A Deaf History in 50 Objects
A Self-Portrait Painting Of Sir John Gaudy
This self-portrait painting of the deaf artist, Sir John Gaudy, was painted in 1673, and shows him wearing a powdered wig and white lace cravat. The painting was purchased from Cheffins Auctioneers at an auction in Cambridge in September 2016 for £5,842, thanks to a 100% grant from the Art..View Exhibit
A Miniature Painting By Richard Crosse
Richard Crosse, a deaf artist, painted this miniature of A Gentleman, in a goldembroidered coat and a powdered wig. It was acquired by the Deaf Museum & Archive as a post-sale purchase from Christie’s, London, in December 2014. Who was Richard Crosse? Richard was the second son of John Crosse,..View Exhibit
A Miniature Painting By Charles Shirreff
Charles Shirreff, a deaf artist, painted this miniature of a Subaltern Officer in the Navy. This miniature Portrait of a Young Naval Subaltern (c. 1800), watercolour on ivory, was acquired from a Sotheby’s (Paris) auction in 2015 and our bid was successful, thanks to both a private donation and a..View Exhibit
A Miniature Painting By Thomas Arrowsmith
Thomas Arrowsmith, a deaf artist, painted this Miniature of A Lady Wearing A Mop Cap. This miniature was acquired by the Deaf Museum & Archive from Anderson and Garland Auctioneers, Newcastle, in 2014. Who was Thomas Arrowsmith? Thomas was born deaf in 1771 in Newent, Gloucestershire, the fourth son of..View Exhibit
Two Sketches By Walter Geikie
Walter Geikie RSA, a deaf and dumb man, was one of the most remarkable Scottish artists in the early 19th century. The Shoe Stand and The Grandchild reading are two original engravings, donated from the estate of Margaret Lawrie. Geikie sketched both works and his studies of Edinburgh’s population were..View Exhibit
A Pencil Study By George E. H. Hogg
This pencil study Return from the Market was sketched by George Edwin Hartnoll Hogg and was found as a loose-leaf insertion in a book used as a teaching resource by the Manchester Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. It was acquired by the Deaf Museum & Archive. Who was he?..View Exhibit
The Painting Of Sir Arthur Fairbairn By Charles Webb Moore
The painting The Deaf and Dumb Baronet was that of Sir Arthur Henderson Fairbairn, a deaf baronet. The deaf artist Charles Webb Moore did this portrait in 1903 and the Hampshire Association for the Deaf later donated it to the BDHS Museum upon the closure of the Fairbairn Centre in..View Exhibit
The Last Supper Painting By Francis Ross Maguire
Frank Ross Maguire, a deaf artist executed this painting of The Last Supper in 1916. The painting was originally executed by Maguire as a start towards an all-round design of a fresco for the bare lower walls of St. Saviour’s Church in Oxford Street, London. “He had a great and ..View Exhibit
A Painting By James Brindle Known As The Deaf Ribble Artist
This painting of Ribchester Church and Roman Museum was one of the four watercolours donated by Anthony Boyce, our former President, to the Deaf Museum & Archive in June 2016. Who was he? James Brindle was born deaf in Blackburn in August 1892, the son of William and..View Exhibit
The Flowers Painting By Alfred Reginald Thomson, R.A.
His painting Flowers is a rare still-life by A. R. Thomson, who normally painted portraits, and it was done in less than one hour as a Christmas present for his friend and biographer, Arthur Dimmock. It was acquired by the Deaf Museum & Archive in a private sale in September..View Exhibit
A Bust Of Albert Edward, Prince Of Wales, By Joseph Gawen
Joseph Gawen, a deaf sculptor, sculpted this bust of King Edward VII in 1879 when he still was the Prince of Wales. It was erected in St. Saviour’s Church for the Deaf in Oxford Street, London, and was relocated to Acton Deaf Centre in 1923. The inscription on the reverse..View Exhibit
Statue Of The Good Shepherd By Joseph Gawen
Gawen, an eminent deaf sculptor, executed this statue, The Good Shepherd. The statue eventually was in a poor and unkempt condition, having been exposed to rain and pollutants for over seventy years outside St. Saviour’s Church and Centre for the Deaf in Armstrong Road, Acton, in West London. In 1996..View Exhibit
A Plaster Cast Of Abbé Charles-Michel De L’épée By Paul-François Choppin
A famous deaf French sculptor named Paul-François Choppin made this plaster cast of Abbé Charles-Michel de L’Épée. This plaster cast was part of a collection donated to the Deaf Museum & Archive by St. Saviour’s Church for the Deaf in Acton, West London. Who was Abbé de L’Épée? He was..View Exhibit
The Royal School For The Deaf And Dumb Children, Margate, Male Teacher’s Uniform.
