Making History Together Chris Owen, 8 October 2013 Beth Thomas, Keeper of History & ArchaeologyIf you Google ‘National History Museum’ the first thing that comes up is London’s Natural History Museum, and then St Fagans. Though it is gratifying that St Fagans comes so near the top of the list, it does make you wonder why there are so few other national history museums listed. Of course, many national history museums don't call themselves such - some are simply the national museum, or the histories of the nation are split among a number of museums.There is no doubt that being called a national history museum is loaded with expectations. Is it a one-stop shop for an authoritative narrative of the nation? The EUNAMUS project research reports are really worth reading (http://www.eunamus.eu/index.html). This EC-funded multidisciplinary project explored the formation and power of national museums in Europe. A particular quote from the project summary really rang a bell with me in terms of the pressure of traditional expectations of a national museum:'The museum is seen as possessing treasures and contributing to knowledge while simultaneously making concrete the cultural attributes of the nation. This is the performance undertaken by most national museums: visitors are expected to bow to the authority of the institution as it possesses the real evi- dence of the past.'St Fagans is a former national open-air folk museum feeling its way towards becoming a national history museum. We are bringing the national collections of archaeology and social history together in an open-air site to create a very unique learning experience. Our origins as a museum lead us to a bottom-up approach to national history - or rather histories. We don't want visitors to bow to the authority of the institution - we want them to recognise our expertise, yes, but also to feel that they have a contribution to make. The significance of our collections to Wales is as much about their feelings in the present as about our knowledge of the past. Some of you will already have read Nina Simon's The Participatory Museum. If not, then read it now - it's free and online. This publication has been a great source of inspiration to us on the project team. We aim to create a participatory museum of history on a national scale - no pressure there!So what exactly does that mean? Well our aim is to work with the people of Wales to create a museum that actually makes a difference to people's lives - a place where everyone can share knowledge, collections and skills and make history together. We want the people of Wales to contribute so that they are part of the story and not just visitors to it. We intend to ask our users to define what is recognised and preserved as Welsh history. Most importantly we want it to be a museum that continually evolves with the people that participate with it. This blog is part of that process. You can find more detailed information about the aims and objectives of the project here. But from now on, the project team will add to this blog, and give you glimpses into the trials and tribulations of trying to deliver our vision of what a national history museum should be. Join us on the journey, and let us know what you think!
An experiment of bulbous proportions! Danielle Cowell, 3 October 2013 Hi! I'm Professor Plant and I'd like to welcome the six and a half thousand young scientists across the UK that are taking part in the Spring Bulb for Schools Investigation this year!Twelve thousand bulbs will be planted and monitored as part of this long term climate investigation being co-ordinated at Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales. If there was a world record for the most people planting bulbs simultaneously, (in several locations) we could smash it!All the bulbs have been counted up by our fantastic volunteers (see the pics) and are steadily being delivered to the 150 schools across the country. I'd like to welcome each an every pupil and teacher who will be working on this project! Take a look at the map to see where the bulbs are being sent across the UK If you haven't already received my letter please follow this link Before each bulb is planted, each pupil must also adopt their bulb and promise to care for it. If you want to know how see this link If you are wondering where the bulbs came from and how they got to your school - please read then read on y friend Baby Bulb is going to explain:"My bulb buddies and I come from a nursery plantation in Manorbier, near Tenby in Wales, it's called 'Springfields'. We didn't spring from the fields, but we were picked and loaded onto a van ready to go to our new homes. At first I was a little afraid, but then when I met Professor Plant at the Museum I understood that I would be cared for by a nice young person and that I have an important job to do. We have all been selected to help us understand how the weather can affect when my friends and I make flowers. My parents before me grew here too, Springfields have been growing us 'Tenby Daffodils' for about 25 years, and we are one of the two daffodils that are native to the British Isles".Just a few weeks until planting now! I can't wait!Professor Plant
Walking in the footsteps of Wallace Ciara Hand, 3 October 2013 Last week Museum staff and students from Cantonian High School journeyed to the Neath Valley to explore the life of Alfred Russel Wallace.We spent a day re-tracing his footsteps from Pontneddfechan up to Sgwd Gwladys waterfall, exploring the geology and biology of the walk, with help from experts from the Natural Sciences department.On his death 100 years ago, Alfred Russel Wallace was widely praised as the 'last of the great Victorians'. Famous for independently discovering the process of evolution by natural selection alongside Charles Darwin, today few remember this great Welsh scientist.Wallace was inspired by the landscape of south Wales, and spent many years walking the valleys and mapping the natural history. The student’s photographs, video footage, sketches and interviews will become part of a display at National Museum Cardiff in January 2014. This display aims to tell the story of Wallace in Wales and hopefully inspire others to go and explore for themselves.This project has been made possible thanks to the generous support of a Life Patron of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales.An exhibition on Wallace’s life will open on 19 October at National Museum Cardiff.
