Wearable optical toys: how Victorian devices influenced a contemporary jewellery maker

A guest post by Karen Smith, final year student at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design in Dundee

Back in January I was doing research into Victorian Optical Devices for my degree show work at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design. I had chosen to base my jewellery collection on Victorian optical devices and combine them with song lyrics to produce what I refer to as ‘Wearable Optical Toys’.

At the time I only knew a little about these intriguing devices and wanted to gain more insight into how they were made, what materials they are made from and how they worked. I contacted the National Museum of Scotland in the hope that they could help me out in some way.

I was lucky enough to get in contact with curator Tacye Phillipson. She gave me some background information on some of these devices, many of which I had no prior knowledge of. Tacye then arranged for me to visit the museum stores and view some of these items.

Curator Julie Orford was kind enough to show me around. Being able to examine these items up close and actually see how they are made was not only fascinating but also invaluable to my design work, allowing me to translate these optical devices into wearable objects.

Here are a few photographs from my visit to the museum stores.

Zoetrope

Peep show

Peep egg

After my visit I set about designing for my degree show collection. Here are some pictures of some of the items I came up with.

Zoetrope Ring Stands (2012). Based on the song ‘Butterfly on a Wheel’ by The Mission. Tops are spun to animate butterflies inside. Rings are removable and can be worn.

Phenakistoscope Spinning brooch (2012). Again based on the song ‘Butterfly on a Wheel’ by The Mission. Spin wheels in opposite directions to animate butterflies.

Peep Show Brooches (2012). Based on the song ‘Through Glass’ By Stone Sour.

Peep Show Brooches (2012). Peep Show has three separate brooches.

Without being able to visit the museum and actually get to see these optical devices I think I would not have been able to fully appreciate how these objects worked and I am very thankful to both Tacye and Julie for being so helpful. My visit also helped to affirm that a career in a Museum is something I would like to pursue.

If you are interested in seeing more of my work the Duncan of Jordanstone Art School Degree show opening night is 18 May from 6pm-9pm. And there after the Degree show is open until 27 May. Please come along and see some amazing creations. You can find out more at the Duncan of Jordanstone Degree Show website and also at my blog.

 

Looking good and lots of cabbage: vintage living at World Wars Experience

Guest post by Edna Dickinson of Harry and Edna, who bring the 1940s to life in the 21st century

Edna will be providing good old-fashioned  beauty advice and wartime cooking tips at World Wars Experience, National Museum of Flight, East Fortune on Sunday 27 May. The two World Wars will come to life with living history presenters and their vehicles, live battles, vintage beauty workshops and posing for wartime portraits! 

The 1940s are so inspirational for me; it’s the whole hair, make up and clothing. The effort people put in to how they looked really showed. Look at almost any period photo and the women look incredible, especially when you consider the shortages, hours worked and the hardships of war. This might explain why I tend to wear period clothing on a regular basis and I am looking forward to bringing period clothing with me to World Wars Experience.

Make do and mend in the Second World War.

What I find interesting is that clothes from the 1940s really do not look anything when they are on the hanger, but once worn on a feminine figure, the garment comes to life in a way modern clothes just can’t. However, I do not want to paint a picture of a fashion heaven.

Clothes rationing began on 1st June 1941, because there was a major shortage of cloth reaching Britain. Much of that was needed for military uniforms, tents, parachutes etc and government restrictions meant that clothing although simple was of good quality and fairly priced. Rationing coupons where limited to 66 per person a year. That is just about enough to buy one complete outfit. If you fancy a challenge I have listed a number of items with their point allocation, what would you buy for the whole year?

Raincoat or overcoat 11	Jacket, short coat 8	Dress, woollen 8
Pullover, jumper 3	Dress, other material 5	Trousers 6
Blouse, cardigan, jumper 3	Shorts 3	Skirt 5
Overalls, dungarees 4	Apron, pinafore 4	Shirt, woollen 6
Pyjamas 6	Shirt 4	Night-dress 5
Underwear 2	Petticoat 3	Pair of socks 1
Collar, tie 1	Pair of gloves 2	Pair of boots or shoes 3

The number of ration coupons required per year to purchase items for purchase of clothing: Source Imperial War Museum, London.

