The working life of Museum of London

Some of you may remember from my last blog that I mentioned that the Museum of London websites were changing inline with our rebranding to bring together our  venues and values, with new names and logos. We have now completed phase one of redesigning and moving around content on our websites. You can check out our striking new logos and our redesigned websites at:

• www.museumoflondon.org.uk
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/docklands
• www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archaeology

In phase two and three, we will be auditing all our websites, holding audience evaluations to find out what our visitors think, and planning and implementing the migration of all our websites into one single site. This will involve analysis of our current website structures and planning the future architecture and redesigning of all the templates within our websites, including our microsites.

We would love to find out what you think of the websites and how it might develop in the future. So tell us what you think of the sites and the new ‘tabs’ that combine all our three venues together by sending me your comments to: webmanager@museumoflondon.org.uk.

Please note that we are aware some things may not display properly or some links may be broken, but please bear with us while we go through this transition period.

Thank you for all your continued support.

  Smoking was introduced to Britain in the 16th century, and pipe and cigar smoking had become popular by the 19th century. Tabacco use continued to rise and the first mass produced cigarettes were introduced in the 1880s. Evidence of smoking is often demonstrated on archaeological sites in the form of clay pipes. These disposable items were easy to make and the different types and manufactures markings can provide valuable dating information.

Recent analysis of over 700 skeletons from the Catholic Mission of Saints Mary and Michael, Whitechapel, London, who died between 1843 and 1854, has demonstrated how evidence of smoking can also be observed in the bones of past populations.

 Fifty eight adult skeletons (58/268: 21.6%) displayed wear patterns to the surfaces of the teeth. These were often smooth, rounded grooves resulting from long term pipe smoking. In many cases a circular hole or ‘pipe notch’ was clearly visable when the upper and lower jaws were closed. Thirty two of the individuals with pipe notches also showed a brown coloured staining to the inside of the teeth. Pipe notches were found on a number of young adults. These may have developed over several years suggesting that smoking could have been taken up at a younger age. Adult smokers were also found to be more likely associated with lesions to the inside surfaces of the ribs, possibly the result of lung disease resulting from smoking.

This evidence may help provide information about how smoking affected the health of an individual and if it made more susceptible to other diseases and the infections compared to non smokers. If smoking was more commonplace amongst the Victorian working class, this may be used as an indicator of status and possibly gender. This may also help better our understanding and awareness of smoking in the modern world that is reported to kill 5.4 million people each year (World Health Organisation 2008).

A year on from the smoking ban, the museum of London looks into the history of smoking in London and life in the captial since the ban with a new exhibition ‘ The Big Smoke’. More information can be found at the following link…

http://www.molg.org.uk/English/NewsRoom/Current/The+Big+Smoke.htm

A display of stunning photographs of the self-governing Maroon community in Jamaica are on show at Museum in Docklands until 31 August as part of the London, Sugar & Slavery gallery’s rolling community exhibition space.

The display of over 50 photographs in a montage and a short film draws attention to the forgotten story of the Maroons who refused to be enslaved, survived in remote parts of the Caribbean islands and helped destabilise the plantation system.

The project is the brainchild of hip hop photographer, Jennie Baptiste, who guided a group of six young Londoners who call themselves the Linx, teaching them research, communications and photography skills. The group of 14 to 19 year olds then researched the history of African resistance to slavery and visited the Maroons in the town of Accompong in the Jamaican mountains to take the photographs.

Linx member and 19 year old art student, Asia Bharj, said:

‘Never in my life did I think I would be part of this amazing project, being with the Linx I overcame personal challenges which allowed me to grow mentally and to become a better person.’

Don’t miss out - the display closes on August 31!  There’s information on how to plan your visit to the Museum in Docklands or find out more about the community exhibition in our newsroom article, Journey to Accompong.  Entry to the display is free, but there is a charge for entry to the Museum in Docklands itself.

Watch it at this link: Victorian London, Jack the Ripper, Museum in Docklands video.

There are more videos at the Museum in Dockland’s Jack the Ripper and the East End exhibition playlist.

You can also view (and buy) images of Victorian London at the Jack The Ripper & The East End section of the Museum of London print site or find out more about the exhibition at the Museum in Docklands.

