PARKESINE--It should be in the museum!

[madeinbirmingham]

Dear JP

Yes a piece of Parkesine would be a justified addition to the collections and it is quite likely that future displays would include more on materials science and materials developed in Birmingham. From the absence of any examples I surmise that BM&AG has never been offered any Parkesine for the collections: the Science and Industry and Social History collections have both been established primarily via donations with only a small proportion of pieces being purchased. This has inevitably led to uneven representation of different businesses and industries. I know you will see this as undesirable, but I'm afraid it also reflects the huge range of industries in the city and the finite resources available to research and collect them for BM&AG's collections. There are very few non-national museum services that potentially cover anything like as broad a range of material as Birmingham.

Nevertheless, I agree that Parkesine is a significant gap and should you become aware of any examples of Parkesine that BM&AG might acquire, I would be pleased to hear about them.

Kind regards

Jack

Jack Kirby
Collections Interpretation Manager
Thinktank, Birmingham science museum
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JP --- History is just one thing after the other!

[fireman]

JP you should contact the plastics society