National Museums Liverpool Blog - Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Heather Price with her favourite photograph.

Last week our new exhibition at the Lady Lever Art Gallery opened - An Edwardian Family Album. I'm not a big photography buff, but I still found the photos pretty captivating. They not only give you a glimpse into family life in Edwardian times, many of them also have an ethereal quality that is really interesting. They create an effect that is almost like capturing ghosts from the past on film. One that definitely has this feel is the photo of a group of people exploring Castleton caverns. They are all holding torches in a pitch black cave - but of course the ladies are all still wearing their fabulous hats!

Owner of the collection, Heather Price and her late husband David, were given a large collection of glass negatives which had been found in a friend's attic. Both keen photographers themselves they were keen to get these unusual photographs on display, so that others could enjoy them. Heather said "Dai would have been so pleased with how the exhibition has come together. He'd have been here every other day to see it." You can see Heather above, with her and David's favourite photograph from the collection. It is of the photographer's daughter Mary, dressed in her Sunday best dress and bonnet, with pet dog Bob.

Heather told me that she felt the details in the photos were really wonderful and showed that the photographer, Jack Urton, must have been very knowledgeable about photography. This was a time when advancements in technology meant that more people could start taking their own photographs in any location, rather than having to rely on professionals in studios. This new found freedom must have been pretty exciting and this is palpable in the variety of photos from cute family snaps, to dramatic shots of the Wirral coastline.

You can also have a look at my attempts at photographing the exhibition on our An Edwardian Family Album Flickr set!

If anything in the exhibition reminds you of photographs in your own family album, you can share your memories by filling in a card in the gallery's response area, or post your comments below.

Model of RMS Mauretania

Throughout our lives chance can play a decisive part – perhaps I am tempting fate but I believe you can change the course of events. I do not subscribe to the theory that events follow a predestined path.

The following story, though, tests my credulity. It really looks as if this was all pre-ordained, not simply a German U-boat captain seeing his chance and ruthlessly taking it.

They were both hugely popular in Liverpool but one of the beautiful sisters was to have a tragic end while the other carried on until the close of her natural life.

The Lusitania and Mauretania were both built in 1907, the pride of the Cunard fleet. They were bigger, faster and more luxurious than any liners before them – but were soon eclipsed by other giants of the seas as the race to capture lucrative business became ever faster.

The two ships were the first express transatlantic liners fitted with steam turbines. Although more renowned for their luxurious elegance, they also carried many Third Class passengers emigrating to the USA on the Liverpool – New York route.

The 31,550-ton Lusitania had a successful career until she was torpedoed by a submarine in May 1915 while heading for Liverpool, with the loss of 1,201 lives.

There were plenty of famous people on board, many of whom died. The artistic world lost such talents as the playwright Charles Klein and the founder of Dublin Art Gallery Sir Hugh Lane.

The business world was devastated by the loss of leading moguls such as multi-millionaire Alfred Vanderbilt and Paul Crompton, a director of the Booth Steamship Co, who died along with his wife and six children.

Lusitania sank in just 18 minutes and there was a terrifying scramble for the boats, and many people were trapped below decks because of the speed of the sinking.

An etching by W L Wyllie in the new emigrants’ gallery at Merseyside Maritime Museum shows the Lusitania in the River Mersey shortly before the First World War.

A 1:6000 scale model depicts the Mauretania at the Princes Landing Stage in 1911 (pictured). Among other ships on the river are tugs, a paddle steamer, ferry boats and fishing craft.

Mauretania captured the coveted Blue Riband (westerly) in September 1909 when she crossed the Atlantic at an average speed of 26.06 knots – a record which lasted 20 years.

She served as both a troopship and hospital ship during the First World War before resuming passenger services. Mauretania was scrapped in 1935.

There's more on the Lusitania, including items recovered from the ship, on our main site.

Maritime Archvies has also put together an information sheet on the Lusitania. There are also sheets on the great transatlantic liners and the Cunard Line. 

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).

We're pleased to report that we've been shortlisted for yet another award, and again we need your help to win. The nomination is for our Engaging Refugees and Asylum Seekers programme and recognises our efforts to help people for the benefit of the whole community and generally change society for the better.

There's more on the awards themselves, the DSC Social Change Awards, and details of how to enter on the award website. Voting closes on 6 November with the winners announced on 26 November. Vote for us now!!!

This Saturday (24 October) World Museum is running several events designed for our visually impaired visitors. Each is based around our highly successful 'The Beat Goes On' exhibition and covers the people, objects and stories behind Liverpool music history.

Events kick off at 12 noon (there's a full list of sessions on the exhibition events page), and you'll need to collect tickets from our information desk as places are limited. For more information contact the information desk on 0151 478 4353.

