: The Museum at Work

When a miners' hospital closed in 2001, a working coalface that was used to exercise the patients for work again was dismantled and moved to the collections of Amgueddfa Cymru.

Talygarn House

Talygarn House: a view along the full-size model coalface

Talygarn House, Pontyclun, south Wales, was a large stone mansion that became a hospital in 1880. The interior is decorated with wood panelling and painted ceilings. The house is surrounded by extensive parklands on which were grown, according to legend, specimens of every tree that can be cultivated in Britain.

Talygarn as a Convalescent Home

In October 1923, Talygarn House was opened as a miners' convalescent home, and in 15 years of its opening it had more than 41,000 patients.

In 1943, the Miners' Welfare Commission was asked to organise a rehabilitation service for injured mineworkers. Due to a serious shortage of manpower at that time, it was vitally important for injured colliers to return to work as quickly as possible. For this purpose Talygarn House was purchased as a centre for the coalfields of south Wales.

By 1964, 95% of patients treated at Talygarn returned to the mining industry. It continued to serve as a rehabilitation and physiotherapy centre until it was put up for sale in August 2000.

Miner rehabilitation and the 'Model Mine'

Due to the need to harden the men up to return to the collieries, a carpentry shop was provided where patients cut wood and sawed logs. Miniature stairs and static bicycles were available to exercise unused muscles.

Talygarn House was also equipped with a grand 'Model Mine' in which patients could get used to working back in a mining environment. The structure was a long concrete tunnel supported by arch girders. The roadway was equipped with rails and the metal framework known as 'horseheads', which prevented falls of stone on a real coalface.

Relocating the mine

In 2001, the contents of the 'Model Mine' were donated to Amgueddfa Cymru as a 'permanent reminder to visitors of the work of the Talygarn rehabilitation centre'.

The coalfaces were dismantled as if they were the real thing. Despite working in only four feet of height, the thirty-foot-long chain conveyor was successfully disassembled and removed.

All the items were safely transported to the Collections Centre at Nantgarw. The Talygarn donation is a unique survival of a complete thirty-foot section of a typical semi-mechanised coalface of the early 1960s.

Fluid preserved specimens over a hundred years old and are a potential source of DNA studies.

The Extinct Tasmanian Wolf.
DNA extracted from the skin of Museum specimens has been used to study the relationship of the Tasmanian Wolf to other marsupial animals.

Historic insect collections are a valuable source of future genetic studies.

The growing crisis in the world's biodiversity has created new demands on the biological collections held in museums. In addition, modern techniques are allowing us to look at our collections in new ways such as analysis of DNA (Deoxyribonucleic acid). It is now possible to extract and read the DNA from museum specimens but this can depend on how they have been stored and preserved.

Irreplaceable collections

Over three million biological specimens are housed at Amgueddfa Cymru. As the pressure on our natural environment increases, these collections are becoming an ever more important resource. Many of the species collected are now either extinct or so highly endangered that further collection is not possible. Many of these specimens are irreplaceable and vital in helping us understand biodiversity and climate change.

Preserving biological material can be very difficult. Biological material, including DNA, decays rapidly. Chemical treatments are aimed at preventing this decay, allowing the long-term preservation of biological specimens.

Early preservation

Preserve museum specimens date back over 300 years. Initially only dry and inert specimens could be preserved. Alcohol was first used in the 17th Century, formaldehyde (formalin) was introduced in the 19th Century. These methods enabled a wide range of specimens to be preserved - but were developed before DNA was known about.

It can be very difficult to obtain DNA from specimens preserved using formalin. Other chemicals, such as ethanol (alcohol), are useful in the preservation of both the specimen and its DNA.

Using DNA from the collections

DNA can be used in many areas of study, such as work on evolution, species identification, and ecology. DNA studies at Amgueddfa Cymru include:

• Researching Hunter snails from East Africa and using DNA to study how they are related to each other.
• Freshwater pearl mussels are highly endangered in Wales. Museum researchers are using DNA to look at the genetics of the remaining populations to help in their conservation.
• Lichens are an important aspect of biodiversity, but difficult to identify. DNA is being used to help identify lichens.

DNA - a fragile resource

Unfortunately DNA can be damaged in many ways. Following the death of an organism, DNA molecules break down very quickly. This means that careful and quick conservation of specimens is needed to ensure the preservation of the DNA as well as the specimen as a whole.

The museum is involved in researching methods of DNA preservation. One method is storage in -80°C freezers or liquid nitrogen. Some museums have already set up frozen-tissue banks, but these methods are expensive.

