will blaze up much more speedily than these new celluloid covered heels from our Parisian manufacturer, who … has his eye on the British and Colonial markets.” 

(Shoe and Leather Reporter, 1921, cited in Mustafaev, 2018, p.49).

 

“Black celluloid covered heels are also in large demand… They are so hard that a person can strike them with a hammer and they won’t chip or peel. Nor will they burn as will a celluloid collar.” 

(Boot and Shoe Recorder, 1912, cited in Mustafaev, 2018, p.50).

 
There are some amazing examples of these beautiful heels and we would love to acquire a more colourful pair but, sadly, these are rare to come by and very expensive. For now, we will have to stare longingly at those belonging to other museums and in personal collections.

Image credit: Mustafaev, 2018, p.86.

Image credit: Mustafaev, 2018, p.97.

Katherine Pell
Collections Officer
 

MoDiP would like to extend our thanks to Nazim Mustafaev for sending us a copy of his book and for allowing us permission to reproduce images in this blog.
 

References:
Cruse, J. (2007). The comb: its history and development. London: Robert Hale.

Kaufman, M. (1963). The first century of plastics. London: Council of the Plastics Institute.

Mustafaev, N. (2018). Celluloid heel. Moscow: Shoe Icons.

https://eng.shoe-icons.com/files/24.pdf

https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/024575959/publication/US1997317A?q=1997317

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/158866

https://www.tourismesaintleu.fr/patrimoine-industriel.htm

WaterWheel, Wello, 2022

Water is an essential requirement for all life, but it is estimated that over two billion people live in areas where there is no access to clean water. Across the world many women and children travel long distances each day to collect water for drinking, hygiene and crop irrigation, affecting life chances for themselves and their families.

AIBDC : 009138
Image credit: MoDiP

MoDiP’s current exhibition, Endurance, looks at the ways in which plastics materials have been used in a variety of situations and environments to support life, including in areas of drought. It explores how plastics have been used to ease the burden of carrying clean water long distances, showcasing the Wello WaterWheel (refer image above), the brainchild of Cynthia Koenig. She was inspired to develop something to help alleviate the difficulties of collecting and carrying water which she had observed when living and working, for almost two decades, with communities throughout Central America, Southern Africa and South and Southeast Asia. She is a ‘firm believer in the potential for business to alleviate poverty in the developing world’ and has helped launch a range of ventures, of which the development, manufacture and distribution of the Wello WaterWheel is one.
 
It was the result of a series of pilot projects across India by a team who engaged with thousands of potential users, its shape inspired by the matka, an earthenware pot traditionally used in India for water storage in the home (refer image below).

Image credit: https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0293/
6448/6192/files/PS_0085.png?v=1615027376

The drum, made from high density polyethylene (HDPE), is rolled on its side, with the help of a metal handlebar, rather than carried. It has reinforced axels that protect the outer skin of the WaterWheel from wear and tear and handholds on either side provide better handling. The balanced shape is designed to increase performance over rough terrain, and it can be managed easily by a child. Its 45 litre capacity enables more water to be transported at once, meaning fewer trips, resulting in more time to spend on childcare, school work or employment. Produced and distributed within India, it retails for an affordable price. 

Image credit: https://www.csrmandate.org/nilkamal-partners
-with-wello-for-its-patent-rolling-water-technology/

The Wello WaterWheel is on display in MoDiP until 10^th March 2023, and here it is on the left, below, drawn by one of our talented MA Fine Art students who was sketching the museum back in November.

Image credit: Sourabh Sharma, November 2022.

 
Pam Langdown
Documentation Officer 

Bee Saviour Behaviour card

Just before Christmas, MoDiP acquired a Bee Saviour Behaviour card (refer image below).

The Bee Saviour Behaviour card shown front (top, left) and
back (bottom, left) alongside packaging (right).
Image credit: Katherine Pell

It is an easy-to-carry bee rescue kit that contains a sugar solution which can help revive exhausted bees. Consisting of a credit card shaped piece of plastic with three hexagon shaped depressions moulded into the reverse side, these are filled with the solution which is then sealed in place with a sticker that can be peeled back when needed. Placed on the ground beside the bee, the insect will crawl onto the card and feed.

Image credit: Dan Harper

Injection moulded in recycled polypropylene, the source material is recovered from used DVD cases collected by the maker, Precious Plastic East, from local charity shops. The video below demonstrates the whole manufacturing process.

The company built their machinery to clean, shred and manufacture plastics based on blueprints from Dutch company, One Army, part of the international Precious Plastic global movement.

