Mysteries at the McLean Museum - Model Aircraft

Another visit to the McLean Museum in Greenock (Watt Institution, Kelly Street) and another mystery object.  Obviously a model aircraft shoved in a display case with a variety of objects, none of which have any written sign or information as to what they might be or what their link to the local area is.

Of course I asked at the desk what the object was and its relevance to Greenock.  No one knew anything about it except that it had been put in the display case because it looked interesting!  What kind of aircraft is it?  Who made it?  Why was it donated to the museum?  No answers!

I've written before about the lack of information regarding objects on display at the McLean Museum.  Nothing has changed - many of the objects I have previously written about are still in cases without any written details.

No information in display case about these objects, but you can read about them here.

Whenever I go anywhere now I always visit local museums.  I thought perhaps that this lack of information was modern museum practice - but that does not seem to be the case in other places ... just Greenock.

It is very frustrating to be in such a wonderful building, surrounded by so many fascinating and interesting objects and not have a clue as to their significance to Inverclyde's wonderful history and heritage.

Mysteries at the McLean Museum - What is it?

Here's another Mystery from the McLean Museum in Greenock.  (Part of the Watt Institution, Kelly Street).  Dumped in a case beside Houdin's Clock is this object.  Looks wooden and very decorative, but what on earth is it?  The Museum have not provided a card to say exactly what it is (or anything else in the display).  If you don't know what you are looking at, searching the online Museum catalogue becomes very difficult!

However, as I was looking for information online about another object in the display case, I accidentally came across the information I was looking for.  Does the strange object look a bit familiar now?

It is actually a ceremonial carved wooden mallet presented to Provost Dougald Campbell when he laid the foundation stone of the Municipal Buildings On 6 August 1881.  That took a lot of searching!

This other strange item - had no idea what it was till I got home and was able to enlarge my photographs to read the inscription on it.  (Psychic powers seriously lacking on last week's visit to the McLean!)  It is a ceremonial level and plummet also presented to Provost Dougald Campbell on the 6 August 1881 at the laying of the foundation stone of the Municipal Buildings!  Who knew?  (Well we would have if the exhibit had been labelled.)

In a totally different display case are two other presentation items associated with that auspicious day in Greenock's history.  (Nothing in this display case is labelled and there is no indication as to what anything is.)

These are the ceremonial trowels presented to Provost Campbell on the same day.  One commemorates the laying of the foundation stone at the Municipal Buildings, the other was presented to the Provost at the laying of the foundation stone of the James Watt Dock on the same day.

Wouldn't they tell a wonderful story if they were placed together in the one case with photographs of the Municipal Buildings and the James Watt Dock.  I am sure the Museum has photographs of the ceremonials at the laying of the foundation stones in both places.  6 August 1881 was a big day in Greenock's history and there were lots of processions and celebrations throughout the town. 

The Museum obviously think that these items are worth exhibiting - so why not have them in the same case?  Giving explanations of their origin would perhaps give overseas visitors to the Museum a sense of the pride that Greenockians had (and still have) in their town.  I believe it would also highlight the beautiful Municipal Buildings and Victoria Tower which are such a part of Greenock's skyline.  The James Watt Dock, a marvel of engineering in its day, can also be visited and is now a Marina.  Why not tell their stories?

There are lots of other "Mysteries at the McLean Museum" on this blog.  Just put the word McLean in the search box on the right and you should find them!

Mysteries at the McLean Museum - Sugar Connections?

You will need all your psychic abilities to get to the root of this week's Mystery at the McLean!  Another display cabinet at the McLean Museum in Greenock (part of the Watt Institution, Kelly Street) holds some (what seems to me) random objects.  Here's the object that caught my attention - in the photograph below.  

Obviously a set of overalls with "JW" embroidered on the front.  What on earth does this stand for?  If we are not possessed of psychic powers, then what are us lowly mortals visiting the museum supposed to make of this display?  

As an old Greenockian, I assumed that the "JW" refers to Walkers - once upon a time important sugar refiners in the town.  A quick check at the online collections site (Inverclyde Council website) confirms that this is indeed a uniform jacket dated 1965-1970 from John Walker & Co, sugar refiners, Greenock. (The National Library of Scotland have two wonderful old films from the 1960s showing sugar being processed in Greenock.  Check them out here.)

The only notice in the entire case is the same "Remembering Sugaropolis" label from another case containing a wooden spoon.  The notice is quite small and very difficult to read.  For those who are not local, Sugaropolis was the name given to Greenock when it was a major sugar refining centre in Britain.  There were some other items which perhaps had a more obvious sugar connection - some jars of samples of sugar, a machete and a sugar sack. 

So, if this is a case referring to Greenock's sugar refining heritage, what do the other objects inform us about the sugar industry? The piece of paper on top of the Walkers uniform - what is that?  An employment record of someone who worked at Walkers, perhaps?  No!  It is a document dated 1798 stating that Captain Andrew Ramsay of the ship Union of Greenock could trade between Great Britain, North America, West Indies and Europe.  Just about 200 years before the uniform on which it rests!  An amazing piece of local history in its own right, but what has it got to do with the overalls or sugar?  No explanation is given.

Then, in the same case, are these bottles - what have they got to do with sugar?  Well, there is no notice as to what they might be, but on zooming in on my photograph I could make out the word "Hoytema & Co".  A quick check on Google led me to discover that they were late 18th century Dutch gin bottles found in Nigeria.  So, the connection to Greenock's sugar trade is?  Obvious ... eh, isn't it??

What about this lovely stoneware jar in the display case.  It is labelled "MacSymon Company Ltd" - a grocery shop owner in Greenock in 1880 and later Liverpool.  His shops presumably sold sugar - perhaps that's the connection?  Was it stored in jars like this?

Why is nothing labelled in this collection of what seems to me, random artifacts?  If they are connected, why is there no information as to how?  Sadly, I discovered that I had photographed the exact same display in September 2021 - nothing had changed and no information cards had been added in the intervening 8 months.

It won't be long till cruise ships arriving at Greenock bring lots of visitors to the area.  Many will seek out the museum expecting to learn about local history.  As a Greenockian, I hope they will visit the Watt Institution because the staff are lovely, the building is amazing and there is a fabulous art collection.  Whether they will be any the wiser as to Greenock's wonderful history and heritage is very much in question as long as the museum continues to randomly display objects without any explanation as to their meaning or importance. 

Check out other Mysteries at the McLean - Children of Greenock  - Wooden Spoon - Magician's Clock - Spanish Armada Relic - click on links.