Another form of rationing during the war and post war years was food rationing and I am looking forward to speaking on this topic at World Wars Experience. Food rationing was brought in at the begining of the war in 1940 and lasted until 1954, an amazing nine years after the war had ended. Despite meals made from pigs’ trotters and a liberal use of cabbage, I plan to explain how our grandparents can tell us a thing or two about cooking today, even though they cooked in a world 70 years ago, in which you were only allowed one egg and three rashers of bacon a week!

Edna tucking into a pig’s trotter in the 1940s kitchen.

I am really looking forward to meeting you at World Wars Experience. I plan to bring a number of artefacts which would have been found in the wartime kitchen. Hopefully some will be familiar to you, others maybe not so. If you would like to find out more about my family’s little world in the 1940s do visit our website www.harryandedna.co.uk

 

Belle of the War

Guest post by Emma Dixon from Miss Dixiebelle of Edinburgh

Miss Dixiebelle will be providing vintage makeovers at World Wars Experience, National Museum of Flight, East Fortune on Sunday 27 May. The two World Wars will come to life with living history presenters and their vehicles, live battles, vintage beauty workshops and posing for wartime portraits! 

We’re delighted to be asked along to this year’s World War Experience. We’ll be there with our pop-up parlour as well as 1930s and 1940s demos throughout the day. We’ll be armed with rollers, combs and tongs to do some vintage hair styling.

1940s vintage makeover at Miss Dixiebelle of Brunstfield.

We can advise on styles dependent on hair type and length and will have plenty of images for you to browse, whether it’s 1940s victory rolls or a classic set that takes your fancy. We’ll be doing this on a first come first served basis so be sure to come early!

1940s vintage look by Miss Dixiebelle of Brunstfield.

Our emporium in Bruntsfield is home to vintage-inspired ladies fashion and accessories. We import brands from America as well as British designers and have reproduction garments concentrating on the 1940s,  1950s and early 1960s styles. We have a full range of lingerie and corsetry and our main collections are complemented by vintage luggage and jewellery and hats.

Miss Dixiebelle of Brunstfield.

 

I see red and orange and pink and green….

 By Fraser McIntyre, Visitor Services Assistant, National Museum of Flight, East Fortune

The Airshow at National Museum of Flight, East Fortune is on the horizon, preparations have been on-going for some time now. I was excited to see the line-up of aircraft that will be taking to the skies above East Fortune this summer. New for this year we have The Great War Display Team, made up of a Royal Aircraft Factory SE5A and a Junkers CL1, who will be re-creating a death defying First World War dog fight.

Lindstrand Hot Airship will be displaying at the Airshow at East Fortune.

Also new this year is the Lindstrand HS110 Hot Airship which will be flying before and during the interval display. The bright orange airship will no doubt impress everyone at around 120ft long however it would have been dwarfed by the giant 643ft  R34 airship which flew from East Fortune in 1919,  on the first east to west transatlantic air crossing. Other stars of the show include the Sea King helicopter, P51 Mustang, and Swordfish and the Tiger Moth and the amazing RAF Falcons Parachute Display Team who will no doubt wow visitors with their skillfully choreographed displays.

A Sea King SAR helicopter will be at the Airshow at East Fortune.

If, like me, you prefer your displays fast, noisy and red then you won’t be disappointed as making we welcome back the fantastic Red Arrows, with their world famous display of precision aerobatics.

Red Arrows in formation with colour on at RAF Waddington Airshow, 2011 © MOD Crown Copyright.

There is still lots to do before Saturday 28 July and things change right up to the last minute but I’m sure that this will be a great year for the Airshow at East Fortune. Tickets are available now online with Early Bird savings! 

 

Reconstructing Lives: how does a prosthetic hand work?

