THIS EVENT IS FREE. REGISTRATION IS OPEN.

Adrian Slaney (BCU), Silk cigarette cards

The term ‘silk’ refers to any printed or woven picture, on silk, satin, twill, ribbon, canvas, velvet or net fabric. Originally issued in American cigarette packets between 1905 and 1917, these ‘giveaways’ proved a very popular promotional item which was taken up by twenty British tobacco manufacturers at the advent of the First World War. Silk inserts were an adaptation of the popular cigarette cards and their subjects included religion, cricket, football, art, flags, army and naval badges, flowers, and clan tartans. This talk presents a selection of these silks. ADRIAN SLANEY is a retired dental consultant, and has now embarked on a course of doctoral research in the Centre for Printing History & Culture, where his subject is the history of silk cigarette cards, 1900-36.

Georgina Grant (Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust), Ironware and illustration: the Coalbrookdale Company catalogues

The Coalbrookdale Company was famed for its cast iron work, such as its cooking pots, steam engine cylinders, the first iron bridge in the world and thousands of decorative items from statues to benches and fountains. To advertise their wares the Company produced illustrated trade catalogues, reaching their zenith with a magnificent catalogue produced in 1875. In researching the catalogues and printing blocks in the collection, the Museum has been able to build up a picture of how the catalogues were created - the journey from designer to engraver and printer, and how this translated through to the final products made in the foundry. GEORGINA GRANT is Senior Curator at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, where she manages the Library & Archive and looks after the collections at Coalbrookdale, which includes decorative metalwork, social history and costume.

Henrietta Lockhart (Winterbourne House and Garden), A Murmuration of Screws: print from the GKN Archive

'If it's a matter of how to fasten one thing to another, get in touch with GKN!' So runs the strap-line from one of GKN's brochures from the 1960s. The company was founded upon screws, nuts, bolts and hooks. Delving into Winterbourne's GKN archive reveals a wealth of catalogues and leaflets produced by GKN and its subsidiaries, from the 1970s to the 1990s. This talk will highlight the way in which products have been arranged aesthetically in printed material, sometimes echoing contemporary artistic trends. It will conclude with the emergence of the iconic 'GKN' logo, designed by Abram Games. HENRIETTA LOCKHART is Collections Officer at Winterbourne House and Garden. She was formerly Curator of History at Birmingham Museums Trust. She has a Degree in History and Theology, and a Masters in Histories of Art and Design.

Martin Killeen (University of Birmingham), See food and eat it: illustrations in some cookery books

This presentation briefly examines aspects of historical gastronomy - the study of food culture - via a survey of some illustrated cookery books from the turn of the nineteenth century from the Cadbury Research Library. Ranging from guides to healthy living to celebrations of haute cuisine, this material offers insights into several topics including product branding and the emergence of the celebrity chef. Beyond this the genre engages with key contemporary issues such as gender roles, regionalism, and race and colonialism. MARTIN KILLEEN is a qualified librarian with a degree in Philosophy and English Literature and an MA in Shakespeare Studies. In 1996 he joined Special Collections where he was Rare Books Librarian at the Cadbury Research Library until retirement at the end of 2020.

Thanks to the University of Wolverhampton for hosting this event.