The Fern Paradise Jennifer Evans, 1 October 2013 A lovely pressed fern found between the pages of The Fern Paradise [1876] by Francis George Heath. I'm always a little disappointed that we don't find more pressed flowers in our old botany books so this really made my day.How long has it been lying quietly cocooned between these dry secure pages? Who picked a live and vibrant frond one summers day and slipped it away never thinking it would stay hidden for decades? Did the sun shine that afternooon? What news was ringing around the world? So many questions...All photographs in this post taken by the author
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792): Bute's Botanical Tables Heather Pardoe, 30 September 2013 Portrait of the Third Earl of Bute (reproduced from Temple of Flora (1807) by Robert Thornton). The museum’s copy of Bute’s Botanical Tables. 2013 was the birth tercentenary of the Third Earl of Bute, a powerful figure in eighteenth century Britain – renowned both as a politician and as a botanist. One of his greatest contributions to botany was a book called the Botanical Tables, and Amgueddfa Cymru is fortunate to own a complete set of this rare and exquisite publication. John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute (1713-1792) was a friend and confidante of George III. Early in his career Bute reluctantly became a politician, encouraged by his royal friend. In May 1762, he was appointed Prime Minister. However, Bute proved an unpopular leader and resigned after a year. He must have been relieved to retire from public life to his house at Highcliffe in Hampshire, with his vast botanical library, to continue his botanical interests. Carl Linnaeus's new taxonomic system Bute worked on several botanical publications and was strongly influenced by the renowned Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus. Bute's best known publication was entitled Botanical Tables, or to give it its full title; Botanical Tables containing the different familys of British Plants distinguished by a few obvious parts of Fructification rang'd in a Synoptical method. Published in 1785, the aim of the Tables was to explain the principles of Linnaeus's new and controversial taxonomic system. Most of the illustrations in the Botanical Tables were by the artist John Miller (1715-1790). It was a huge task, involving over 600 illustrations detailing the sexual organs and their number to comply with the Linnaean system. Each set of Tables consists of 9 volumes covering the whole range of British plant life - including mosses, grasses, flowers and trees, as well as lichens, fungi and seaweeds - and contains detailed illustrations of every plant listed. Twelve sets of the Tables were printed by Lord Bute at his own expense, at a total cost of £1,000. Most sets were bound in speckled fawn calf leather with the Bute coat of arms placed centrally. Two sets were specially prepared for the royal family and bound in red goatskin with pages edged in gold but without the Bute arms. Botany as a fashionable amusement Bute was particularly keen to explain the taxonomic system to women, since he felt that this "delightful part of nature" was peculiarly suited to the attention of the "fair sex"; botany, under their protection, would soon become a fashionable amusement. True to this aim Bute presented seven sets of the Tables to women: Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III), Catherine II (Empress of Russia), The Duchess of Portland, Mrs Jane Barrington, Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Mackenzie, Lady Anne Ruthven Lady Jane Macartney. The latter three of these were family members. Bute kept two sets for himself and sent one set each to the eminent British botanist and later President of the Royal Society Joseph Banks (1743-1829), the eminent French botanist George Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) and Bute's old friend Louis Dutens (1730-1812). Amgueddfa Cymru has in its collections loose illustrations and tables that are thought either to have been draft copies or material being prepared for a subsequent edition. However, in 1994 the Museum acquired a complete copy of the Botanical Tables at a Christie's sale of highly important books from Beriah Botfield's Library. Whilst trying to ascertain which of the original 12 sets the Museum holds, researchers here have managed to trace 10 sets, 7 of which can be identified with their original recipients. Perhaps, one day, the remaining two will be discovered on a dusty shelf of an old library and then all twelve original copies can be accounted for. Recipients The recipients of the twelve copies of the Botanic Tables: Queen Charlotte (wife of King George III), [Red Goatskin bound copy] Catherine II (Empress of Russia), [Red Goatskin bound copy] The Duchess of Portland, Mrs Jane Barrington, Lady Elizabeth (Betty) Mackenzie, family member Lady Anne Ruthven, family member Lady Jane Macartney, family member Sir Joseph Banks (1743-1829) George Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (1707-1788) Louis Dutens (1730-1812) Retained by Third Earl of Bute Retained by Third Earl of Bute Images from Bute's Botanical Tables Illustrating different morphologies of fruits and cones. Illustrating different morphologies of “seed-vessels” including capsules and pods. Illustrating different morphologies of flowers. Illustrating various adaptations in plants to protect them from damage (“Guards”). Illustrating a range of different types of leaf. Illustrating a range of different types of leaf buds. Illustrating a range of different types of fleshy stem found in plants, particularly cacti and other succulents. Illustrating a range of different types of stem and trunk found in plants. Datura stramonium L. (Thorn Apple). Showing flowers and details of fruit. Atropa belladonna L. (Deadly Nightshade). Showing details of the structure of the flower and seed head. Dianthus caryophyllus L. (Clove Pink). Showing details of flower and seed head. Phaseolus coccineus L. (Runner Bean). Showing details of flower and bean pod. Caltha palustris L. (Marsh-marigold). Showing details of the structure of the flower and seeds. References Lazarus, M. H. & Pardoe, H. S. (eds) 2003. Catalogue of Botanical Prints and Drawings held by the National Museums & Galleries of Wales. National Museums & Galleries of Wales, Cardiff, 319 pp. Lazarus, M. H. & Pardoe, H. S. 2009. Bute's Botanical tables: dictated by Nature. Archives of natural history 36 (2): 277–298. Lazarus, M. H. & Pardoe, H. S. (in prep.) Bute's Botanical Tables (1785). Luton Hoo Tercentenary Special Publication