Ongoing research aims to improve our understanding of the effects of these treatments, helping us keep our specimens DNA intact for the future.

Webbing cloths moth — Tineola bisselliella

Moth damage.

Moth larvae on piano felt.

The humble clothes moth - Tineola bisselliella - is thought to be the number one insect pest in museums throughout the world. It is capable of destroying huge amounts of animal-based material. Amgueddfa Cymru is in the forefront of developing new methods in controlling this pest.

Know your enemy

In the past, museums fumigated collections regularly with large amounts of highly toxic insecticides to stop attacks. Modern methods of control try to recognise any problems early before any damage is caused - The key to good pest management is knowing your enemy.

The common clothes moth

The common, or webbing clothes moth, is a small shiny golden-coloured insect 6-8mm. long, often seen scuttling over infested material or fluttering around rooms somewhat aimlessly. The sole purpose of the males is to mate with the females (who do not fly), before dying.

The females then lay tiny eggs pushed in between fibres and hairs. It is the larvae that hatch from these eggs that cause the damage. They are able to digest keratin, which is found in fur, wool, feathers, hair, finger nails etc. As this is rather a sparse diet on its own, the clothes moth larvae prefer food that is stained or dirty, meaning that dirty woollen clothing is usually attacked as are the edges of carpets where a vacuum cleaner may not reach.

A protective silky web

The larvae protect themselves by weaving silky tubes where they live and feed. These silky cases give it the name webbing clothes moth. When the larvae are fully grown they will pupate inside these cases and after a few weeks the adult moths emerge.

The adults do not eat or cause damage themselves, but mate and start the life cycle all over again. On dirty wool in warm, moist conditions, two or three generations in a year are possible. With the humid climate of the UK and the centrally heated stores and galleries of museums, it is easy to see why the clothes moth is such a major pest.

Formerly in the Museum, the practice was to react after damage was found. Now the aim is to prevent the insects entering the Museum in the first place and to make it as uninviting as possible. Store rooms have well sealed doors and windows along with filtered air conditioning systems. As museums are public buildings, then some moths, be it as adults, larvae or eggs will inevitably be brought in.

A new generation of insect traps

Keeping an eye out for insects and insect damage is part of the conservator's routine work which includes carefully inspecting for signs of damage, and using traps. The Museum is in the forefront of developing a new generation of insect traps designed to catch specific species such as the common clothes moth.

These new traps are based on the power of sex. Females give off a scent, or pheromone - which can attract males from many metres away. This proves very effective for the moths in small areas such as cupboards and small rooms.

Traps are lined with a sticky adhesive along with a synthetic version of the clothes moth pheromone.

Insecticides as a last resort

If, despite all these precautions, moths still manage to attack material, we only use insecticides as a last resort. A major form of pest control at the Museum is to put the object in a plastic bag and place it in a deep freeze for two to three days, killing the insects, eggs and larvae without any damage to the object or toxic residues.

Through the combination of vigilance, good housekeeping and expertise, outbreaks of insect pests such as the common clothes moth are these days thankfully rare and dealt with rapidly.

A number of items in the collection of watches at Amgueddfa Cymru 'glow-in-the-dark'. The material that causes this glow (luminescence) is radium. As radium is radioactive, the watches in question now have to be treated with care, making their conservation, accessibility and display a big challenge.

Radium

1918 gent's wristwatch showing degraded and missing areas of radium paint

Marie Curie discovered Radium in 1898, and was the wonder of the new century - ironically thought to cure everything from arthritis to cancer. Mixing materials such as zinc sulphide and radium produces the glowing effect. In 1902, this luminescent material was first used to paint on the dials and hands of watches and clocks, allowing them to be seen in the dark.

Marie Curie eventually died from exposure to radium in 1934. Her notebooks, in which she was recording all her experiments are still too radioactive to handle today.

The Radium Girls

Glow-in-the-dark watches soon became popular with the mass market, and in the 1920s, production factories were set up where women would mix together glue, water, and radium powder into a glowing greenish-white paint that was then put onto the watches.

In order to paint neat and sharp numbers on the dials, the brushes needed a very fine tip. After a few strokes, the brushes would lose their shape, so the women "sharpened" the fine brushes by rolling the brush tips on their tongues to straighten the bristles, sometimes up to 6 times for every watch dial. Some even painted their teeth or applied glowing "makeup" as a novelty to show their friends. Many of these women would later die from cancer.