Image credit: Dan Harper

The Bee Saviour Behaviour card comes with full instructions for use on the reverse and is accompanied by an information booklet and badge. It is a lovely way of helping bees and reducing plastics waste, and once the sugar solution has been all used up, you can return the card to the company for refilling in order to use it again. 

This fabulous object will feature in our upcoming exhibition, Reuse, opening 17th March 2023.

Katherine Pell
Collections Officer

Sleep Pod, Ian Ashby, Justin Devereux and Pete Kenyon, 2018

When we began planning for the Endurance exhibition, we considered many different environments a person might find themselves in and how plastics materials can help them to survive in those particular conditions. For example, we wanted to examine difficult situations such as exploring the Arctic/Antarctic, trying to live in a Desert and adapting to fly at high altitude. One area we felt passionately about representing was much closer to home – living on the streets.

Image credit: https://sleeppod.org.uk/

Although only first legally defined in UK legislation in 1977, for as long as this country has kept historical records, homelessness has been an issue. From 7th century vagrancy laws to Victorian workhouses to 1960s night shelters, awareness of the problem and public concern have both steadily grown. A large number of organisations and initiatives have been set up to provide vital support and specialist services for those in need but, sadly, homelessness continues to grow.  In 2021, the national charity Crisis estimated that approximately 227,000 people were homeless across England, Scotland and Wales. 

Image credit: https://sleeppod.org.uk/

The Sleep Pod emergency shelter is one initiative, intended to be made available to outreach teams and charities for distribution to rough sleepers that have been unable to access overnight accommodation through existing services. It was developed over a number of years by friends Ian Ashby, Justin Devereux and Pete Kenyon, who had been volunteering in refugee camps across Europe in 2015. On returning back to the UK, they saw rough sleepers experiencing similar problems and made the decision to try to design a simple, effective solution for preventing people from succumbing to exposure on the streets.

Image credit: https://sleeppod.org.uk/

The lightweight, rain and wind-resistant temporary structures are made from a double-skin, aluminium foil backed polyethylene (PE) bubble-sheeting, wrapped in recycled low-density PE, and taped over a bamboo frame to form a long triangular form with one end sealed and the other a Velcro-controlled entrance. The material successfully insulates the body and can achieve an internal temperature of 5°C (an equivalent next-to-body temperature of 22°C) whilst external conditions drop to -16°C.

Image credit: https://sleeppod.org.uk/wp-content/
uploads/2022/01/Sleep-Pod-Home-Build-A4.pdf

First launched in 2018, the pods are constructed by teams of volunteers through build workshops, adapted recently into ‘Build at Home’ projects due to Covid-19 social distancing. To date, 6500 have been made by over 3000 individuals and community groups. The charity maintain that the Sleep Pod is not a solution to the homelessness crisis and work hard to develop strong relationships with partner organisations equipped with the expertise and experience that can help inform where and when it is appropriate to give out Sleep Pods within their local areas.

Image credit: MoDiP

If you would like to find out more, please visit the sleeppod website: https://sleeppod.org.uk/

Katherine Pell
Collections Officer

Veret electric bed warmer, Ernest Paul Feakes, 1937

Mindful of the cost-of-living crisis, my family have been using our rubber hot water bottles far more this winter than we have done in previous years. They are a fantastic invention and help with the energy-saving mantra I keep reading everywhere: ‘heat the person, not the room’. 

MoDiP does not actually have a rubber example in the museum yet, but we do have this lovely bakelite version (refer image below) by Rothermel, part of the Plastics Historical Society collection. It is a great object because being made from a plastics material, it could have been any shape the designer wanted it to be. On this occasion, the form chosen was an exact replica of the familiar rubber hot water bottle we all know and love, presumably so that when a customer saw it for the very first time, they would instantly recognise what the product was.

PHSL : 3
Image credit: MoDiP

We have two other electric bed warmers in the collection that operate in a similar way but look very different (refer image below). They were both manufactured by a company called Veret in the late 1930s/1940s, compression moulded in phenol formaldehyde (the brown example) and urea formaldehyde (the green example). Until recently we knew nothing more about them, but in November 2022 we were contacted by the designer’s granddaughter who was able to give us some additional information.

AIBDC : 0_2423 and AIBDC : 0_2425
Image credit: MoDiP

The Veret bedwarmer was designed by Ernest Paul Feakes, a carpenter and builder from Belvedere in Kent, who is rather well known in the Bexleyheath area due to his property development partnership with Robert Richard Richards (Feakes & Richards). He can be seen in the image below on the left, standing next to his business partner.