By Tacye Phillipson, Senior Curator of Modern Science

One of the questions I have been frequently asked about the prosthetic hands in our Reconstructing Lives exhibition is: how are they controlled?  We use our hands for a wide variety of tasks requiring strength or dexterity and seldom think about how complicated they are and how many muscles and signals work together to make each gesture. For a prosthetic limb the user interface is vital; it needs to be simple and instinctive to operate. The wearer does not want to refer to the instruction manual, call the support desk, or even think about every motion he or she makes.

The hand with the most advanced technology in the exhibition is the i-limb ultra, the latest model from Touch Bionics in Livingston. These hands look amazingly lifelike when in their cosmetic covers, and each finger moves independently which gives them naturalistic poses. We display them without skins so some of the engineering which goes into them is visible.

Tying shoelaces using the i-limb ultra prosthetic hand. Photo © Touch Bionics.

The about 300 parts which went into the first model i-limb, pinned to a noticeboard at Touch Bionics’ workshop.

These hands are operated with battery power, electrical signals and an internal processor. The demonstration model that Touch Bionics sometimes kindly lend us for events comes with a torch, which acts as a replacement forearm to hold the batteries and support the hand. This torch has two pressure sensitive buttons added on the outside: one opens the hand, the other closes it. The hand can be instructed to move into more positions and modes by signalling to its internal software through holding down, or tapping on, the buttons.

Curator Julie Orford with the i-limb hand on its torch ‘forearm’. At the launch of the 26 Treasures project, visitors could try it for themselves.

Using buttons, and needing one hand to control the motion of the artificial hand, is a cumbersome way of using a prosthesis. Instead, amputees control these hands through sensitive electrical sensors placed on their skin. These detect the tiny electrical signals inside muscles as they contract. Because the muscles which close and open our fingers are in the arm, below the elbow, this can be very instinctive to learn. People with an amputation across the forearm can signal to their artificial hand using the muscles which controlled their fingers.

The back of a hand and arm showing the muscles and tendons which open the fingers. Gray’s Anatomy, 1858.

These prosthetic hands don’t enable their wearers play a piano sonata or touch type – not yet anyway – but they will point one finger to operate a keyboard ‘hunt and peck’ style. There is on-going worldwide research into controlling prostheses directly from brainwaves, which are detected either with sensors on the skin or surgically implanted electrodes. This technology is not yet ready for use outside a laboratory, but is one of many exciting developments which may revolutionise the field of prosthetics in the future.

An example of the first model i-limb from Touch Bionics is also on display in Scotland: A Changing Nation at the National Museum of Scotland, and was one of the objects featured in the 26 Treasures project. We also display the Edinburgh research leading up to this pioneering hand in the Shaping our World gallery.

 

The sound of distant African drums…

A guest post by Regan Koazubikk, P6, Methilhill Primary and Community School, Fife

Regan’s class is part of The Robertson Trust funded project which is working with schools to develop boxes of museum objects available for free borrowing. Regan tells the story of preparing for a day event showing the work her class has done over the past year with the Museum. The partner school is Methilhill Primary and Community School, Fife, and the event took place on 2nd Feb 2012. You can find out more by reading this previous post by Community Engagement Officer Conor Hull or on the Community Engagement section on the National Museums Scotland’s website.

Before Thursday we had to plan our exhibition.  We had to decide on where our objects and material went. Then on the laptops we made some labels and a title. Eventually area 10 (another class) came to see us practise our exhibition for Thursday – they really enjoyed it!

P6 choosing objects for the African exhibition at Methilhill Primary and Community School, Fife.

Next it was the day! I was so nervous I was shaky. Then we began to walk to the drama studio. Then we suddenly walked in and as we walked in there was Conor, a photographer and a professional cameraman and we had to prepare our exhibition. Soon after break an African man called Chief Chebe was teaching us to play drums, African drums, and some of our parents came. Then we got taught a seed game. I was in a group with Samantha and Melissa.  Then area 13 (another class) came in.  It was very nerve-wracking because they are a bigger class.

Chief Chebe and P6 at Methilhill Primary and Community School, Fife.

Soon it was show time! To show our parents what we had been up to with the Museum project we then had to move our exhibition to the hall.  Meanwhile our parents came in.  I was so nervous and a little bit scared stuff might go wrong!