The Royal School for the Deaf and Dumb Children, Margate, generously donated to the Deaf Museum and Archive an early 19th/20thC navy blue gentleman teacher’s uniform when the school closed down in December 2015 as its rarity was recognised. Above: The cap with R.S.D.D.C embroidered on the band Is the..View Exhibit
“To A Friend From The Deaf Athletes Of The World” – Presentation Book
This 4th International Games for the Deaf gilt leather-bound book was presented to Sir Noel Curtis-Bennett, K.C.V.O., the chairman of the Games’ Executive Committee, and is a unique book on the Games held in London in 1935. This contains, as is believed, the signatures of all of the participating international..View Exhibit
1907 Photograph Of The Deaf Friends’ Club’s First Dinner
The photograph is of the Deaf Friends’ Club’s first Dinner held on 9th February 1907 at the Cáfe Marguerite, Oxford Street, London. Thirty-six male members attended it. Melinda Napier donated the photograph from the collection of a National Deaf Club memorabilia to the Deaf Museum. What was the Deaf Friends’..View Exhibit
The B.D.D.A’s First Membership And Founders List
This copy is of the original list showing the names of the first subscribers of the British Deaf and Dumb Association taken at its first Congress in Leeds in 1890. This is part of the British Deaf Association’s Collection loaned to the Deaf Museum. What is so significant about this..View Exhibit
Oak Fruit Wooden Bowl By Martin Dutton, The Lizardman
A Martin Dutton Yorkshire Oak Fruit Bowl hand tooled, the centre carved in relief with an armorial shield of three Tudor/Yorkshire style roses above a castle commemorating the 150 years (1829-1979) of The Doncaster School of the Deaf. He signed the bowl by carving a lizard on the outer edge..View Exhibit
The British Deaf Times Magazine Volume 1, Issue 1.
This very first issue of the British Deaf Times as Vol. 1, Issue 1 [bound in a hardback book] was edited by Joseph Hepworth and George Frankland and published in December 1903. Why was The British Deaf Times published? From 1889 to 1903 there was an unbroken line of..View Exhibit
The Burwood Park School Roll Of Honour Board
A large full-length Burwood Park School display noticeboard with gilt lettering showed the list of Head Boys, Captains of Football, Captains of Cricket and Victor Ludorum holders of the title from 1955/56 to 1987/88. It came to the Deaf Museum with a large number of other materials when the school..View Exhibit
A 19thc Pearlware Mug
A rare early 19th century child’s transfer decorated pearlware mug depicting fingerspelling, from the ex-West of England Institution for the Deaf and Dumb, Exeter. It was purchased at an auction in Newton Abbot in October 2015. Why is it unusual? Why was the mug specifically made? It was in..View Exhibit
Ear Trumpets
Ear horns and ear trumpets from the 1880s to the late 1930s pre-date the first hearing aids. They come in various shapes and sizes, some basic and some more advanced. The 1880 brass device shown was quite sophisticated and was capable of magnifying sound. It was purchased from the Red..View Exhibit
The History Of The Life And Adventures Of Mr. Duncan Campbell By Daniel Defoe
Our copy in a gilt leather binding is of a rare book, The History of The Life and Adventures of Mr. Duncan Campbell , which is claimed to have been written by Daniel Defoe and it was published in 1720. It was about a “Gentleman, who, tho’ Deaf and Dumb,..View Exhibit
The 17th Winter Deaflympics Hand-Held Fan
The hand-held fan is one of only five fans made for the Winter Deaflympics 2011 in Slovakia. They were handed out at the 39th Congress of International Committee of Sports in January 2004 in Melbourne, Australia, as part of Slovakia’s bid in 2003 to host the 17th Winter Games. Gordon..View Exhibit
The Happy Mute; Or The Dumb Child’s Appeal Booklet
This pamphlet The Happy Mute; or The Dumb Child’s Appeal was written by Charlotte Elizabeth [Tonna] about her deaf pupil, John Britt. It was first published in Dublin in 1833 and was reprinted as the second edition, revised, in London in the same year so as to achieve wider circulation...View Exhibit
2nd International Games For The Deaf Certificate 1928 For Tennis
The 2nd International Games for the Deaf Tennis Certificate was awarded to Lenore Dawson when she won a Gold Medal, playing in the Ladies Doubles with Elsie Mountain. The Games were held at Amsterdam, Holland, in August 1928. Lenore donated the certificate to Melinda Napier who in turn donated it..View Exhibit
A World War II Civil Defence Helmet
This helmet was worn by Henry Beville MacDonald, a born Deaf Missioner in Truro during WWII when he acted as a firewatcher in Truro Cathedral. It was loaned to the Museum by his granddaughter, Davina Merricks, in 2019. Who was Henry Beville MacDonald? Henry, known as Harry, was born deaf..View Exhibit
Merry Margate: A Reminiscence Of A Sunny Morning’s Ramble By B.T.
