Pen nib box
John Heath
Category
Education objects
Date
Unknown
Materials
Cardboard and metal
Measurements
Each box - 63 mm (width); 24 mm (height); 47 mm (depth)
Place of origin
Birmingham
Order this imageCollection
Sudbury Hall Museum of Childhood, Derbyshire
NT 666644
Summary
Three small boxes of pen nibs. Two of the boxes are sealed and one has been opened. All the boxes have a yellow, green, red and white coloured label that is stuck round the box as a seal. On the top side is printed `John Heath's, Turned up point, Telephone Pen, Holds a large supply of ink, Perfection, This Box Contains One Gross'. Stuck in one corner is another small, black and gold coloured label which reads `J and H Bell Ltd. Nottingham'. On the label at the ends of all the boxes is printed `Telephone Pen, 0278 Fine Point, John Heath'. On the label at the base is printed, in dark blue on white, a description of the nibs and a caution against forgeries. This message is edged with a flower design in red. The sides of one box is decorated with a blue and white, willow pattern type design. The other two boxes have sides decorated with a gold coloured label printed with green holly leaves and red berries. One of these two boxes has been opened. Inside this box are sixty-one brown coloured metal pen nibs, forty-four with straight sides and seventeen with shaped sides (two nibs have been used). Impressed on each nib is the manufacturer's name and address. Total number of items is 65.
Provenance
'Derbyshire Museum Service History of Education Collection' - a collection established by Derbyshire Museum Service (through gifts from individuals, Derbyshire schools and purchases) in the 1940s and stored at Sudbury Hall from the early 1970s to 2012. The National Trust managed the collection between 1991 and 2012 when legal ownership was transferred from Derbyshire County Council to the National Trust. Archival records information - "The collection was established as a result of isolated gifts in the 1940's, and the 'savings' of certain school records (now passed to County Records) during wartime paper salvage." "During the 1950s it was L.E.A. practice to hold an Easter Course for teachers, and the County (Derbyshire) Museum arranged a special exhibition for teach course. As by the mid 1950s quite a collection had already accumulated, it was decided to produce an exhibition on the history of education with special reference to Derbyshire. Consequently, further material was purchased, from which items were selected. The exhibition was subsequently shown at a number of centres, and after disbandment, additions continued to be made with the aim of eventually producing a reconstructed classroom as a base for research. The Derby Bishop Lonsdale College of Education has frequently made use of the collection in various ways."
Makers and roles
John Heath , maker