- Objects in museums attributed to men – women were originally the only people involved in birth until modern medicine arrived e.g. midwives were forbidden from using forceps when they were first manufactured
- Provenance as "record of ownership" - who owns the birth story?

Why should people care?
This links to contemporary issues surrounding abortion rights, childcare, gender pay gap, maternity treatment etc.  

Spilsbury, John (Engraver)

Location
London

Time Period
1766 - Georgian

Research on this object
- John Spilsbury is believed to be the original creator of these puzzles and made this particular object. He was a cartographer and engraver, and called his creations 'dissection maps'. What we know as jigsaw  puzzles were originally maps dissected by cutting countries boundaries, and were often used to teach children about geography. 

Sources
https://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item104695.html [accessed 8th October]
https://www.wentworthpuzzles.com/2019/05/07/history-of-jigsaw-puzzles
[accessed 8th October]

Initial reactions
- This object is in the museum collection for a reason, but why was it saved when it is "broken" and what did happen to the missing piece? 
- I would categorise this as a leisure item to be completed at home and I can imagine a family doing this together. It makes me think, what projections do we place on domestic objects? 

Double-sided gingerbread mould carved with a house on one side and a mug of ale on the other.

1800 - 1840

Wood (Whole)

Research on item

Gingerbread has a long tradition in Europe with numerous varieties existing across the continent. They could shaped - the most classical examples being gingerbread men and gingerbread houses - by using moulds such as the above. Wooden moulds were often very intricate and could depict numerous things - saints, kings, houses, animals. 

Sources
http://foodhistorjottings.blogspot.com/2013/07/block-gingerbread.html [accessed 8th October]
https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2018/dec/22/a-brief-history-of-the-gingerbread-house [accessed 8th October]

Initial ideas
- What do kitchen items say about our home lives - links to gender & class - this item doesn't reflect "elite culture" 
- Traditional ways of cooking, changes to home life as economy changes (this is made of wood but metal cutters would soon be popular) 

Hutton-Wilson, Mrs (Stitcher)

The bedcover is made entirely from the thin, soft dress silks which were fashionable in the 1830s and 1840s. Solid colours predominate. The central panel features a double eight-pointed star in cream brocaded satin on a black ground; the brocade is said to be from the wedding-dress of the maker's best friend. The panel is enclosed by a border of elaborate geometric blocks; with the exception of those at the corners, each block is different. A narrow band of overlapping scales is followed by a white chain inlaid on grey. Three further borders feature patchwork sunbursts and and lightning flashes, squares and triangles, and inlaid stars. The narrow outer border is pieced from tiny strips and triangles. An old unbleached linen sheet has been used to back the cover. There is no wadding or quilting.

1837

1844

Initial ideas

- The description said it was made by Mrs Hutton-Wilson - who was she and why does this bedcover survive? What events happened on this bedcover? Is it a little "creepy" that we retain personal items in museums?
- Bedcover hand made by a woman - has value to museums, even if it is not an item with grand provenance 

Groves, Elizabeth (Stitcher)

Sampler, unframed. Worked on linen in silk thread cross stitch. No border. Three lines of text. Flowers, birds, trees and a large basket of flowers in the centre in pink, green and purple. The worker's name and date are along the bottom.

1822


Research on item
Samplers were originally a way for professional embroiderers to replicate and remember certain stitches and patterns. However they soon became a method for young girls to learn how to sew. Learning how to sew was an important part of a girl's education and consider a skill needed to be a good wife and mother. Learning to embroider letters and numbers meant she could mark linen and clothing, and patterns and designs could be used to decorate clothing. The square shape of this sampler reflects a shift to rectangular samplers, which allowed them to be displayed in the manner of a print on the wall. In the Victorian period, samplers were often embroiderer with religious texts. 

Sources
https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/embroidery-a-history-of-needlework-samplers?gclid=CjwKCAjw2P-KBhByEiwADBYWCkd8osz1pN9HvDqlBVSYOXH1TZQDrynREWMsZmuIJeKGJ99qVX6F6xoCOecQAvD_BwE [accessed 8th October]

Attributed to Elizabeth Groves - who was she? Did she enjoy sewing or was this something she was made to do? - did the work ever end up owned by her friend when she was dead?
Domestic objects often have a close connection to the owner - the smaller or forgotten part of our heritage 
Gendered objects - embroidery was women's work - the value of this object to our understandings of women's history

Small disc-shaped pincushion, the pins inserted around the edge. Covered in pale-blue silk, one side printed with an advertisement from the Royal Jamaica Gazette, August 1, 1827, the other with a picture of a Negro slave kneeling in chains.

1828

1840

Research on item
The image of a kneeling person in shackles became an emblem of the abolition movement in Britain. Pincushions were an item made for and made by women, for the purposes of holding pins during sewing. This item therefore probably belong to a woman. One way women in this period became involved in politics was via societies and charity causes. Many women became involved in the abolition movement, and this pincushion may have been a way for women to declare their allegiance. 

Sources
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233332724_The_Unredeemed_Object_Displaying_Abolitionist_Artefacts_in_2007 

Initial ideas

- The quotes on the back suggest to me this is abolitionist - I wonder if it was given to men to give to their wives? Or whether it was owned by a woman who was an abolitionist
- A pincushion is a small, everyday object - but this object has a huge connect to significant history - women's role in politics, slavery abolitition etc. 

A Pearlware toy tea service with foliate pattern painted in green, blue and ochre, with a blue band around the inside of the rims.

Production date start

1780

1822


Creators

Leeds Pottery Company (Pottery)

Hartley, Greens and Company (Pottery)

Research on item
Dollhouses were originally created as a display item, almost like a piece of art. There was also a form of dollhouse that was used to teach girls about running a home. In the 18th century there was a trend of 'Baby Houses' - the creation of your own home in miniature. They were private objects, kept in the home for the purposes of decoration and learning.  It wasn't until the 19th century that dollhouses became something to play with and associated with childhood.

Links to research
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2016/07/dollhouses-werent-invented-for-play/492581/ [accessed 12th Oct 2021)

Ideas and thoughts
- Who owned this object and for what purpose? Was it merely a decorative item for a decorative doll house or did a child ever play with it?
- The item was manufactured but still would be a luxury item - it has links to ideas about the value of items associated with wealth 
- Also connects to a wider narrative about the growing idea of childhood, and children needing toys, having leisure time - this item therefore has value to a bigger history