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Featured Posts

The story of London Tweed

So this is how the story goes. In 1826 a London merchant decides to buy some cloth from a weaver in Hawick, a town in the Scottish borders famous for its cloth production. Very happy with his order, he decides to get some more but – crucially – misreads the weaver’s dashed handwriting. Instead of ‘twill’ this Londoner reads ‘tweed’, and assumes this new cloth must take after the River Tweed which runs fast and clear through the textile areas of lower Scotland. ‘Tweed’ and not ’twill’ has been the term used ever since.

Rhinestones and Nylon Net

Ever since watching The King and I (1956 version) at a very impressionable age, I have been rather fond of dancing (and crinolines – but that’s another story). My grandmothers and I spent many happy hours marvelling at the clothes, hairstyles and make-up of the participants in the World Championships broadcast on television.

I Love You…I Love You Not: Victorian Valentine’s Day cards

When the Uniform penny post rocked up in 1840, it completely revolutionised the way in which people communicated. Sending letters and cards, such as those celebrating Valentine’s Day, became easier and cheaper and as a result a thriving business developed in central London.

The Butcher, The Baker and the Candlestick Maker

By other museum staff on 9 Mar 2012

The Museum has a collection of over 4,000 17th century trade tokens, which Verity, one of our team of Project Assistants , has been working with to make available online. The first batch of over 1,700 tokens are now available to view as part of our collections online project here. Trade tokens were issued between 1648 and 1673 at a time when there was little low denomination coinage being issued by the crown. As a result traders and business proprietors began issuing tokens as an alternate coinage with equivalent denominations of usually of a farthing, half penny or penny. On rare occasions higher denominations were […]

A coin collection spanning seven centuries

By other museum staff on 18 Jan 2012

As part of our collections online programme bringing greater online access to our collections over the next three years, including the addition of over 90,000 objects. Project Assistant, Ed, talks us through his work with the Museum’s Roman coin collection: The Museum’s Roman collection boasts some very fine examples of bronze, silver and gold coinage, and traces the history of Rome from the Republic, through the rise and eventual decline of the Empire, and culminates in the ascendancy of Byzantium. The collection spans a period of no-less than seven centuries and represents over 100 different emperors, empresses, princes, rebels and […]

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