National Museums Liverpool Blog - Monday, November 02, 2009

Emigrants on the Guion Liner, Wisconsin. Image courtesy Liverpool Daily Post and Echo.

The nearest I’ve got to emigrating is briefly wanting to flee to the Isle of Man - in the summer it matches any other exotic island in the sun. It was a bright sunny day and I was taking a lunchtime stroll while covering a heavy-going criminal trial at Liverpool Crown Court. Balmy breezes drifted off the sea. Down at the Pier Head the Manx ferry was waiting with last boarders being called.

I was sorely tempted to dash up the gangplank but then common sense kicked in.

Emigration is a drastic step into the unknown and there are usually very good reasons for people wanting to make new lives in different countries

People emigrate for three main reasons – poverty, persecution and ambition. In the great movements of people around the globe in the 19th century, many were fleeing from hardship and poverty.

Emigration was also a way of fleeing political and religious persecution. Many Jewish people left east Europe for this reason.

However, a lot of people were simply attracted by the opportunities offered by life in such places as the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The Gold Rush years in North America and Australia triggered mass emigration from Europe as prospectors sought wealth beyond their wildest dreams.

The new emigrants’ gallery at Merseyside Maritime Museum looks at many different aspects of the trade that helped generate wealth in Liverpool for shipping companies, hotels and many other businesses.

A fascinating colour print shows the emigration of Russian Jews in 1891 (pictured). They are seen crowded on the deck of the Guion liner Wisconsin as she prepares to leave Liverpool.

Other exhibits are linked to the Gold Rush. A 19th century board game called A Race to the Gold Diggings has a box emblazoned with a colourful scene, tiny model sailing ships and a set of rules.

A contemporary poster advertises the Royal Charter emigrant steamer run by the Liverpool and Australian Navigation Company. Saloon passengers paid top prices of between 60 guineas (£63) and 75 guineas (£78.75) – around £4,500 in today’s money – for the voyage while Third Class paid between 16 and 20 guineas.

The Royal Charter met her cruel end in October 1859 when, heading for Liverpool, she was wrecked on the Anglesey coast with the loss of 498 lives. Exhibits include items from the wreck including a section of ornately-carved wood believed to be from the ship’s stern. There's more on the Royal Charter on our main site.

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).

I thought my school days were over, but last week I was very excited to be able to join our class of Little Liverpool Designers on their very first school trip!

I had a lovely morning spent with Class R reception class from Kingsley Community School in Toxteth, touring Liverpool familiarising themselves with Liverpool’s famous landmarks to inspire artwork for the Museum of Liverpool’s dedicated children’s gallery Little Liverpool, opening 2011.

They will be working with illustrator Kate Pankhurst to develop the final artwork for display in Little Liverpool as part of our work with the ECHO in the Community programme, which aims to inspire young people by engaging in a cross section of activities, including the arts.

A Little Liverpool Designer gives the new Museum of Liverpool the thumbs up

At four years old, Mrs Randles’ reception class were a credit to their school, and it was fantastic to be surrounded by such young, inquisitive minds who were visibly impressed by everything they saw.

The first stop on our magical mystery tour of Liverpool was at the Anglican Cathedral, and I only wish I’d had a video camera with me to record their faces on walking into that grand, vast space and filling the air ‘wows’!

We also took a trip to the Catholic Metropolitan Cathedral, or Paddy’s Wigwam as it is affectionately known locally, where they were very taken with the colours and reflections coming in from the beautiful stain glass windows. Hopefully this will transfer to the marvellous artwork they’re soon to create for our Little Liverpool Gallery.

After the cathedrals, we also took a driving tour round many iconic buildings, including St George’s Hall and William Brown Street; home to World Museum, Central Library and the Walker Art Gallery.

Spotting the Radio City Tower overhead, our whistle-stop tour also took us past the Town Hall – "where the mayor lives" – and down to the waterfront where we met Museum of Liverpool buildings operations manager Martin Hemmings – "Bob the Builder" – and had a look at the location for Little Liverpool.

A lovely day out was had by all, so thanks goes to Mrs Randles and her ‘helpers’ for organising the trip, and for inviting Julia Bryan from the Museum of Liverpool team and I along. We look forward to seeing the wonderful artwork that Class R create in their roles as Little Liverpool Designers.

National Museums Liverpool's handling team carefully slide the painting on to special lifting equipment.

Observant visitors to the Walker Art Gallery may have noticed Echo and Narcissus has been away for some time. Lent to the Royal Academy as part of their J.W. Waterhouse: The Modern Pre-Raphaelite exhibition, the beautiful painting of unrequited love returned home yesterday.

John Barnes, Howard Gayle and Tony Lloyd at Black History Month event at International Slavery Museum

Last week we were delighted to have both John Barnes and Howard Gayle join a question and answer session with local school children at the International Slavery Museum. 

The event was arranged by Kick It Out as part of Black History Month.

Excited gasps and hurried whispers came from the children when John Barnes entered the room. Despite them all being too young to actually remember John's amazing career with Liverpool FC the children were clearly still aware they were in the presence of a legend and quickly crowded both him and Howard (Liverpool's first black player) for autographs.

The two footballers were also joined by Tony Lloyd from the Anthony Walker Foundation in the discussion.

The children were keen to find out who their early influences had been, what they had wanted to be when the were young and to hear more from the footballers about their fondest memories of playing for Liverpool. They were captivated by the personal and often poignant responses from all three.

To mark the end of a fantastic Black History Month a free Strictly Come Dancing with the Jiving Lindy Hoppers event is being held at the museum tomorrow.

It's widely accepted by my friends and family that I am not a morning person. The most my brain can cope with before 9.30am is managing to remember my sandwich for lunch, and until this morning I was quite happy with my brain capacity.

However this was before I met the most energetic early-morning people ever. Russell Sargeant and Claude Martin Currie are members of dance company The Jiving Lindy Hoppers who will be performing at the Strictly Come Dancing with the Jiving Lindy Hoppers event on Friday 30 October from 7-11pm at the Maritime Dining Rooms (4th floor of the Merseyside Maritime Museum).

I had asked Russell and Claude to have their picture taken this morning by a photographer from the Daily Post & Echo to go into the paper. They were such good sports, getting changed into costume and dancing infront of the anchor all before I’m sure their breakfast had even digested!

Judging from the effort they put into having their picture taken I can be sure that this Friday is sure to be just as exhilarating and fun! What better way to spend a Friday evening than listening to live music, enjoying the wonderful dance of the Lindy Hop, and all in a restaurant with amazing views of the Albert Dock.

To book your tickets for this free event please e-mail bookingsmmm@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or call 0151 478 4441

Claude Martin Currie (left) and Russell Sargeant have their picture taken while they dance the Lindy Hop

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.