The conversation waned somewhat while they waited for the butler to appear with the superglue remover.

Remind me not to pick such a risque image next time. Some of the suggestions weren't exactly suitable for a family audience, even if rather amusing.

Anyway, a randomly gathered group of NML staff has decided that Clair Sharp has won the October caption competition with her caption: 'The conversation waned somewhat while they waited for the butler to appear with the superglue remover'. Well done to Clair. You can see all of the other suggestions on the original post.

Another image and another prize next month.

Young mums and their children at the launch of the Nature Boy story trail at World Museum.

For all those who hate creepy crawlies a new trail around World Museum’s Bug House might just give you a new insight and appreciation for smallest members of the animal kingdom.
 
Designed for young children the Nature Boy story trail is inspired by a real life six year old boy named Daniel Walsh, who calls himself Nature Boy because of his love for bugs and insects. The trail follows Nature Boy and his sister Eva, otherwise known as Bug Bully, through the Bug House as Dan explains to Eva why we should be kind to our bugs and insects.

Working with National Museums Liverpool’s Community Partnership team and illustrator Holly Langley, the new trail was created by young mums from the Children’s Services Teenage Pregnancy Support Service group at Ellergreen Children’s Centre.

Even the babies of the young mums had a part to play with the bug characters in the trail named after them.

Alayna Ellis installs Glass, Metal and Fire, a collection of enamel artwork by artist Ruth Ball

Wednesday mornings are usually a dull affair, the buzz of the previous weekend has worn off and the next chance to sleep in is still a couple of days away.

However this Wednesday proved to be a bit more inspiring when I visited the Walker Art Gallery to see a beautiful new collection being installed ready for its opening tomorrow (22 October, 2009). In the Craft and Design Gallery Alayna Ellis, assistant curator of ceramics and artist Ruth Ball were installing Glass, Metal & Fire.

On until Winter 2010 Glass, Metal & Fire is a collection of enamelled jewellery and decorative objects. Although a small collection the intricate objects are so colourful and ornate they are a joy to look at. What’s most interesting is that rather than displaying the finished project Ruth has created a series of the same object demonstrating the stages of the enamelling process.

Part of the collection is a miniature enamelled painting of the Walker Art Gallery kindly donated by Ruth to the Decorative Arts Collection. Ruth will also be making an additional two enamel minatures inspired by our collections and the history of these collections. The two miniature enamelled portraits will be of Joseph Mayer and William Roscoe both of whom collected art or antiquities and parts of their collections were donated to National Museums Liverpool. 

I will be sure to blog again when these two additions arrive, I'm sure they will only enhance an already gorgeous collection

Fantine by Margaret Hall watches over installation of new exhibition.

The finishing touches are being put in place for The Rise of Women Artists which opens this Friday at the Walker Art Gallery.

The exhibition is a mixture of old friends such as Fantine above, who normally resides over the gallery's staircase, as well as work not on permanent display, like a dark and moving print by Paula Rego.

A combination of paintings, photography, prints, sculpture, textiles and ceramics, all from the gallery's own holdings, form a comprehensive look at womens' art from the 16th century to the present day.

Curator Roberta Bacic (left) and National Museum Liverpool’s Ann-Marie McGaughey with arpilleras.

Links between Ireland and Latin America might not be immediately obvious but a lovely and thought-provoking display of textiles in World Museum's community base will give visitors an opportunity to explore them.

Embroidered quilts from Ireland and a selection of arpilleras (pronounced “ar-pee-air-ahs”); three-dimensional appliqué textiles from Latin America, depict the experiences of ordinary people living their lives in extreme circumstances. Some of the Irish quilts were created by women directly affected during 'the Troubles’ in Northern Ireland and demonstrate both their feelings of loss and their hope for peace within their community.

Most of the Chilean arpilleras were made during the country’s dictatorship (1973 - 1990). Many of these textiles depict the experiences of people living during that difficult time and reflect their determination and courage.

The vibrant and colourful pieces, also cover topics such as community, daily life and family.

For more information about the quilts see here.

The Guinness Liverpool Irish Festival runs from 16 October – 1 November 2009. For more information about events throughout the city visit www.liverpoolirishfestival.com.

An Illustrated London News image showing a Cunard ship leaving Liverpool in 1881

My great aunt married as a very young teenager in Malta (this was 100 years ago).

The child bride later settled in Knotty Ash after giving birth to three children in quick succession nicknamed Boy, Girl and Baby.

Girl became a GI bride in the Second World War and emigrated to the US with her new husband, leaving Boy and Baby behind. Years passed and Girl wrote to say she was coming home to Liverpool for a visit.

