Collection: Gallery Oldham

Collection-level records:

• Collection overview (Cornucopia)

  Social History Collection

  The social history collections cover many aspects of local history, domestic and community life, commercial life, costume and accessories through a collection of 8,000 objects and 5,000 items of ephemera. Almost all objects have local associations, either being made or used in the Oldham area and cover many other subject headings such as photographs, oral history, arms and armour and numismatics.

  Subjects

  Social History

  Archaeology Collection

  The collection has grown in recent years to incorporate groups of excavation material such as items from the Castleshaw excavation conducted by the Greater Manchester Archaeological Unit. Material overall comprises local Mesolithic and Neolithic flint tools (around 50% with provenance) and a small amount of Egyptian and Greek material.

  Subjects

  Archaeology

  Geology Collection

  The geology collections comprise British fossils from the Lower Cambrian to Pleistocene, with a specific group of Carboniferous fossils arranged by biological groupings (of phyla and class). There is a general lack of field data but the collections are thought to probably originate from local geologist James Neild (1825-1895). There is also a representative collection of world minerals and a small collection of local rocks.

  Subjects

  Geology

  Decorative and applied Art Collection

  This is a varied collection comprising 150 pieces of glass, ceramics including 20th century studio pottery, commemorative pottery, Victorian domestic wares and figures. Oriental collections include Chinese and Japanese pottery, the Francis Buckley Collection of export wares (1936-37), ivory and soapstone figures, the Charles Lees collection of Oriental metalwork and the Newton Bequest of 1964. There is also a small collection of silverware, clocks and watches and some electrotypes including civic items.

  Subjects

  Decorative and Applied Arts

  Science and Industry Collection

  The town was built around the cotton and engineering industries and collections therefore include representative objects such as a section of a Mule (1927), a slubbing machine (1952) and drawing frame from the local textile industry (Platts). Locally made items include a Braddocks gas meter, Spencer lathe, Bradbury motor cycle and Bradbury sewing machines. Traditional crafts include wheelwrighting, clogging, hatting and the now-extinct local coal industry.

  Subjects

  Science and Industry

  Fine Art Collection

  The fine art collections mainly date from the mid 19th century to the late 1930s and focus on British painting. The 450 oil paintings include the Pre-Raphaelites, British Realism, Late Victorian genre to post War, pop and abstract works. Watercolours (400) include early English, 20th century and topographical. The collection of 700 prints is mainly from the 1960s onwards. There are also engravings, drawings, mixed media works, sculpture and a small group of 100 contemporary photographs on loan from the North West Arts’ collection. The most notable acquisitions were the watercolour drawings and engravings presented by Charles Lees in 1888 and with later additions in the 1890s. Marjorie Lees also added important material in 1952 and 1970.

  Subjects

  Fine Art

  Biology Collection

  The natural history collections are substantial and contain specimens of regional and national importance. The main part of the collection is of local origin and forms a valuable record of the changing local environmental conditions over the last two hundred years, charting the changes caused by the industrial revolution. There are 800 birds representing 320 British species. There are also regionally important collections of beetles and flies. Other invertebrate collections include 2,400 boxes of shells, notably the Taylor Collection of British land and freshwater molluscs. There is also a wide range of foreign mollusc shells. Associated biological material includes a library of over 2,000 reference books, some dating from the 18th century. In addition to current biological records, the museum holds 40,000 records dating back to the mid 19th century. The largest part of the biology collection comprises the nationally important Baron collection of over 50,000 birds’ eggs collected between 1900-1930. The worldwide butterflies and moths are the largest group of insects and include over 25,000 specimens collected between 1850-1980. The museum also serves as custodian to the Oldham Microscopical Society’s Nield Herbarium. This collection comprises over 10,000 plants from Britain (many from Oldham), USA, Norway and Switzerland, many of which are no longer found in the original locations. The plants were collected mainly by local people over the past 130 years and are a valuable scientific record.

  Subjects

  Plants; Birds; Insects; Biology

  Numismatics Collection

  A small collection.

  Subjects

  Numismatics

  Arms and Armour Collection

  A small collection of militaria.

  Subjects

  Arms and armour

  Music Collection

  An interesting element of the archive collection held at the Local Studies Library is the Walton Archive, comprising musical scores, books, pamphlets, photographs, newspaper cuttings, cassettes and CDs featuring the life and work of the Oldham-born composer.

  Subjects

  Music

  Photographic Collection

  The extensive photographic archive is housed in the Local studies Library and contains images of Oldham ranging from important public events to daily street scenes. Original prints, copy negatives and prints are held for the collection, which also includes postcards and slides.

  Subjects

  Photographic equipment

  Oral History Collection

  A small but growing oral history archive, available in the Local Studies Library. Some material has been purchased from the North West Sound Archive.

  Subjects

  Oral history

  Archives Collection

  The original local library collections stem from the Free Library established in 1885 (at one time housed with the museum). The present local studies library holds an extensive array of local history books, trade directories, transactions of various local societies, over 2,000 maps (tithe maps, early maps and ordnance survey maps), photographs, pamphlets and other documents associated with the history of the Oldham area. The library also hold runs of local newspapers such as the Oldham Chronicle (est. 1854) and the Oldham Standard (1859-1947), together with press cuttings dating from 1885 onwards. Local history material is also located at some of the branch libraries. (See also Music). There is also a World History Collection of archive material featuring the history and culture of Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, Chinese, Afro-Caribbean, Ukrainian, Polish and Irish communities in the Oldham area.

  Subjects

  Archives

  Source: Cornucopia

  Date: Not known, but before 2015

  Licence: CC BY-NC