P6 playing African drums to an audience at Methilhill Primary and Community School, Fife.

My parents were very proud of me.  Then we had to play our drums in front of everyone in the school even parents! I was very jumpy, then we finished and everyone cheered and clapped. At the end my parents said I was outstanding. I was very proud of me and my class.  However we had to say our goodbyes. I didn’t want to say goodbye to Chief Chebe. I loved every second of it and it was a GREAT experience.

P6 practising the African drums at Methilhill Primary and Community School, Fife.

 

Delicate manoeuvres at East Fortune

By Hal Jacob, Conservation of Engineering and Mechanical Artefacts Intern
Since I started as an intern at National Museums Scotland, I have had many opportunities to be involved in a wide range of activities. These have varied from the conservation of surveying equipment used by Charles Piazzi Smyth at the Great Pyramid, to the fabrication and replication of components using various lathes and tools, as well as helping with installations at the National Museum of Scotland and attending several talks and tours.

One activity I had not expected to encounter was the two days I spent helping my colleagues rearrange aircraft in the Restoration Hangar at the National Museum of Flight at East Fortune. The hangar contains several aircraft which are undergoing restoration, along with a variety of other aircraft. The purpose of the move was to display the aircraft into a more chronological order, roughly by size and type, and to make better use of the space available.

Despite the weather being somewhat chilly, the sun was out and we soon warmed up once the lifting, pushing and pulling began. Of course, there is more to moving aircraft around than brute force, and besides, many of the aircraft were surprisingly light!

The Miles M18 parked with other aircraft outside the Restoration Hangar. Photo by Mike Lofthus.

The answer to moving these large historic objects without difficulty or damage occurring is having the ability to work and communicate well with everyone in the team. Each team member was assigned an area of an aircraft to push as well as watching closely that no part would collide with other aircraft or parts of the hangar. This was more complicated than one might think and, with larger aircraft like the de Havilland Sea Venom, required intricate forward and backward movement to fit it into its final position amongst other large aircraft. Manoeuvres like this required several people standing round the plane, with eyes fixed on wing tips and tail fins as well as each other to avoid any contact. At times we came close, but not once did two planes meet!

The General Aircraft Cygnet looking like a frightened cartoon cat. Photo by Mike Loftus.

The other thing to consider with aircraft is where on its body you push it. It is surprising how delicate they can be, despite what they are designed for: some have wings of painted canvas and fragile fittings, and you can’t apply any force to parts which control the aircraft’s flight path such as rudders, ailerons or flaps.

We parked all the aircraft to be repositioned outside, where the sun, grass and tarmac brought them back to life in a way that the hangar lights couldn’t do. The Sea Venom was taxied along one of the roadways with the museum’s ex-RAF tug, and it looked as if it was getting ready to take off and the brightly painted craft were all lined up and gleaming as if they had just landed for the day.

De Havilland Tiger Moth enjoying the winter sunshine. Photo by Mike Loftus.

After this short and rare outing for the aircraft, they were taken back in one by one, and positioned in their new space. By the end of the first day the hangar looked much more spacious, logically arranged, and far less cluttered. All that was left to do on the second day was to tidy up a few bits and pieces, replace the information boards and make a few minor adjustments.

Aircraft during manoeuvres in the Restoration Hangar. Photo by Mike Loftus.

The two days at the National Museum of Flight were great fun, and gave me valuable experience in moving a new type of object. It’s easy to forget that the principles of handling the small and often fragile objects many of us are familiar with, apply equally as much to any historic object whether it be a small and lightweight Air and Space Autogyro or an all-weather jet-engined interceptor aircraft.

 

Reconstructing Lives: installing the exhibition

By Julie Orford, Assistant Curator of Science

The beginning of March was busy for us in the Science section as we installed the Reconstructing Lives exhibition, which opened at the National War Museum on 9 March. Although the exhibition is a small one, there is still a lot of hard work that goes into creating it.

Over the past few months the objects were conserved and photographed, the label text was researched, written and revised and the images which bring the stories of the objects to life had to be sourced and printed. Our loans department have also been busy organising the borrowing of five legs and two hands for the display.