Boy and Baby and their families went to meet her at the Princes Landing Stage but when she came down the gangplank no-one recognised her. Girl had totally changed her appearance – and spoke with a strong American accent.

It is many people’s dream in the crowded cities of Europe to escape to the wide-open spaces of North America and enjoy a much-improved standard of living.

By the early 19th century Liverpool was well-placed to cater for the huge growth of the emigration trade to the United States and Canada.

As a result, Liverpool became Britain’s most important international passenger port for more than a century. During the period 1830 -1930 Liverpool was probably the greatest emigration port in world history, handling a stunning nine million passengers from as far away as Russia.

It was not until 1927, when transatlantic emigration was in decline, that Southampton finally surpassed Liverpool for international passenger traffic.

Liverpool-based shipping companies ran regular passenger services to every continent until the 1960s.

There are many displays at Merseyside Maritime Museum focusing on Liverpool’s passenger ships. An Illustrated London News image (pictured) depicts a Cunard ship leaving Liverpool in 1881. A photograph shows either the Cunard liner Carmania (or her sister Caronia) at the Princes Landing Stage on 2 June 1923.

Between 1800 and the1920s the busiest ocean travel route in the world was between the British Isles and North America.

From 1850 many emigrants also headed for Australia and other British colonies around the world. From 1900 more and more people became tourists and travelled the seas for pleasure rather than necessity.

In recent years, business and holidaymaking have been the main reasons for travel. A map shows the sea routes taken by British migrants between 1815 and 1930.

As a child in I remember people queuing up at New Zealand House in Liverpool for their £10 tickets to new lives. My friends, who lived next-door-but-one to me, took this huge step in 1958 and I remember everybody waving them off as the headed for Southampton.

Our Maritime Archives department has produced an information sheet for people wanting to learn more about Emigration to USA and Canada. The sheet gives a brief history of the route, information on searching for people who travelled, details of the shipping companies involved and the records we hold on those firms.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).

Here is Laura Healy from our Development Office to tell us why she is mad about Thornback Rays and how you can support our RayWatch project to help protect them.

Laura and her furry new friends

According to local anglers, October is the best month to find Thornback Rays in the River Mersey. One of the most popular animals on display at World Museum's aquarium in Liverpool, they are also the focus of our new public appeal called RayWatch.  

We're working with the Sharktrust to tag Thornback Rays in the Liverpool Bay area and monitor them in the wild. I work in the Development Office and volunteer in the aquarium so I've been making 'Ray Champion' packs and I'm currently on-call to go on an all-day tagging trip on the Mersey once the weather is right!

It's funny how many people don't realise we have Thornback Rays in the Mersey. I'm excited that RayWatch is going to help us learn more about the rays and most importantly, how we can help to protect them. 

The first thing I noticed about the Thornbacks when I saw them at World Museum, was that they are such a beautiful colour. They are covered in a pattern quite similar to that of a leopard. They also have thorny tails (hence their name!), which aren’t dangerous to humans. I've been told that Thornbacks rays aren’t actually rays at all – they are skates, who lay eggs rather than give birth to live young.  

For £10 you can adopt a ray; add your Thornback Ray's name to our RayWatch web page and get updates on it's location and the whole RayWatch project. For £25 you can become a Ray Champion. In addition to adopting a ray, you also get a cuddly ray toy (pictured) and a family ticket for a behind the scenes tour of the aquarium at World Museum in Liverpool.  

I'm telling all my friends and family about RayWatch - it's for a great cause - so join me in supporting our conservation effort!

Children at the National Conservation Centre's Big Draw event

Before I went on maternity leave and was not a little deluded about life with a newborn, I harbored dreams of spending blissful hours drawing my precious new baby, who would of course sleep peacefully throughout.

Having studied art at university I felt sure this would at last be my chance to dust off the easel and ease my way back into drawing again… afterall what else would I have to do?

Well my little girl is now 16 months old and I am still yet to as much as sharpen a pencil. However my time might have finally come as she has suddenly realised the potential of crayons. They no longer go straight into her mouth but instead she eyes the room looking for a suitable suface to make her mark. She has even started to shout/command/instruct “DRAW!” as soon as she has a suitable implement in her hand.

Her timing couldn’t be more perfect as we are right in the middle of Big Draw, the annual celebration of all aspects of drawing.

The Walker Art Gallery  has some fabulous displays of Big Draw inspired artwork already on show, but there is still space for more. If you want to take part and maybe have your work amongst the Rubens, Rembrandt and Rossettis then head to the gallery any weekend in October.