Ernest Paul Feakes (left) and Robert Richard Richards (right) with a
contemporaryadvertisement for their Bostall Park Estate development.
Image credit: Cordelia Olds and https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/374572894014296602/

Ernest Feakes was always interested in making and inventing things and held at least nine patents registered between 1904-1938 for a variety of items including furniture and fastener improvements. He set up the Veret company sometime around 1937 for the manufacture of his cylindrical bed warmer, establishing the business from his family home in Woolwich Road, Abbey Wood, London. An improvement to the device was patented ten years later, but we have been unable to locate the original application.

The 1947 Veret Ltd patent for an improved cord connection.
Image credit: https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/
001733375/publication/GB595969A?q=pn%3DGB595969A

The bed warmers were sold at chemists and electrical hardware stores, advertised as ‘shock-proof, fool-proof and guaranteed. No water to leak, suitable for all voltages and consumption is only one unit a week when left on day and night. Price 14/-'.

Two contemporary adverts for the Veret electric bedwarmer.
Image credit https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Veret (left) and https://bakelietverzameling.nl/Products/586/Bedverwarmer%20Veret (right)

Feakes’ granddaughter recalled her father passing through Charing Cross on his journey to and from work each day in the late 1930s. E.P., as she affectionately referred to Ernest, would ask him to ‘nip into Boots as he went past and buy a couple of the bed warmers, telling everyone how good he had heard they were’. Upon return home, he would be reimbursed and the bedwarmers returned to stock! She also described her experience of using one when she was a child in the early 1950s, standing on her bed to remove the ceiling lightbulb in order to replace it with the fitting attached to the bed warmer. She remembered the appliance made a gentle humming noise when it was switched on and considered it old fashioned as by then, rubber hot water bottles had proven more popular and cost effective.

Sold boxed and with a cover, the Veret electrical bed warmers were available to buy in pastel blue and green colours, as well as the typical brown and black bakelite. Providing 150 hours warmth for just one penny sounds amazing given the price of electricity now and I wonder just how warm they were. Sadly, we cannot test our examples to find out but if you would like to view them, the Rothermel, or any other objects, please contact us.
 
Katherine Pell
Collections Officer
 
References:

Olds, C. 2022. Veret bakelite bed warmer. (email).

https://bakelietverzameling.nl/Products/586/Bedverwarmer%20Veret

https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search?q=Ernest%20Paul%20Feakes

https://worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/search/family/001733375/publication/GB595969A?q=pn%3DGB595969Ahttps://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Veret

https://www.facebook.com/BexleyArchives/posts/bexley-biographies-our-advent-theme-this-year-is-an-abc-look-at-people-with-bexl/2583495091693959/

https://www-industriemuseum-be.translate.goog/nl/collectie-item/bedverwarmer-van-het-merk-veret?_x_tr_sl=nl&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/374572894014296602/

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33635/page/5169/data.pdf

https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/33880/page/7014/data.pdf

Endurance - in a flood

In 2020 England recorded record breaking levels of rainfall which had a devastating impact on thousands of homes and communities. It is estimated that over 5.2 million properties in England are currently at risk of rising water levels and, although the government has pledged to double the amount they spend on flood defences, there are relatively inexpensive measures that homeowners can take themselves to reduce the impact of flooding to their property. 

Airbricks are devices used in buildings to allow the circulation of fresh air beneath suspended floors and within cavity walls to prevent the build-up of moisture and gasses. They are ideally incorporated on all sides of a building and guidelines recommend that they are installed at least 75mm above ground level to prevent water ingress.  However, in a flood it is estimated that up to 50,000 litres of water can flow through a single unprotected airbrick in one hour, potentially causing major and often irreparable damage, so extra measures are needed to prevent water entering a building.   

The SMART Airbrick, currently on display in MoDiP’s Endurance exhibition, is an innovative solution to this problem.  Developed by Eco-coverage Technologies, it was designed specifically for domestic use and as a replacement for traditional clay airbricks. It allows unrestricted airflow beneath a property under normal conditions, but when flood waters rise to such a level that water begins to flow through the airbrick, flotation valves, comprising chambers containing a ball, are activated, blocking its passage.  It also works in strong gusty winds in excess of 30mph, potentially helping to reduce heat loss from underneath the property.  

The SMART Airbrick is manufactured in the UK and is made of recycled polypropylene.  

Pam Langdown Documentation Officer