Here are more photos I took on my first visit to the Museum Collection Centre on 17/09/22.
This Wheeler & Wilson Sewing machine was first patented in 1867. It was a domestic machine and it was used in Hall Green, Birmingham.
Read about Wheeler & Wilson here.
The two reliefs above were displayed outside Dunkley’s shop in the Bull Ring, Birmingham until it was demolished in the 1950s. Dunkley’s made prams and wheelchairs for the elderly and people with disabilities, and the Goat and Pram was its trademark.
Read about Dunkley prams here.
Read about Dunkley’s here.
Read about William Henry Dunkley here.
Made by Taylor and Challen, Birmingham in 1888, this press is from the factory of Gordon & Munro Limited.
Read about Taylor and Challen here.
This hand-operated machine from circa 1830 was made in Manchester but it was used in the Birmingham Works of Branadauer & Co. to make the Dies needed for producing Pen Nibs.
Read about Planing Machines here.
More versatile than a Planing Machine, Shapers were used to produce flat surfaces on shaped metal objects. Angled cuts were possible and some grooves could be cut without using a Milling M/c.
Read about Shaping Machines here.
Machines like this were used in the early days of the Motor Trade to make curved metal shapes by distorting flat sheets. One use of this was would be to hand-produce separate Mudguards.
Read about Wheeling Machines here.
Sir Joseph Whitworth was famed for the accuracy of his machine tools in the mid-late 1800’s. He is regarded as the founding father of Mass Production in England as interchangeability needs accuracy.
Read about Drilling Machines here.
This Draw bench is from the workshop of Joseph Fray Limited, Albion Street, Birmingham.
Read about Joseph Fray Limited here.
Silver and Gold are very Ductile metals. Smiths still use benches like this one to reduce the diameter of the wire and to produce different shapes by pulling the wire through a Draw Plate. The Rope is not original.
Read about Draw Benches here.
This Bench was used in the Grand Hotel in Birmingham circa 1920 as part of the Bottling and Manufacture of bottled water. Bottling your own water is still a common practice today in Hotels.
Read about Work Benches here.
This Albion Press, from 1841 but built to a much earlier patent (1773), was used by Herbert and Young in their Printing Works. The strong construction methods helped put even pressure on the plate.
Read about the Albion Press here.
Contents
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 6.
The Museum Collection: Photos – Page 7.
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 of early companies, their products and the people who designed and built them.