Testing for radioactivity at the museum

A radioactive contamination monitor (Geiger counter) was used to measure the radiation given off by the clocks and watches held in the collections housed at the museum. The highest readings showed dials to have a reading of 3000 counts per second against a naturally occurring level of 8 - 10 counts per second.

The measurable dose of Radium in a watch is apparently about 5 times the dosage from a standard chest X-ray.

The readings confirmed that the dials could be hazardous if exposure was not limited in some way. To combat this, the radioactive items were:

• Enclosed in a sufficiently dense material;
• Confined to a little used area of the stores;
• Warning signs displayed as to the nature of the hazard.

All objects containing radium that were on public display were identified and withdrawn and put into safe storage.

Radioactive Dust

Although the storage of these items can be controlled and managed properly, the conservation of these objects is of concern. Since the dials are anything up to 100 years old, the paint breaks down into dust resulting in an increased risk of contamination from exposure to the radioactive dust.

There is the possibility of breathing in this dust by carrying out work on the dials, such as working on the mechanism, cleaning the dial, hands or covers. As a result, all items in the Museum that pose a radioactive risk are handled with suitable precautions taken to prevent any harm done to the conservator.

Radioactive decay

Interestingly, tests show that the brightness of the dials is not related to the level of radioactivity. Even if the dial paint is dim or invisible in the dark, it could still give a high reading of radioactivity, since although the reactive luminous chemical might have broken down, the radioactive element, radium will continue to be hazardous for many generations to come.

This remarkable collection of photographs represents the work of two exceptionally gifted photographers from different eras and very different backgrounds.

The original photographs were taken by Tom Mathias, a self-taught photographer, at the turn of the 20th Century. Using simple equipment, Tom Mathias recorded the daily life around the Cilgerran district of Dyfed, west Wales.

Following Mathias's death in 1940 all his negatives were dumped in an outhouse, where they lay, forgotten, for more than thirty years.

James Maxwell (Maxi) Davis, a professional photographer living in the area, discovered them in the 1970s. The glass negatives were in a very poor condition. Many were broken and damaged beyond repair. Most of the reminder were very badly degraded, meaning a slow and painstaking process to print what images could be saved. Enough had survived however for Maxi to appreciate the importance of what he had found and set about the task of conserving and restoring the photographs.

It is thanks to these efforts that Tom Mathias's remarkable photographs have been saved for posterity.

Click on the thumbnails below for more infomration.

Tom Mathias Photographs

Tom Mathias (1866 - 1940)

Aberdyfan, Pont-rhyd-y-ceirt, the Mathias family home.
It was here that the negatives of Tom Mathias's photographs were discovered thirty years after his death.

Tom James Mathias, son of Tom Mathias, feeding a robin.

Tilla, Tom Mathias' daughter

Tom's niece, Helen Baud. Helen and her sister Paulette were frequent visitors to Aberdyfan and feature in several of the photographs.

Tom Mathias holding a sparrow hawk. Tom was renowned locally for his knowledge of natural history

Tom examining one of the apple trees in his orchard. He is credited with improving the keeping qualities of some local varieties of apple

An early photograph of Tom Mathias hard at work shearing

Tom Mathias' son, James, hard at work making a garden shed

The workshops at Cefn Quarry. Note the turned slate pillars

Quarrymen at work, Cefn Quarry

A steam crane in operation at Forest Quarry, 1910

Dolbadau Quarry, 1907. Cilgerran was the centre of a small-scale slate quarrying industry from the late eighteenth century to the early 1930's. Tom Mathias took many photographs of the quarries, but unfortunately, because of their condition, only a few were able to be reproduced.

Cilgerran coracle-men William Johnson and John Morgan with their haul of fish, 1905.

So few coracle photographs have survived that this one has been included despite its poor quality. It shows William Griffiths of Llechryd finishing off the frame of a Teifi coracle whilst his children, Moses and Sarah, look on. 1916.

Local coopers Griffith and Thomas Thomas, with baby, Johnny Michael Thomas, taken in 1892.

Timber was brought to Cilgerran Sawmill for conversion into planks. This photograph shows the arrival of the largest tree trunk ever to be brought to the sawmill.

Forestry was another important local industry which Tom Mathias diligently recorded.

Kathryn Davies operating a stocking-making machine

Mother and daughter Hannah and Elizabeth Davies, the local quilters.

Boy holding a child's hay rake

Tom's grand-daughter Nesta playing with her toys.

