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There are over 3,000 artefacts within the collection.
Dr. Frank Elgee, the eminent archaeologist and curator of
the Dorman Museum, carried out a number of important excavations
in the 1920s and 1930s. His research into early settlements
on the North York Moors was nationally respected. Many of
his finds including those from a Bronze Age hill-fort at Eston
Nab and a burial mound at Loose Howe are held by the museum.
Click to open pdf file on Frank Elgee
51kb
Other notable collections include:
- artefacts excavated from an Anglian cemetery at Hob Hill
in Saltburn;
- Egyptian and Romano-Egyptian items purchased from the
British School of Archaeology, from a selection made by
Flinders Petrie;
- a small Gertrude Bell collection of medieval vases, ancient
glass, Romano-Egyptian lamps, Arabian tiles and coins given
by her niece, Lady Richmond;
- medieval fragments from Kilton Castle and Kildale Manor.
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| Egyptian funerary boat |
Material from local archaeological digs is still being added
to the collections.
Other material includes a library of archaeological journals
and photographs taken by Frank Elgee during his excavations.
The Dorman Museum’s collection of around 1,500 artefacts
from different world cultures has its origins in the colonial
era. Sir Alfred Pease, in addition to his hunting trophies,
also gave a collection of beadwork from NE Africa. George
Lockwood Dorman within his brief life had managed to collect
ethnographical items from various parts of the world, including
Australia, New Zealand, Oceania and South Africa when he was
stationed there during the Boer War. These items formed an
important part of the museum’s founding collections.
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| Sir Alfred Pease |
The most notable collection is of Aboriginal artefacts. Some
were collected by G.L. Dorman and others by Dr. Weatherill from
East Kimberley. However, the majority of items were given by
the Aboriginal Arts Board of Australia. They had previously
formed part of their reserve collection and when they were presented
to the Captain Cook Birthplace Museum in 1980 they formed the
largest collection of their kind outside Australia.
There are approximately 16,000 objects in the social history
collections
The museum started to collect everyday objects in the 1930s
recognising that society was rapidly changing and old ways
of life disappearing. Initially these were viewed as quirky
bygones but the museum now attempts to reflect the domestic
environment, working conditions and leisure pursuits of the
people of Middlesbrough within its collections.
This collection consists of about 3,500 prints, glass negatives
and carte-de-visit, plus 2,190 lantern slides.
The photographic prints include views of Middlesbrough,
aerial photographs, the various industrial sites of the area,
especially the iron and steel industry, health, transport,
local government and community services.
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| Glass slide, A. Pease collection |
This collection of about 2,400 items consists primarily of
women’s fashions from the 20th century including shoes,
hats and accessories. There is also a small collection of
uniforms, including military, childrenswear, under garments,
sportswear and men’s suits.
An additional collection of 130 items, mostly Victorian,
was transferred from Darlington Tubwell Row Museum in 1998.
There are 1,060 items in the Linthorpe Pottery collection
representing around 465 of the 2,350 different designs thought
to have been produced during the pottery’s ten year
history. Around 150 of these items bear the impressed signature
of the designer Christopher Dresser. An additional collection
of 40 items was transferred from Darlington Museum.
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| Linthorpe pottery |
Click to open pdf file on the History of Linthorpe Art Pottery (1969). 1.6mb
Click to open pdf file on Linthorpe Art Pottery marks. 1.6mb
The decorative arts collection includes a further 340 items,
mostly consisting of pieces from the Middlesbrough Pottery
with some examples from other regional potteries and glass
manufacturers. There is a small collection of pieces from
the Bretby and Ault potteries because of their connections
with the Linthorpe Pottery.
There is also a collection of nineteenth century Japanese
figures or okimono, possibly carved from walrus ivory.
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