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BBC - A History of the World - List of Objects

List of Objects

Telling a history of our world through objects

Click on the titles in the blue bar below [Location, Theme, Contributor Type, etc.] and then choose a category to see a list of objects - e.g. click Theme and then click War. (All objects have been classified by their contributor.)

You can also chose to see objects from a particular time period by clicking on the dates in the box below.

To start again and see all the objects, click this link: Start again

Time Periods

Theme / Communication

  1. Transistor Radio with Earpiece Transistor Radio with Earpiece Before the MP3 was the Walkman and before that was the "tranny" - the transistor radio. Personal radios existed before ... Contributed by Individual
  2. Darwin's Beagle Specimen Notebooks Darwin's Beagle Specimen Notebooks Charles Darwin's Beagle Dry Specimen Catalogues Contributed by Museum
  3. Transatlantic Telegraph Cable 1866 Transatlantic Telegraph Cable 1866 Made of a 5mm copper wire 'core' wrapped in a protective casing of tar, hemp and steel this short section of the first ... Contributed by Individual
  4. Colossus World's 1st Electronic Computer Colossus World's 1st Electronic Computer Colossus was designed to break the Lorenz cipher, used by German High Command. Contributed by Museum
  5. Point Blank - Bruce Springsteen fanzine Point Blank - Bruce Springsteen fanzine I started this fanzine at a time (1980) when Bruce Springsteen fans such as myself were isolated, with little means of ... Contributed by Individual
  6. Brewster 3D photograph viewer Brewster 3D photograph viewer The Brewster Viewer is a Victorian stereo photographic instrument, for the first time people could view the world in 3D, ... Contributed by Individual
  7. Hudson's Bay Bark Letter Hudson's Bay Bark Letter My grandmother left this letter written on birch bark. July 29 18 Phillips Hudson's Bay Exploratory Party Fort ... Contributed by Individual
  8. Unopened letter to the Russian Front '43 Unopened letter to the Russian Front '43 My object is a letter written by my father in 1943 to his brother, who was a soldier on the Russian Front. The family ... Contributed by Individual
  9. Box Brownie camera Box Brownie camera The first Box Brownie model appeared in 1900. This is a model 2A, made in or shortly after 1916. (It still works!) It ... Contributed by Individual
  10. First World War - cease-fire message First World War - cease-fire message When my grandfather Lt Col (later Lt Gen Sir) William Dobbie heard people say what they had done in the Great War, he ... Contributed by Individual
  11. National Telephone Directory c1894 National Telephone Directory c1894 This National Telephone Directory contains all the telephone numbers of all subscribers in England, Scotland, Ireland ... Contributed by Individual
  12. Eire clay pipe found in Eskimo Alaska Eire clay pipe found in Eskimo Alaska I was sitting last July with an Inupiaq (Eskimo) friend in the deserted village site of Point Hope, Alaska, while he ... Contributed by Individual
  13. Poster proclaiming Irish Republic, 1916 Poster proclaiming Irish Republic, 1916 An armed rebellion broke out in Dublin on Easter Monday, 24 April 1916. It would pave the way for the political ... Contributed by Museum
  14. 112 Stamps on a single envelope (1923) 112 Stamps on a single envelope (1923) An envelope which contained a short letter to a my grandfather (a Leicester accountant) from Germany posted on 11th ... Contributed by Individual
  15. A type writer for the people. A type writer for the people. Ernest Vincent Clwyd Crumpton was described as the Keir Hardy of the Leamington Spa Labour Party. I do not know if he ... Contributed by Individual
  16. Telephone Exchange Ringing Tone Generatr Telephone Exchange Ringing Tone Generatr It is a Walter Jones & Co. 17Hzへるつ ringing tone generator, an example of the emerging ingenuity applied to the early ... Contributed by Individual
  17. Building East African Railway 1902-09 Building East African Railway 1902-09 My object is precious to me as family history, and as a small but important part of world history. It is the detailed ... Contributed by Individual
  18. Portable typewritter - Olivetti Lettera Portable typewritter - Olivetti Lettera You might think of the portable typewritter as a forerunner of the computer but its actually far closer to writing than ... Contributed by Individual
  19. 'Cat's Whisker' radio device 'Cat's Whisker' radio device At the BBC Guernsey half-term event for A History of the World, Julia Blondin contributed this 'Cat's Whisker' radio ... Contributed by Individual
  20. Travelling Post Office Mailbag Apparatus Travelling Post Office Mailbag Apparatus The Travelling Post Office, short TPO was first introduced in 1838. The TPO is closely linked with Rowland Hill’s penny ... Contributed by Individual
  21. Postcards from the trenches Postcards from the trenches Personal messages were sent by the owner's grandfather to his wife and children. He sent them from the Somme and came ... Contributed by Individual
  22. Suffolk Woodsman's Prayer Book and Diary Suffolk Woodsman's Prayer Book and Diary Leonie Robinson came to BBC Radio Suffolk with an amazing book, which belonged to her great, great, great ... Contributed by Individual
  23. Parlor guitar Parlor guitar This is a reproduction of a late 1800s parlor guitar by the Martin Guitar company. Parlor or parlour guitar usually ... Contributed by Individual
