Here are more photos I took on my first visit to the Museum Collection Centre on 17/09/22.
This 7.5 Horse Power electric motor was made by Midlands Railway in about 1890.
This music player was made in Germany circa 1961 by Wurlitzer, a well-known company whose name has become directly associated with the jukebox.
The turntable on this gramophone was driven by a weight mechanism. It was made by Sporrothon around 1920.
Made by probably the most well-known Music Box Movement Makers, Nicole Freres, in Geneva, circa 1880, this Cylinder Music Box was part of the Liddell Collection.
Read about the Music Box here.
This Violano Virtuoso Music Machine was made by Mills Novelty Company, Chicago, USA. in the early 1950’s. It was electrically driven and had a combined mechanical piano and violin player.
Read about Mills Novelty Company here.
A player piano, also known as a pianola, is a self-playing piano and is both a musical instrument and a machine. The pedals operate a mechanism which plays the piano by means of a perforated roll. This example was made by George Steck & Company, USA in 1925.
Read about the Player Piano here.
Read about Steck here.
The pump organ, also known as a Harmonium, is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame.
Read more about the pump organ here.
This Chamber Barrel Organ was made by T.C. Bates of Ludgate Hill, London in about 1830. It was once owned by a Clergyman but the tunes it played are not listed in the museum’s files.
Read about the Barrel Organ here.
This television and radio set is from the early 1950’s. Television sets were still quite rare in houses at this time, and this one may have been bought to watch Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953.
Read about the Television Set here.
An early example of a projection television set which retailed at £325-0-0 in 1949. A Morris Minor car in the same year cost £349-0-0.
Read about Decca here.
This Peto-Scott Television was introduced in 1950. it cost £71, 3 shillings and 4 pence when new, plus £16 Purchase Tax. Peto-Scott Electrical Instruments were based in Addlestone Road, Weybridge in Surrey.
Read about Peto-Scott Electrical Instruments here.
This fryer dates back to the mid 1920’s and was made by the Birmingham firm Walker & Husler. It was used in a shop in Handsworth, Birmingham.
Read about Fish and Chips here.
Harvested potatoes were put onto this machine. The chats (small potatoes for animal feed), and medium sized ones for the next years seed are sorted into chutes. The larger potatoes climb up the slope and fall into a sack at the end.
This is Berkel’s Model 2 slicing machine made by the Slicing Machine Manufacturing Company, Ponders End, Middlesex around 1950.
Blog Posts
Local History: The Museum Collection Centre.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 1.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 2.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 3.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 4.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 5.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 7.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 8.
Notes And Links
All the above images are copyright of Frank Parker.
Museum Collection Centre on Facebook.
Museum Collection Centre on Twitter.
Birmingham Museums Collection – Find out more about Birmingham’s collections including art and design, human history, natural science and science and industry categories. Each category contains sub-categories full of useful information and great photos.
Birmingham Museums Trust’s Digital Asset Resource – Official website. There is no registration or log-in required to use this website for out-of-copyright collection images Download free Public Domain image files up to 3mb in size with free Creative Commons licenses. You are entitled to unlimited downloads. Also download free Audio Files complete with a license. These can be downloaded for non-commercial use only and attribution is required.
BirminghamMAG – Official YouTube channel. Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery provide world-class museums at the cultural heart of Birmingham.
Birmingham Museums – Official website.
Thinktank: Birmingham Science Museum – Official website.
Birmingham Museum And Art Gallery – Official website.
Aston Hall – Official website.
Blakesley Hall – Official website.
Museum Of The Jewellery Quarter – Official website.
Sarehole Mill – Official website.
Soho House – Official website.
Weoly Castle – Official website.
Wikipedia – Official website. This is a free encyclopedia that anyone can edit.
Grace’s Guide – Official website. This is the leading source of historical information on industry and manufacturing in Britain. This web publication contains 149,969 pages of information and 235,611 images on early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.