The week of exhibition installation is normally a flurry of activity so I thought I would share some of the photos I took over the course of the installation. I should also mention that the gallery technicians had already been beavering away for a week, preparing the gallery for installation and mounting the display panels but I wasn’t around to take photos of their input!

The Foyer case with the cosmetic hand coverings on display. My personal favourite in this case is the hand on the second left with the zip up the forearm. The realism of the silicone hands can be quite unsettling!

The first objects going into the case, with Chris Moon’s running blade in the foreground and the WWII aluminium arm in the background.

The strapping attached to the prosthetic legs provided a real challenge for the mount maker, Richard West. When you visit the exhibition do take a moment to admire the skill and craftsmanship that went into creating the mounts – they are a work of wonder!

Curator Tacye Phillipson and Russell Eggleton, the exhibition designer, suspend the strapping of the leg using stainless steel wires attached to the top of the case.

All installed! Tacye and Russell look on as Richard gives the limb mounts a final check over.

Thursday was perhaps our busiest day of the week. Poor Tacye’s day began at the ungodly hour of 06:40 with an interview on the BBC Radio Scotland breakfast programme. The final loan object pictured here in its travelling case arrived from the British Museum and we had the exhibition press view.

Tacye and Elena Jones from the British Museum carry out the condition check on the hand before it is locked into the case for the duration of the exhibition.

Here’s Tacye being interviewed by Pauline McLean for a feature on the BBC ‘Reporting Scotland’ news programme.

Conservator Darren Cox prepares to do a piece to camera on his contribution to the exhibition. Although this didn’t appear on the TV news bulletin, the audio recording featured on the BBC Radio Scotland ‘News Drive’ programme later that evening.

Seen on a photographer’s camera screen is a great shot of Tacye viewed through the exhibition case with a late-20th century prosthetic arm in the foreground.

The image of Tacye holding the i-limb ultra was the favoured photograph in the press coverage for the exhibition that appeared the next day. Here she is taking directions from a bank of photographers with the assistance of Kirsty Tough from the Marketing and Communications department.

Opening Day! Here we have some of the first visitors to the exhibition taking a closer look at the fantastic photographs which cover the walls of the gallery space.

The layout of the exhibition, designed by Jan Dawson uses a combination of text and image to illustrate the development of prosthetic limbs and to show the objects on display in use.

Part of the exhibition is an interview with Chris Moon, MBE. He was blown up by a landmine in 1995, losing his lower leg and right arm. This short film features his personal story and how he and others have adjusted to using prosthetic limbs.

The comments book – it’s great to read visitor responses to an exhibition. Here are the first two comments from a couple of Canadian visitors.

The finished exhibition.

So there we have a behind the scenes glimpse of the exhibition installation. Reconstructing Lives is open until February 2013 and entry to the National War Museum is free with admission to Edinburgh Castle. I look forward to reading your comments in the visitors’ book!

 

A 1950s labour of love down on the farm

Catch up with Ritchie Young, Farm Manager, National Museum of Rural Life, East Kilbride

We caught up with Ritchie Young, who has recently joined National Museum of Rural Life, about the spring activity and new arrivals at Wester Kittochside farm.  Ritchie is responsible for the day-to-day management of the farm at Wester Kittochside, caring for the rare breeds livestock and crop cultivation as it was in the 1950s.

How many calves have been born so far this season and what are their names?

Six calves been born so far, Candy’s Elegance the girl and Harry, Henry, James, Boab and Tom Launce the boys. The purebred calves get names from their mother, Candy, a supreme Ayrshire champion – Candy’s Elegance’s mother. Maggie MacDougall, our Stockperson, just picks the rest of the names. Tom Launce was named after a couple of wee boys who were in when the calf was born, James is named after my wee boy and Boab was named after my James (my son) saw the calf and said ‘Boab, Boab’ so it came from that.

How do you know when a calf is on the way?