The brothers Hugh and Myrddin Jones, Cilfowyr, loading hay onto a donkey cart

Girl Guide patrol leader, Maggie Thomas, Plas-y-Berllan, Llechryd. 1925

Four generations of the Davies family of Banc-y-felin, Llechryd. 1913

Richard Morris of Cefn Lodge, Cilgerran on his horse 'White Bud'.

Miss Olivia Griffiths, Neuadd, Cilgerran, shortly after her graduation with first class honours in German from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, 1910.

Evan Peter Morgan of Church Street, Cilgerran, photographed with his wife Elizabeth Jane and son David whilst he was home on leave during the First World War (1914-1918)

A convoy of policemen from Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Glamorgan on their way to Cardiganshire to assist the local constabulary during the anti-tithe agitation which broke out in the county between 1888-94

Butcher's delivery van, 1910

Baker's van with delivery boy, Willie Davies, 1910.

David Wilson, fishmonger's delivery boy photographed in 1905. He was later to loose a leg in combat in the First World War. He used his compensation to establish his own business in Bridge Street, Cardigan, thereby earning himself the nickname 'Lucky Leg Wilson'

Three local women photographed in a pony and trap, 1916. Tom Mathias made his living taking photos of local people, but he never owned a studio, so all his photographs were were taken outside or at his clients' homes.

Mrs Ann Williams, 1910.

Repairing the spire of Llandygwydd Church.

A row of labourers' cottages at Lancych. They stand in marked contrast to the gentry houses that Tom Mathias also photographed.

A ride in a donkey cart.

Tom Mathias's patience as a photographer is displayed at its best in his pictures of children. This is Teifryn Thomas, the son of Llechryd's postmaster, proudly showing off his new tricycle.

An unidentified girl carrying a baby in a shawl 'Welsh fashion'.

James Mathias (no relation) taken with his family c.1910. Morgan Mathias, the young man shown in the photograph, was later killed in the First World War.

Three generations of a Cilgerran family.

The Band of the Cardigan Volunteer Corps waiting at Cilgerran station to welcome Lt. Colby of Ffynone home from the Boer War, c.1902

Onnen-deg, Llechryd.

The number of photographs of houses in the collection suggest that there was a lucrative market for them. This is Fernhill, Llechryd.

The Band of the Cardigan Volunteer Corps marching down Cilgerran High Street 1902, accompanied by members of the Cardigan Naval Reserve.

Cilgerran High Street, taken in 1905

Skating on the old canal connecting the river Teifi and the now abandoned Castle Malgwyn tinworks.

Villagers skating on the frozen Teifi during the cold winter of 1891

Cilgerran High Street, taken in 1910

...These photographs of momen in 'traditional' Welsh costume possibly illustrate Tom Mathias's attempt to break into this lucrative market.

...The most popular postcards were scenes of women knitting, going to the market or having tea...

Towards the end of the nineteenth century it became fashionable to publish postcards of women in 'traditional' Welsh costume...

Repairing the bridge at Glanarberth in 1912

Repairing the bridge at Pont-rhyd-y-ceirt, 1920. Johnny Michael, the conductor of Cilgerran Children's choir, can be seen standing on the left with his children, Teifryn and Tegwyn.

The children of Blaen-ffos School, 1915. The patriotic garb suggests that the photograph was taken on St. David's Day. The title of the Welsh national anthem 'Land of my Fathers', is written on the blackboard in the window.

The ladies of Llwyn Adda Chapel Sunday School sporting their 'Welsh costumes'

Cilgerran Children's Choir with conductor Johnny Michael

A Sunday School class at Glanolmarch House, Llechryd, with the owner, Mrs. Stephens

A ladies' Sunday School class, Babell Chapel, Cilgerran, 1906

Penuel Baptist Chapel's annual Sunday School outing to Poppit Sands, 1913.

A Sunday School class at Llwyn Adda Calvinistic Methodist Chapel, Llechryd. Tom Mathias (on the right) was a lifelong member of the chapel and a Sunday School teacher for many years. The other teacher is Margaret Ann Thomas

Penrhiw Supply Stores, Aber-cuch, with owner W.J. Lewis, wearing the white apron.

Penrhiw Arms, Aber-cuch, 1914. The landlord, David Owens, and his wife Elizabeth, can be seen standing on the steps. The building has since been demolished as part of a road widening scheme.

The Newcastle Emlyn to Cardigan stagecoach outside the Tivy-side Inn, Llechryd, in 1906.

Pantdŵr, Llechryd, c. 1900

Bridge House, Cilgerran, 1910. The occupant, Miss Kathryn Davies, is standing in the doorway whilst her brother sits on the parapet of the railway bridge (since demolished).