If you’re in London before November 2, 2008 then watch to the end of the video for a discount code for 20% off the full ticket price for the exhibition.

Did you know that road traffic accidents in London kill less than 1 person each day, while smoking cigarettes kills 1 Londoner every hour? Or that cigarette butts account for 40% of the litter on London’s streets? Despite these bleak statistics 2 million Londoners regularly light up to enjoy a cigarette.

One year on from the smoking ban, The Big Smoke looks at the history of smoking in London and life in the capital since the ban.

Curator Meriel Jeater says, ‘London has been a centre of the tobacco trade and consumption for 400 years and this topical display will look at how attitudes to smoking have altered over this time. The recent ban on smoking in public places is causing widespread changes and this display will showcase Londoners’ opinions on the ban and how it is affecting their city.

For some people the new legislation is the final prompt they needed to quit smoking. For others it is ruining their businesses. We want to know what Londoners think.’

You can visit ‘The Big Smoke’ at the Museum of London until 21 September 2008.  Entry is free.

Find out more at The Big Smoke article in our newsroom.

Mandela in London, 1962
Nelson Mandela will be celebrating his 90th birthday on 18 July 2008. To honour this occasion Museum of London remembers his first visit to London in June 1962 in a small photographic display that opens on 20 June 2008. The collection of 17 striking black and white photographs show a youthful Mandela in London – these were some of his last days of freedom.

This was Mandela’s first trip to the capital and it was to be his last for more than 30 years. Mandela returned to South Africa in August and was arrested and later imprisoned for 22 years.

Curator Cathy Ross says: ‘These photos are terrifically evocative: not only a reminder of London’s role in the anti-apartheid struggle during the 1960s, but also of Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary story. Despite being a wanted man, his optimism and warmth really shine through.’

You can view ‘Mandela in London, 1962′ for free at the Museum of London, London Wall, EC2Y 5HN, until 3 August 2008

Find out more in our newsroom article, Mandela in London, 1962.

Jelena Bekvalac, Research Osteologist at the Museum of London, writes:

“The forthcoming Skeletons exhibition to be held at Wellcome from July to September will be the culmination of many months of planning and collaboration between the Centre for Human Bioarchaeology at the Museum of London and the Wellcome Collection. The premise of the exhibition is to give an insight as to what is buried beneath the streets of London and what valuable information can be learnt from analysing the skeletal remains of past inhabitants of London.

London has throughout its long history been developed and rebuilt causing destruction and disturbance of its material history. In the last thirty years or so, such building developments have precipitated archaeological investigations. During these excavations in many instances skeletal human remains are revealed, some of which have been retained for their scientific research value.

The skeletons in the exhibition are all from such developments that have taken place and have been retained as part of the research collection that is curated and archived at the museum. They cannot be returned to their original cemeteries for reburial, as those sites have been built upon. With a very few exceptions the remains are anonymous. Where we do know the names of a few of them who died in the 18th and 19th centuries it has proved impossible to trace any living descendants. The skeletal remains are treated with great respect and the idea of the exhibition is not that it is to see the skeletons of these people as curiosities but as significant repositories of information that can assist many fields of research including that of modern day medics and clinicians.”

Museum in Docklands was about to open its first ever major exhibition and the press team felt that something special was needed to mark this momentous occasion. We knew what we wanted it to involve; Jack the Ripper and the East End, web 2.0 and the public - but how would we use those ingredients to create a magical mix?

Naturally, we would kindly ask members of the public to transform themselves into East End street urchins and pretend to sell newspapers, screaming the headlines at the top of their voices. The Jack the Ripper video was born. I was volunteered to take to the streets of London armed with a digital camera, tripod and props to find willing participants.

Day 1 was spent in Canary Wharf, not far from Museum in Docklands. It was a Friday lunchtime and the square was filled with people whom I presumed would be more than keen to don a flat cap, sandwich board and speak in a cockney accent. Oh how wrong I was. I approached countless people and suffered knockback after knockback until a very lovely chap decided that it was a Friday; he was in the mood for fun and would very much like to be on YouTube for all his mates to see! Inspired by what had just been recorded I fearlessly approached people to persuade them to take part and found some brilliant folk who were more than willing to be filmed. At times small crowds gathered whilst others appeared disinterested but the session had been a success and I left with fantastic footage.

