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A symposium on histories of use and tacit skills
The histories of use of the objects in museum collections, and the unrecorded skills of their operation, have posed pressing research questions for museum people and university scholars alike. This symposium drew together different perspectives on this emerging area of study.
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A tale of two telegraphs: Cooke and Wheatstone’s differing visions of electric telegraphy
William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone were two of the most recognised figures behind the Victorian telegraph. Their conflicting visions of telegraphy provoked an acrimonious dispute between them. The paper explores this dispute’s impact on the development of telegraphic instruments.
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Acoustics on display: collecting and curating sound at the Science Museum
This article looks at the historic role of sound in displaying the Science Museum’s acoustics collection. It exposes both the practice and problem of using sound in the process of displaying sounding objects.
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Adapting to the emergence of the automobile: a case study of Manchester coachbuilder Joseph Cockshoot and Co. 1896–1939
This paper will analyse the relationship between the horse-drawn and the motorised vehicle in the UK. It argues that the emergence of the automobile was not a simple matter of technological progress, but involved complex relationships between manufacturers, coachbuilders and customers.
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Wounded: ‘They had no fever…’ Ambroise Paré (1510–1590) and his method of gunshot wounds management
The paper deals with new surgical paradigm elaborated by French surgeon Ambroise Paré, who proposed a version of wound care where the cauterising was replaced with ligature of vessels and healing balm dressing.
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An overlooked eighteenth-century scrofula pamphlet: changing forms and changing readers, 1760–1824
This article explores the medical context, editorial history and varied reader reception of an eighteenth-century pamphlet on scrofula written by John Morley, a wealthy Essex landowner.
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Review: Behind the Exhibit: Displaying Science and Technology at the World’s Fairs and Museums in the Twentieth Century
Review: Behind the Exhibit: Displaying Science and Technology at the World’s Fairs and Museums in the Twentieth Century
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Engineering and the family in business: Blanche Coules Thornycroft, naval architecture and engineering design
The article describes the role of Blanche Thornycroft as a naval architect in the family business of John I. Thornycroft. It explores her role in the family business and examines some of the products she was involved in building.
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Capturing the song of the nightingale
An article exploring the effects of the first ever broadcast from a natural location made by the British Broadcasting Company – the famous Nightingale broadcast of 19 May 1924, and the role of the innovative microphone that made it possible.
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Challenges of conservation: working objects
A review of conservation concepts and practice, and provision of access to objects. Discussion of the conservation issues which arise when industrial objects are operated, and of the need for research into the effects of operation and the visitor experience.