Cocoa - The Story of its Cultivation, illustrated by Frank Newbould

Frank Newbould’s designs for Cocoa: the Story of its Cultivation, were in a bold graphic style. He used vibrant colours to illustrate some o...

Labour in Portuguese West Africa, by W.A. Cadbury

William Cadbury’s 1909 publication Labour in Portuguese West Africa documented William Cadbury and Joseph Burtt’s visit to Angola and San Th...

A Gun Manufacturer

Image: A Trade Card of John Sharpe (date unknown). In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, many Birmingham gun manufacturers relied upon forei...

A Petition to Continue the Slave Trade

Did Birmingham Profit from Slavery? As an industrial town, Birmingham undoubtedly relied heavily on its connections to the slave trade. It was ...

A Tobacco Dealer.

Image: A Tobacco, Cigar and Snuff Dealer. Trade Card (date unknown) Illustrated industrial artifacts such as the above advert for a Birmingham t...

Antislavery Lecture by Rev Thomas Swan (extract).

Lectures, speeches, public addresses and sermons were a vitally important way of spreading the word about slavery to the Birmingham public. The ext...

Black Abolitionists in Birmingham

The following pages give an introduction to some of the black abolitionists who came into contact with Birmingham. They not only campaigned against...

Children at a Sugar Factory Estate

This photograph shows children on the estate of Colonial Co., a sugar factory in Trinidad.

China

Originally captioned 'The River Population of Canton'. China, from the collection of Sir Benjamin Stone.

Hiatt's and Slavery (part 1)

This is a late nineteenth century interview with the Birmingham Hiatt's handcuffs firm. Read both parts of the interview to see Hiatt's connection...

Hiatt's and Slavery (part 2)

(cont)This is a late nineteenth century interview with the Birmingham Hiatt's handcuffs firm. Read both parts of the interview to see Hiatt's conne...

Kimberley Diamond Mines

Kimberley Diamond Mines, South Africa, from the collection of Sir Benjamin Stone, June 1894.