The hidden history of the smock frock

Abstract

willing to overlook this slight stretching of the concept of ‘a life in 50 objects’, the result is a fascinating and valuable study of Watt’s life, relationships, environments and ideas. In fact, the openness of the editors and contributors to explore ideas and representations of Watt is one of the book’s highlights. Far from ending at the moment of Watt’s death, a number of the essays explore the ongoing impacts of his work throughout the nineteenth century and beyond, from inspiration and patents to monuments and myths. Of particular interest is the final essay on William Bloye’s 1956 bronze statue of Boulton, Watt and Murdoch – known to most in Birmingham as the ‘Golden Boys’. In the context of active public engagement with the question of how historical individuals – and the contexts in which they operated – are made visible in public space and discourse, the concluding essays seem less an ending to the story as much as an invitation to the reader to further reflect on James Watt and his legacy. In different ways, both these books are excellent examples of the value of material culture to historical study, highlighting the depth and significance of collections and the range of stories they can tell. Whilst ‘The Black Country: A History in 100 Objects’ uses diverse objects as a way to widen the stories told about one particular place, ‘The Power to Change the World’ uses them as anchors to the people, places and things that shaped one individual’s life. As well as being valuable explorations of a place and person both so central to the West Midlands’ industrial history, they are also extremely engaging and enjoyable to read. Both books will be much appreciated by anyone with an interest in the industrial, technological and social history of the West Midlands.