There was a change of location for day 2 of filming, which took place in Covent Garden. Stood upon the cobbles, I once again encountered some rejection before finding video gold. A perfect blend of Londoners and tourists had once again impressed me with their ability to transform themselves into East End street newspaper sellers.

It was then back to the Museum to edit the footage and create the fantastic short films that would form a series online. I am forever grateful to those that took part and helped make the project such a success.

Check out our Facebook and YouTube pages over the coming weeks to see the finished videos. You can also see photographs from the Jack the Ripper exhibition on Flickr and the Museum in Docklands website. Enjoy!

Two podcast tours of London’s East End are now available on the Museum of London’s YouTube channel or as direct downloads. They were produced for the exhibition ‘Jack the Ripper and the East End‘ at the Museum in Docklands.

The tour starts at Whitechapel tube station and takes you through the streets of London, re-populating them through photos, maps and interviews with experts.

Watch Part 1 of the Jack the Ripper and the East End tour on YouTube (09:49 minutes)

or

Download Part 1 of the Jack the Ripper and the East End podcast tour for your iPod (m4v file, 90MB)

Watch Part 2 of the Jack the Ripper and the East End tour on YouTube (07:42 minutes)

or

Download Part 2 of the Jack the Ripper and the East End podcast tour for your iPod (m4v file, 71MB)

I am one of the team working on Jack the Ripper and the East End. I am an archaeological conservator but I often work on projects or exhibitions that are not archaeological. The material for this exhibition is fascinating; I’ve just finished reading the book that accompanies the exhibition so I understand more about the objects that we are installing now in the display cases.

My role has been to act as the link between the exhibition project team and the conservation and collection care staff who prepare the material for display. There are 20 of us in conservation and collection care working at the Museum of London, Museum in Docklands and our resource centre (Mortimer Wheeler House). I am one of the archaeological team; there are also conservators who work on paper, textiles and costume and decorative arts/social history material.

A quarter of the team work in collection care and object handling; they look after the objects in storage and carry out the movement of our collections between our three main locations and sometimes to other museums when objects go out on loan. The conservators also do a lot of collection care work for our stored collections and work on individual objects in our laboratories and workshops. We ensure that the objects are in good condition and carry out treatments when needed. For this exhibition, the conservators worked on a huge variety of objects from wax heads to police uniforms. The paper conservators were kept particularly busy as there are so many paper items, many of them such as police reports and files in poor condition because they were working documents.

There are nearly 200 objects going on display in about 30 cases, on the walls and on open display. Some of the display cases are new so part of my job was to work with the designer to make sure that they are the right type and size for the objects . Conservators are particularly concerned that the cases are stable and secure, dust-proof and made of good quality materials.

We also need to check on the overall conditions for the objects. For this exhibition, because there are so many original 19th century documents, light is our biggest concern. Many of the documents have writing in ink which is already faded. The light levels will need to be low to keep any further fading to a minimum. Just before the exhibition opens, we will check every case to make sure the light is within the right levels. Luckily the designer wants a dark, atmospheric look!

The most challenging part of the work has been working out how to fit all the material into the cases. Some of the cases only have a few items, say two documents relating to one of the victims. Others have many objects made of many different materials. Each case has to be carefully planned so that everything fits and is well supported. The designer started this process many months ago working with the curator, Julia Hoffbrand.

The next step was to work from the plans and try out mockups of each case to see how the objects fitted into the cases and if they needed supports. A small team of us, a curator (Jackie Keily), our chief technician (Cliff Thomas) and others, started this process in February. It was a challenge as we had to work from photos and records of the objects since so many were coming from other museums or individuals as loans.

We are now putting the objects into cases and it’s great to see everything, some for the first time as couriers bring them from other museums and archives. Maps, prints and plans are also being hung on the walls; this has had its moments with different opinions on how high or low to place things. Luckily our collection care team (Alison Guppy and Paul More) are used to this and are very patient!

A huge amount of other work went into the exhibition before we started with the cases and objects (graphics, set construction, installing the lighting and audio-visuals). It’s all coming together now and with a few more days work (captions are on their way!), will be ready for the opening on the 15th of May.

You can see more photos from the installation of Jack the Ripper and the East End on Flickr.