  24. Baird Televisor Baird Televisor This was possibly the last time a lone inventor working in difficult conditions (rented room in Hastings) and with ... Contributed by Individual
  25. Public Telephone sign Public Telephone sign In the early days of telephones there were competing networks of telephones. Hull Corporation ran a public network and ... Contributed by Individual
  26. Two Penny Mulready Envelope Two Penny Mulready Envelope Issued at the same time as the now famous Penny Black stamp were decorated postal stationery envelopes designed by ... Contributed by Individual
  27. The Joseph Gilmore Map of Bath, BoBC The Joseph Gilmore Map of Bath, BoBC This map depicts the city still largely contained within its medieval walls. It provides a fascinating glimpse of the ... Contributed by Individual
  28. Model of Palmer’s First Mailcoach Model of Palmer’s First Mailcoach A one third size model of John Palmer’s original mail coach. This was the coach which John Palmer of Bath hired from the ... Contributed by Individual
  29. Ralph Allen’s Postal Contract Ralph Allen’s Postal Contract In the early 18th century all mail went via London making it very slow and expensive. Allen reorganised the system so ... Contributed by Individual
  30. Domestic Bell - Museum of Bath at Work Domestic Bell - Museum of Bath at Work A major difference in larger Victorian and Edwardian homes was the installation of domestic bells which allowed ... Contributed by Individual
  31. The Lego Building Brick The Lego Building Brick The Lego Brick began in 1934 it was designed by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The initial design was simple but clever. It ... Contributed by Individual
  32. Letter Written by 7th Cavalry Member Letter Written by 7th Cavalry Member This letter, written by Walter R. Crickett, a member of the 7th Cavalry at Fort Riley, Pine Ridge, graphically describes ... Contributed by Individual
  33. Model Post Boy – Bath Postal Museum Model Post Boy – Bath Postal Museum An 18th century beautifully carved wooden model of a standing post boy holding a letter. This would have been used ... Contributed by Individual
  34. Tenor Bell – Bath Abbey Tenor Bell – Bath Abbey The Abbey’s tenor bell weighs 33 cwt, about the same as a small car! It is inscribed: ‘All of you Bathe that hear me ... Contributed by Individual
  35. Postcard Marking the 1st 100 Mile Flight Postcard Marking the 1st 100 Mile Flight BC Hucks piloted the first plane to carry mail over 100 miles. It flew off from Glasshouse Bath, to London on 24th May ... Contributed by Individual
  36. Wall of letter boxes, Bath Postal Museum Wall of letter boxes, Bath Postal Museum The oldest of these early wall boxes, dated 1857, is painted green and was soon replaced because it lacked a protective ... Contributed by Individual
  37. The Celtic Curse - The Roman Baths The Celtic Curse - The Roman Baths This small but unique object contains the only surviving words written in British Celtic. Although we can read the ... Contributed by Individual
  38. Georgian Loveletter, 1 Royal Crescent Georgian Loveletter, 1 Royal Crescent A love letter, written in Bath in 1785, by an unknown lovelorn author, bears a heartfelt poem to 'Louisa Fair' and is ... Contributed by Individual
  39. Printing Press Printing Press ALBION PRINTING PRESS. The Printing Industry has been a significant employer in the Country since the late eighteenth ... Contributed by Museum
  40. Peterloo Massacre Handkerchief Peterloo Massacre Handkerchief A meeting of reformers demanding the right to vote was dispersed in Manchester in 1819, with 18 dead and over 400 ... Contributed by Museum
  41. Letter from George Frideric Handel Letter from George Frideric Handel The composer George Frideric Handel wrote this letter to his friend and librettist Charles Jennens on 19th July 1744. ... Contributed by Museum
  42. A Section of the Transatlantic cable A Section of the Transatlantic cable Birmingham conceived and made, a revolutionary cable which enabled the first successful transatlantic communication Contributed by Museum
  43. Gertrude Emily Benham's Tibetan Boots Gertrude Emily Benham's Tibetan Boots Leather boots worn by world traveller and record breaking mountaineer Gertrude Benham who ascended over 300 peaks. Contributed by Museum
  44. The Balaklava Bugle The Balaklava Bugle The Balaklava Bugle was used to sound the Charge of the Light brigade on 25th October 1854, during the Crimean War. Contributed by Museum
  45. Maltese Cross used by John Logie Baird Maltese Cross used by John Logie Baird St Johns Ambulance Maltese Cross. The first object to be transmitted as an image in early television experiments Contributed by Museum
  46. Packet mail bag Packet mail bag THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'. NATIONAL MARITIME MUSEUM CORNWALL. For ... Contributed by Museum
  47. Dolly Pentreath Dolly Pentreath THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'. ST MICHAEL'S MOUNT. This portrait shows ... Contributed by Museum
  48. War diaries War diaries THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'. REDRUTH TOWN MUSEUM. John French is, ... Contributed by Museum
  49. Steam locomotive Steam locomotive THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'. BODMIN AND WENFORD RAILWAY. Railways ... Contributed by Museum
  50. Spratt's diary Spratt's diary THIS OBJECT IS PART OF THE PROJECT 'A HISTORY OF CORNWALL IN 100 OBJECTS'. PORTHCURNO TELEGRAPH MUSEUM. Porthcurno ... Contributed by Museum

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