Events at the National Conservation Centre will definitely appeal to the more scientific-minded. Members of the Merseyside branch of the British Science Association will be on hand on the 17 and 24 October, to help explore the relationship between science and art. Using the centre’s equipment, a range of pictures and patterns from the microscopic to the telescopic, as well as live images, will provide exciting inspiration for all budding artists.

A free downloadable drawing pack is available and details of all Big Draw events at National Museums Liverpool are here .

On Friday 9 October 2009, we were visited by soldiers of the 1st Battalion of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, to support the handover of a rare and historical item to add to the new Museum of Liverpool’s collection.

The object is a Victoria Cross (VC), and although it has been looked after by National Museums Liverpool for some time on loan, it has now been donated to our permanent collections to go on display in the new museum when it opens in 2011.

The Victoria Cross is the highest order of military decoration awarded to the armed forces for gallantry and bravery in the face of the enemy. It was presented to Sergeant David Jones of the King’s (Liverpool) Regiment on 3 September 1916, for an act of bravery he performed while serving in WWI at Guillemont, France.

This is how the London Gazette described his act at the time:
“For most conspicuous bravery, devotion to duty, and ability displayed in the handling of his platoon. The platoon to which he belonged was ordered to a forward position, and during the advance came under heavy machine gun fire, the officer being killed and the platoon suffering heavy losses Serjt. Jones led-forward the remainder, occupied the position, and held it for two days and two nights without food or water, until relieved. On the second day he drove back three counter-attacks, inflicting heavy losses. His coolness was most praiseworthy. It was due entirely to his resource and example that his men retained confidence and held their post.”

Then aged 25, Sgt David Jones was sadly killed in action at Bancourt in the Somme just over a month later on 7 October 1916, and his family later presented the VC to Jones’s former employer J Blake & Co Motor Company, who have now donated the medal to National Museums Liverpool’s permanent collections.

Mr Norman Silk (left) presents curator Karen O'Rourke (right) with Sgt David Jones's Victoria Cross on-site in the Museum of Liverpool, accompanied by representatives of the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment

Trustee of J Blake & Co, Mr Norman Silk visited the museum along with representatives of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment, to present curator of social history Karen O’Rourke with the medal on-site.

All those who attended the handover were also treated to a tour of the new museum by buildings operations manager Martin Hemmings, specifically to look at the museum's City Soldiers gallery which will focus on the long history of the King’s Regiment and its relationship with the city.

My postcard of the Republic

I sometimes go to postcard fairs and join the throngs of people leafing through piles of illustrated epistles mailed long ago with every sort of message and greeting. Each stall has cards sorted into themes and one of my favourites is ships and shipping. Recently I bought this card showing the Republic. I added it to my collection simply because I liked it, only later discovering the unique role this vessel once played.

One hundred years ago radio technology pioneered by Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi and others became reality in saving lives at sea.

Two significant centenaries are being celebrated in 2009 – the first radio sea rescue and the award of the Nobel Prize in Physics to Marconi and Karl Ferdinand Braun for their contributions to the development of wireless telegraphy.

In the early hours of 23 January 1909 the 15,378-ton passenger liner Republic, owned by the Liverpool-based White Star Line, was steaming from New York to the Mediterranean with 742 passengers and crew. She entered thick fog off Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, and sounded her whistle 

Suddenly another whistle was heard directly in front of the ship. Republic’s engines were quickly thrown into reverse and her helm swung hard-a-port but then a ship’s bow loomed out of the fog and sliced into the Republic amidships.

As water poured into the disabled Republic’s engine and boiler rooms, radio operator Jack Binns wired his new Marconi set with backup batteries and sent out a distress signal using Morse Code – CQD, later replaced in popularity by SOS.

CQD is understood by wireless operators to mean All Stations: Distress (not Come Quick, Danger as is often thought).

The call was relayed to all ships in the area but the first ship on the scene was the Lloyd Italiano liner Florida – the ship that had crashed into the Republic. Passengers were transferred to the Florida, which was in no danger of sinking. Attempts by the captain and some crew members to save the Republic failed and she sank the day after the collision.

In Merseyside Maritime Museum’s Titanic, Lusitania and the Forgotten Empress gallery there are many Titanic-linked exhibits including the 20 ft long original builder’s model used to publicise the ship.

Both CQD and SOS were used by wireless operator Jack Phillips as the ship went down but it is a popular myth that this was the first time SOS was used. Phillips, who did not survive, and junior operator Harold Bride, who did, were employed by the Marconi International Marine Communication Company.

A new Maritime Tale by Stephen Guy appears every Saturday in the Liverpool Echo. A paperback – Mersey Maritime Tales (£3.99) – is available from the museum, newsagents, bookshops or from the Mersey Shop website (£1.50 p&p UK).