A Gun Manufacturer
Image: A Trade Card of John Sharpe (date unknown).
In the eighteenth and nineteenth century, many Birmingham gun manufacturers relied upon foreign export markets. Often, this could mean the sale of ...
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 producer of guns, chains, brassware, and a whole range ...
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 tobacco dealer can often reveal underlying attitudes toward ...
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 extract above shows a dramatic example of how Rev. Thomas ...
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 slavery and for the rights of their own race, but for ...
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.
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 of the key stages in cocoa cultivation, from harvesting through ...
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 to slavery. The company is still in operation today, ...
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 connection to slavery. The company is still in operation today, ...
Kimberley Diamond Mines
Kimberley Diamond Mines, South Africa, from the collection of Sir Benjamin Stone, June 1894.
Kimberley Diamond Mines
Kimberley Diamond Mines, South Africa, from the collection of Sir Benjamin Stone, June 1894.
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 Thomé in 1908, to investigate the employment conditions of labourers ...
Letter concerning Property in Jamaica
Letter to William Sutherland, Blue Mountain Estate, from John Eustace, Kingston.
From a collection of legal papers and letters relating to the settlement of the Blue Mountain Estate in Jamaica, on ...
Photograph from Montserrat Lime Company records.
The Montserrat Lime Company was formed by J.& E. Sturge for the production and export of lime juice from Montserrat for use in the manufacture of citric acid at their chemical works at Edgbaston. Joseph ...
Photograph from Montserrat Lime Company records.
The Montserrat Lime Company was formed by J.& E. Sturge for the production and export of lime juice from Montserrat for use in the manufacture of citric acid at their chemical works at Edgbaston. Joseph ...
Photograph from Montserrat Lime Company records.
The Montserrat Lime Company was formed by J.& E. Sturge for the production and export of lime juice from Montserrat for use in the manufacture of citric acid at their chemical works at Edgbaston. Joseph ...
Photograph from Montserrat Lime Company records.
The Montserrat Lime Company was formed by J.& E. Sturge for the production and export of lime juice from Montserrat for use in the manufacture of citric acid at their chemical works at Edgbaston. Joseph ...