Flooding on the River Teifi, Lechryd, c. 1910. The Tivy-side inn is visible in the middle of the shot.

Looking across the river Teifi at Llechryd towards the Tivy-side Inn. The inn, or 'tavarn' has long since closed.
A number of the photographs in the collection feature local views and record important or unusual events in the district.

The new footbridge at Aber-cuch, 1908

Constructing a new footbridge across the River Teifi at Aber-cuch, 1908

Miss Rita Morgan Richardson fencing with her brother whilst Dr. Stephens, Glanolmarch, looks on.

Miss Rita Morgan Richardson, Rhos-y-gilwen, Cilgerran with her German governess and exotic dogs

The Lewis-Bowen family of Clyn-fiw, Boncath

Mrs Lewis-Bowen, Clyn-fiw, Boncath (on the right), with her children, Dorothea and William, and the family's nurse and governess. The young girl on the left is Rita Morgan Richardson

The Rhos-y-gilwen herd proudly displayed in front of the house.

C. E. G. Morgan Richardson of Rhos-y-gilwen, standing amongst his prize herd of Shorthorn cattle

Mrs Morgan Richardson outside Noyaddwilym, Llechryd. The family later moved or Rhos-y-gilwen

A coachman with an 'unusual' passenger outside Castle Malgwyn, presumably at Halloween

The wedding of Miss Grace Gower of Castle Malgwyn, and Staff Surgeon Gill R. N. at St. Llawddog Church, Cilgerran, 8 August 1907

Lodge, Castle Malgwyn

Castle Malgwyn, Llechryd, home of the Gower family. The house is now a hotel

Thomas Daniel posing with his bicycle

Thomas Daniel, the gardener at Glanolmarch, Llechryd, with a crop of onions.

An unidentified group of domestic servants. The area known as Tivyside, i.e. the Teifi valley between Llandysul and the sea at Cardigan, a distance of less than twenty miles, was famous for its gentry houses. The local gentry families were regular patrons of Tom Mathias.

The Tivyside Hunt was the focus of the gentry's social life. The hunt, one of the oldest in Wales, is seen here with the master, Spence Colby of Ffynone.

Miss Rita Morgan Richardson, Rhos-y-gilwen, Cilgerran

The staff at Clyn-fiw, 1906

An unidentified gamekeeper with his family

Pentre, Boncath, 1910

The Coedmore staff in their uniforms. Note how many display the tools of their trade

In their heyday the gentry houses provided employment for large numbers of people. This is the staff of the Coedmore estate taken in 1909

The domestic servants in the kitchen courtyard at Coedmore. The area known as Tivyside, i.e. the Teifi valley between Llandysul and the sea at Cardigan, a distance of less than twenty miles, was famous for its gentry houses. The local gentry families were regular patrons of Tom Mathias.

A Fowler traction engine on hire to the army from the local agricultural contractor, Dan Lladd of Clunderwen (right)

A hay press (an early form of baler) in use. The bound 'bales' can be seen in the background. The original machine found its way into the collection of vintage machinery enthusiast, Geler Jones of Cardigan. His collection has since been purchased by the National Trust for display at its property in Llannerch Aeron.

James Evans using a side-rake at Castle Malgwyn Home Farm, Llechryd.

Parcyneithw Farm. Mr. Griffith Davies standing in the yard with his wife, seven daughters - Sarah, Margaret, Edith, Ellen, Elizabeth, May and Catherine - their son, Ifan (right) and servant, Alfred.

This ingenious manually-operated hay-turning machine was invented by local farmer, Arthur John Davies, Penwenallt. The prototype was made for him by the village blacksmith, but a Dublin firm began manufacturing the machine commercially before Davies could take out a patent.

One of the first tractors and corn binders in the district in use at Castle Malgwyn Home Farm

The hay harvest was a time when neighbouring farmers combined together to bring in the crop. Often very large numbers of people came together and it was an important social occasion, as this photograph shows.

A haymaking scene at Aberdyfan, c.1910.
A large number of people were required for the harvest even on a small holding like Aberdyfan. Note the use of a pitching pole to lift the hay from the carts onto the stack.

Tractor in military use.

Soldiers at work bailing hay. It is probably that they are members of a 'Foraging Company' who travelled the country during the Great War obtaining fodder for military horses. The variety of cap badges show that they were drawn from several regiments. It is possible that they might also be conscientious objectors who had been assigned to non-combat duties.