Review: Matthew Boulton exhibition at Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery, UK
“This man started a global revolution,” so says the flyer for Matthew Boulton: Selling What All the World Desires. The exhibition is the centerpiece of the Bicentenary celebrations. Its title is taken from a letter Boulton wrote to James Boswell in 1776 in which he declared: “I sell here, Sir, what all the world desires to have - POWER!” Details of the year-long festival celebrating the life, work and legacy of the pioneering industrialist are listed below.
Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) is one of Birmingham’s most illustrious sons and arguably the one who put the city on the map. A friend of King George III and Benjamin Franklin, Boulton’s entrepreneurial vision pushed the technological boundaries of his time leading directly to Britain occupying centre-stage as the world’s first industrial nation.
There is little shame in not knowing of Boulton until now. Indeed this anniversary has provided the city of Birmingham with the opportunity to raise Boulton’s profile regionally, nationally and internationally. Because despite being a colossal figure during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the twentieth century has seen Boulton’s name largely overshadowed by that of his business partner, James Watt.
The start of the great Boulton and Watt business came in 1775 when Boulton, recognizing the potential in James Watt’s development work on the steam engine, offered the Scottish engineer a partnership at Soho Manufactory – one of the wonders of late eighteenth century Britain. The duo’s combined intelligence and investment was unmatched. Boulton & Watt engines became the driving force behind much of the emergent Industrial Revolution, the world over.
In 1788, Boulton established his Soho Mint, producing high-quality coins and medals. Eventually he was awarded the contract to produce the British copper coinage, and between 1797-1799 alone, c.45 million pennies, two-penny pieces and halfpennies were produced at the Soho Mint. Boulton & Watt also re-equipped mints for the East India Company.
In recognition, Boulton and Watt are to be the new faces of the Bank of England’s redesigned £50 banknotes. Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, made the announcement when he opened the exhibition at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
The extensive collection of personal papers on display is enough to warrant a visit. But there is more. The exhibition has thrown up some rarities from the archive. There is an invitation to the dinner held in Birmingham on July 14 1791 in honor of the French Revolution and a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Lunar Society member Dr William Small describing the opening exchanges of the American War of Independence.
The geographical and sidereal clocks, arguably the finest objects made at Soho, are just two further gems exhibited. Not since 1772 have they been shown together. Away from the Soho Manufactory, Boulton was a founding member of the Lunar Society, a group of intellectuals and inventors who met regularly at his home at Soho House. The exhibition also includes Joseph Wright’s painting An Experiment on a bird in the Air Pump, on loan from the National Gallery, London.
Matthew Boulton: Selling What All the World Desires is free and runs until September 27.
• Cast in a New Light, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter / Until 5 Sept. A contemporary response by silversmith Shona Marsh, the stunning silver candelabrum was the winning design for the Matthew Boulton Bicentenary Commemorative commission launched by the Birmingham Assay Office
• 200 Years in the Making: celebrating Boulton, Soho House / Until 1 Nov. In conjunction with Sutton Coldfield and Matthew Boulton Colleges this exhibition includes 3D designs and models by BTEC national diploma students inspired by collections at Soho House
• Made in Birmingham, Centenary Square / 20 June – 30 August. This photographic exhibition from Birmingham Library and Archives Services looks at the Exhibition of Local Manufactures and Natural History which was held at the Bingley Hall in 1886
• The Art of Making Money, Barber Institute of Fine Arts at Birmingham University / Until 15 May 2010. This exhibition of coins looks at production techniques in use at the Soho Mint, and the local, national and international dimensions of the Mint’s activities
Matthew Boulton (1728-1809) is one of Birmingham’s most illustrious sons and arguably the one who put the city on the map. A friend of King George III and Benjamin Franklin, Boulton’s entrepreneurial vision pushed the technological boundaries of his time leading directly to Britain occupying centre-stage as the world’s first industrial nation.
There is little shame in not knowing of Boulton until now. Indeed this anniversary has provided the city of Birmingham with the opportunity to raise Boulton’s profile regionally, nationally and internationally. Because despite being a colossal figure during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the twentieth century has seen Boulton’s name largely overshadowed by that of his business partner, James Watt.
The start of the great Boulton and Watt business came in 1775 when Boulton, recognizing the potential in James Watt’s development work on the steam engine, offered the Scottish engineer a partnership at Soho Manufactory – one of the wonders of late eighteenth century Britain. The duo’s combined intelligence and investment was unmatched. Boulton & Watt engines became the driving force behind much of the emergent Industrial Revolution, the world over.
In 1788, Boulton established his Soho Mint, producing high-quality coins and medals. Eventually he was awarded the contract to produce the British copper coinage, and between 1797-1799 alone, c.45 million pennies, two-penny pieces and halfpennies were produced at the Soho Mint. Boulton & Watt also re-equipped mints for the East India Company.
In recognition, Boulton and Watt are to be the new faces of the Bank of England’s redesigned £50 banknotes. Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England, made the announcement when he opened the exhibition at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.
The extensive collection of personal papers on display is enough to warrant a visit. But there is more. The exhibition has thrown up some rarities from the archive. There is an invitation to the dinner held in Birmingham on July 14 1791 in honor of the French Revolution and a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Lunar Society member Dr William Small describing the opening exchanges of the American War of Independence.
The geographical and sidereal clocks, arguably the finest objects made at Soho, are just two further gems exhibited. Not since 1772 have they been shown together. Away from the Soho Manufactory, Boulton was a founding member of the Lunar Society, a group of intellectuals and inventors who met regularly at his home at Soho House. The exhibition also includes Joseph Wright’s painting An Experiment on a bird in the Air Pump, on loan from the National Gallery, London.
Matthew Boulton: Selling What All the World Desires is free and runs until September 27.
• Cast in a New Light, Museum of the Jewellery Quarter / Until 5 Sept. A contemporary response by silversmith Shona Marsh, the stunning silver candelabrum was the winning design for the Matthew Boulton Bicentenary Commemorative commission launched by the Birmingham Assay Office
• 200 Years in the Making: celebrating Boulton, Soho House / Until 1 Nov. In conjunction with Sutton Coldfield and Matthew Boulton Colleges this exhibition includes 3D designs and models by BTEC national diploma students inspired by collections at Soho House
• Made in Birmingham, Centenary Square / 20 June – 30 August. This photographic exhibition from Birmingham Library and Archives Services looks at the Exhibition of Local Manufactures and Natural History which was held at the Bingley Hall in 1886
• The Art of Making Money, Barber Institute of Fine Arts at Birmingham University / Until 15 May 2010. This exhibition of coins looks at production techniques in use at the Soho Mint, and the local, national and international dimensions of the Mint’s activities