“This medical textbook is an exemplar of the wonderful assortment of 19th-century life sciences paraphernalia put together by the prolific contemporary collector and investment banker George Loudon.
For many years, Loudon collected contemporary art but then changed tack entirely and began amassing the kind of objects that are usually unloved and forgotten at the back of museum stores.
Many are curiosities that transformed the way we thought about the natural world at the time – from teaching aids, illustrations and models to the odd ghoulish treat, such as
conjoined piglets in a glass jar – but also illustrate the interplay between art and science.
Showing the collection in public for the first time is a new experience for Loudon.
For us at the museum, working with a private collection of any kind, let alone one as distinctive as this, is unusual and something more museums and galleries should consider.
We have separated the exhibition into seven themes, which also showcase our work as a university institution. Students learning about human biology use models, so we have an area full of Victorian examples made by the finest scientists and craftsmen.
Flora and fauna figure in the show too. The incredibly lifelike models of soft-bodied organisms such as sea slugs and anemones produced by the Blashkas – father and son glassmakers in mid-1800s Dresden – are breathtaking.
The book is just as impressive in its own way. It was obviously produced with pride and charm, and while some artistic licence was used, I reckon the detail stands up pretty well today.
When it was made, it certainly had an advantage over the dissection of cadavers for medical learning because it was reusable, could be stored easily and was in more plentiful supply than dead bodies.
I particularly love the man’s moustache as it instantly transports you to the Edwardian era. There was a book featuring a woman in the same series but you don’t get the same immediate history hit from her.
This exhibition enables Loudon to share his passion and encourage people to see these objects as he sees them –asworksofartaswellas pieces made for a purpose. I didn’t know what to expect when I visited him at home for the first time. After I walked through the door of his fairly unassuming villa, I was greeted by a skinless papier-mâché turkey with all its bones on display.
There’s a Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish in a bell jar on the coffee table and, on top of the grand piano, there are the most realistic velvet mushrooms I have ever seen.”
Interview by John Holt. Object Lessons is at Manchester Museum until 20 August.
For many years, Loudon collected contemporary art but then changed tack entirely and began amassing the kind of objects that are usually unloved and forgotten at the back of museum stores.
Many are curiosities that transformed the way we thought about the natural world at the time – from teaching aids, illustrations and models to the odd ghoulish treat, such as
conjoined piglets in a glass jar – but also illustrate the interplay between art and science.
Showing the collection in public for the first time is a new experience for Loudon.
For us at the museum, working with a private collection of any kind, let alone one as distinctive as this, is unusual and something more museums and galleries should consider.
We have separated the exhibition into seven themes, which also showcase our work as a university institution. Students learning about human biology use models, so we have an area full of Victorian examples made by the finest scientists and craftsmen.
Flora and fauna figure in the show too. The incredibly lifelike models of soft-bodied organisms such as sea slugs and anemones produced by the Blashkas – father and son glassmakers in mid-1800s Dresden – are breathtaking.
The book is just as impressive in its own way. It was obviously produced with pride and charm, and while some artistic licence was used, I reckon the detail stands up pretty well today.
When it was made, it certainly had an advantage over the dissection of cadavers for medical learning because it was reusable, could be stored easily and was in more plentiful supply than dead bodies.
I particularly love the man’s moustache as it instantly transports you to the Edwardian era. There was a book featuring a woman in the same series but you don’t get the same immediate history hit from her.
This exhibition enables Loudon to share his passion and encourage people to see these objects as he sees them –asworksofartaswellas pieces made for a purpose. I didn’t know what to expect when I visited him at home for the first time. After I walked through the door of his fairly unassuming villa, I was greeted by a skinless papier-mâché turkey with all its bones on display.
There’s a Portuguese man o’ war jellyfish in a bell jar on the coffee table and, on top of the grand piano, there are the most realistic velvet mushrooms I have ever seen.”
David Gelsthorpe is the curator of earth science collections at Manchester Museum, part of the University of Manchester.
Interview by John Holt. Object Lessons is at Manchester Museum until 20 August.