Common Printed Things: Intersections of Art and Industry in the Coalbrookdale Collection, 1850-1930

This project investigates the Coalbrookdale Collection of illustrated Victorian trade catalogues at the Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust in Shropshire, as well as the printing blocks which were used to print them. It aims to illuminate a previously under-researched period of the Coalbrookdale Company, who played a pivotal role in the Industrial Revolution in Britain before focusing their business on decorative ironware during the late nineteenth century. The trade catalogues feature hundreds of ornate illustrations of decorative ironware products sold by the Coalbrookdale Company, from small items for the home to large-scale civic items like fountains, railings, and bandstands. Research focuses on the relationship between art and industry, highlighting the role of designers, engravers, ironworkers, and printers who contributed to the production of the trade catalogues, and demonstrating how printed materials were used to promote ironware across the globe at a time when 'marketing' was a developing field. The project is a Collaborative Doctoral Award (CDA), meaning that public engagement work with the Ironbridge Gorge Museums Trust is a key outcome of the project. This will involve events, demonstration activity, and a display within the Museum of Iron.