This pamphlet was published in 1890 and the author is known as B. T. It is believed that the pamphlet was published to raise funds for the schools – both The Asylum for the Support and Education of Indigent Deaf and Dumb children, Old Kent Road, London and its branch..View Exhibit
National Deaf Club Programme
The programme was for the National Deaf Club’s first Dramatic Variety Entertainment organised by Percy Goodwin and performed on 30th November 1912. The performances included a conjuring display by Ho Ni Lai, a recital of nursery rhymes by a 7-year-old daughter of a member, Mrs. Rich, and comedy sketches, “Old..View Exhibit
Teleprinter For Deaf People
This was one of the first ever telecommunication machines made available for Deaf people, pre-dating all the machines seen in the display cabinets in the Museum. It was very cumbersome and only about 60 were manufactured for use by Deaf people. The teleprinter was once the property of the late..View Exhibit
The Mary Boys-Adams Tureen
A pea-green tureen dated 1991 and bearing Mary Boys-Adams’s personal monogram was presented to her distant cousin Richard J. Goulden who then presented it to the British Deaf History Museum in 2019. Who was Mary Boys-Adams? Mary Boys-Adams worked with various well-known potters such as Bernard Leach and wares from..View Exhibit
Signed Photographs Of Diana, Princess Of Wales
There are two signed photographs of Diana, Princess of Wales, in the Deaf Museum. One is a photograph in colour of Diana wearing a hat and a lacy dress. It is signed Diana November 1983 and the other signed black and white photograph dated 1992 shows the Princess wearing a..View Exhibit
Deaf GB Cricket Team Signed Cricket Bat, Team And Sports Uniforms
David Morris, as the Great Britain Cricket Team Coach in the very first Test matches between Great Britain and Australia, wore the team uniform in 1992. He decided to donate his GB cricket equipment to the Deaf Museum in 2017 as he said “I would rather the BDHS have them..View Exhibit
Essays Written For Milan International Congress Book
The essays written for and the speeches made at the infamous 1880 Congress in Milan, Italy, were included in this book which was part of a bundle of books donated to the Deaf Museum by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (now known as Action on Hearing Loss) Library...View Exhibit
Queen Victoria In A Pamphlet By Henry Ash
The illustration on the front of the pamphlet showing Queen Victoria fingerspelling to a deaf woman was by Henry Ash whose dream was to create, promote and publish booklets on sign language and fingerspelling which he hoped would appeal to the general public. He designed and published this pamphlet. This..View Exhibit
Granada Teletext Television
This teletext television is one of only twenty sets made by Granada in 1973. Andrew Mayers of Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, donated it in 2017. What is Teletext TV? The BBC started the subtitles service in 1974 by providing transcripts of TV soundtracks by displaying text on television programmes at..View Exhibit
Margate Money Boxes
Royal School For Deaf And Dumb Children, Margate Money Boxes Both the money boxes were used by the R.S.D.D.C. to raise funds for the school and were donated by the school when it closed down in 2015. Why were they used? The school relied on charities and donations from wealthy..View Exhibit
Dog Collar
A Royal School For Deaf And Dumb Children, Margate, Dog Collar This unusual dog collar was presented to Mr. H. Jones in June 1913 and the brass inscription reads “Buller”. It was donated by The Royal School for Deaf Children, Margate, along with other artefacts when it closed down in..View Exhibit
A Unique Jumper
The 1960s polo-neck jumper with the manual fingerspelling alphabet is so far the only one known to be in existence. A Level 1 British Sign Language student spotted it in a charity shop in Hastings and presented it to her tutor Davina Merricks who recognised its distinctive style and so..View Exhibit
A Pair Of White Gloves
A pair of white gloves was used in one of the BSL Marches and was donated by Peter Brown who wore them. What makes this pair special? In 1987/88 the British Deaf Association mounted a campaign calling for the official recognition of British Sign Language (BSL) as an accepted language..View Exhibit
The Royal Chairs
The two single chairs were specially made for King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra when they were the Prince of Wales and Princess Alexandra. They attended signed Church services in St. Saviour’s Church, Oxford Street, London. It is not known who made the chairs. The Royal Association for Deaf People..View Exhibit