When the cow is calving, the udder will fill up with milk a day or two before the calf is due. When she goes into labour she will show signs of discomfort, getting up and lying down, swishing her tail, groaning and generally unsettled. When the onset of labour comes on she will start pressing (pushing).

Tom the Ayrshire calf.

Once they are in labour you just basically observe them. If they have been active for a while you may have to check the orientation of the calf to make sure that it is the right way around. If it’s not, it won’t come out naturally and then we will have to intervene. If there is a major problem, we call the vet in. For instance, the first cow that calved had hypocalcaemia (lack of calcium) so we had to get the vet in then. Giving birth involves a lot of effort, and the cow produces a lot of milk, which can cause them to have a dip in their calcium levels.

Expectant Ayrshire cows at the farm.

We check on them regularly and look out for any signs of distress and give assistance to get the calf out – basically pull the calf out. Once the calf is born you give it a rub to clear the airways and make sure it’s breathing. If the calf is okay you dip its belly button and umbilical cord in iodine which dries it up and seals off any infection. The calves get their ear tags within the first 24 hours and Maggie or I make sure that they get enough colostrum (vitamins) to help them fight off infection and provide sufficient antibodies. They get that in the first six hours to receive the maximum effect.

The calves will be kept inside the barn until April and then housed depending on the weather. They are fed on milk for eight to ten weeks and once they are off the milk they are released into a small paddock. Six cows are still waiting to have calves, one in the next few days, one within the next ten days and the rest are due to arrive in April.

What other new arrivals can we expect this spring?

We’ve scanned all the ewes and there are 135 lambs due. We also have six Aberdeen Angus cows due with calves at the beginning of May and expect to see some new Tamworth piglets by May as well.

Ritchie Young, Farm Manager and Mhairi the Clydesdale

What else do you do on the farm on a day to day basis?

A lot of my time is office based until now. Maggie is in control of stock planning, fertilising and lambing so will be busy. There are lot of projects on the go and we are currently getting a new building for general storage so we can buy in bedding and save costs on cattle feed by bulk storing. At the moment we buy it in small bags which use plastic so by buying in bulk we are using less plastic which is better for the environment, and for recycling.

What crops do you plant on the farm?

Oats, potatoes and wheat are the crops we mainly grow. We keep the animals out of the field to minimise crop damage and have a scarecrow to chase the birds away or just create a disturbance. I don’t see myself chasing birds down the fields however…

How have you found your first six months on the farm?

It’s been different, a steep learning curve and the curve has not ended yet. There’s a lot more to learn and think about as Farm Manager at National Museum of Rural Life than on a normal working farm.

 

Schools outreach: the Museum comes to Methilhill

By Conor Hull, Community Engagement Officer

As part of the revamp of the National Museum of Scotland, The Robertson Trust donated a large sum of money toward the development of a brand new Learning Centre.  They also funded an outreach project which would expose the museum’s collections to previously unreached audiences, encouraging these families to visit the museum for themselves.

For more than a year I have been working in partnership with three schools, to deliver this project. Methilhill Primary School Fife, Park Primary Clackmannan and Knightsridge Primary School, West Lothian.  The plan is to put together one box of handling items per school from our collections that could be loaned out to other schools, giving a flavour of the fantastic objects we have here at the National Museum of Scotland.  These will be officially launched in May at the National Museum of Scotland.

The pupils and teachers picked their topics, based on themes from the new galleries – Africa, Rainforest and the Carnival of the Animals.  Next I got together objects from our handling collection to give to the pupils to research.  They visited the museum, asked curators questions and did their own independent research.

Last month we ran a community day at Methilhill Primary and Community School, giving pupils an opportunity to show off their work to other pupils in the school, their parents and wider families.

Pupils, parents and teachers took part in an African drum and music Workshop lead by Chief Sulemen Chebe before performing to their parents later on.

Chief Suleman Chebe with pupils.

Chief Suleman Chebe demonstrates the xylophone.

Setting up a display of African objects.

Pupils explained their exhibitions to parents.

Showing parents objects from the displays.

Parents could also get involved with the musical entertainment!

In this video the pupils explain in their own words what the project has meant to them.