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P445 Object lesson card, part of collection, 'Tin and Pewter', framed, metal / cardboard / glass / wood / textile, published by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1880-1884. Click to enlarge.
  • Image 1 of 2, P445 Object lesson card, part of collection, 'Tin and Pewter', framed, metal / cardboard / glass / wood / textile, published by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1880-1884. Click to enlarge
  • Image 2 of 2, P445 Object lesson card, part of collection, 'Tin and Pewter', framed, metal / cardboard / glass / wood / textile, published by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1880-1884. Click to enlarge

'Tin and Pewter' object lesson card by Oliver and Boyd

Made
Object lesson cards holding small objects, drawings and text were used in schools from the 1850s to the early 1900s. Their aim was to help children learn by seeing, touching and thinking, rather than just by reading, listening, copying and reciting. This particular card provided children with information about the uses of tin, tin plate, pewter, Britannia metal and bell-metal. It mentions the historical importance of tin without discussing it crucial historical role as the metal needed to make …

Summary

Object No.

P445

Object Statement

Object lesson card, part of collection, 'Tin and Pewter', framed, metal / cardboard / glass / wood / textile, published by Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, Scotland, 1880-1884

Physical Description

This is one of a set of inexpensive cards designed for use in classrooms but framed at considerable expense for the purpose of exhibition. Most of the cards, whose subjects relate to the Animal, Vegetable or Mineral Kingdom, have an illustration as well as text and specimens. This card, Mineral Kingdom No 7, has an illustration of the 'Great Bell of Moscow'. The specimens are tin ore, a tiny tin platter, and a tiny pewter jug. Under the card's heading are lists of trades and manufactures that use these metals, and under them the specimens are named.

The text recounts the story that the ancient Phoenicians sailed from the eastern Mediterranean to Cornwall to obtain tin. It explains how the ore is processed to produce tin ingots. It states that tin, or iron plated with tin, has many household uses such as pots and cutlery, and it mentions lacquering and japanning as methods to decorate its surface. It notes that pewter was long used for making household vessels, but that the main type of vessel still made from it is the tankard. It lists many uses of Britannia metal, an alloy of tin and lead, and it briefly mentions bell-metal, an alloy of tin and copper.

Below the explanatory text is written: OLIVER AND BOYD, TWEEDDALE COURT, EDINBURGH / SET OF TWENTY, Price 21s LONDON: SIMPKIN, MARSHALL AND CO.

There are two metal-reinforced holes near the top of the card for hanging it in a classroom. The wooden frame is painted black with gilt edging and has two rings attached on the top edge for hanging it in an exhibition. The price of 21 shillings for a set of twenty cards would not have included the frames.

Short URL

https://ma.as/330527

Production

Made

Notes

The card was made by Oliver and Boyd in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1884 or a little earlier. This company, a major educational and general publisher and printer, was located at Tweeddale Court in central Edinburgh from 1817 until 1973.

The name of publisher Simpkin, Marshall and Co on the card probably indicates that this company was Oliver and Boyd's London agent, rather than that it was involved in making the product.

History

Notes

The Museum purchased the object from its maker in 1884.

Source

Credit Line

Purchased 1884

Acquisition Date

16 March 1884

Cite this Object

Harvard

'Tin and Pewter' object lesson card by Oliver and Boyd 2021, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 30 May 2023, <https://ma.as/330527>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/330527 |title='Tin and Pewter' object lesson card by Oliver and Boyd |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=30 May 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}

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