The Merrin Collection

The collection

Every object, with its label.

Twenty-four of the four thousand are online so far, photographed the same way on the same grey paper. Choose a gallery, a material or a decade, or search for a thing.

Online: 24 objects, with more each month
In the galleries: 1,180 objects in four rooms
In store: About 2,900: ask to see one
In the archive: Letters, ledgers, photographs

24 objects

Dinner plate, riveted
Unknown pottery, Staffordshire, about 1900Made to Mend, in the long caseCost new: threepence; the mend, a penny
Inkwell and dip pen
Unknown glassworks, about 1915The schoolroom, on the teacher’s tableCost new: fourpence
School satchel
Unknown saddler, Sheffield, 1928The schoolroom, on the peg by the doorCost new: four shillings
Table forks, worn through
Merrin & Sons, Tenter Lane, 1924The workshop, on the packing tableCost new: nine shillings the dozen
Brown teapot, mended lid
Unknown pottery, Staffordshire, about 1935Made to Mend, in the long caseCost new: tenpence
Copper jam pan
Unknown coppersmith, about 1890The kitchen, on the rangeCost new: eleven shillings
Flat iron
Unknown foundry, about 1900The kitchen, by the rangeCost new: ninepence
Hand sewing machine
Unknown maker, about 1905The workshop, by the windowCost new: four pounds ten, on weekly payments
Pocket knife, bone handle
Merrin & Sons, Tenter Lane, about 1900The workshop, on the grinders’ benchCost new: a shilling (staff price, fourpence)
Cobbler’s last
Unknown foundry, about 1910Made to Mend, beside the bootsCost new: two shillings
Writing slate
Unknown maker, about 1910The schoolroom, on a desk in the front rowCost new: a penny
Hand brace
Unknown maker, Sheffield, about 1920The workshop, on the wall rackCost new: seven and six
Sewing tin
The family, 1920s onwardsMade to Mend, at the end of the caseCost new: a biscuit tin, reused
Water jug, blue rim
Unknown enamel works, probably Wolverhampton, about 1925The kitchen, on the dresserCost new: one and threepence
Bread knife
Merrin & Sons, Tenter Lane, 1931The kitchen, by the bread crockCost new: one and sixpence
Dolly pegs and their bag
Pegs bought from a hawker; the bag sewn by Ada, 1930sThe street, in the back yardCost new: a penny for a dozen
Garden shears
Unknown maker, Sheffield, about 1930In store, ask to see itCost new: five shillings
Pressed glass sugar bowl
Unknown glassworks, Gateshead, about 1935The kitchen, on the tableCost new: sixpence
Work apron, patched
Sewn by Ada Merrin, 1930s to 1960sMade to Mend, folded at the end of the caseCost new: one and eleven
Work boots, resoled
Unknown bootmaker; repairs by the family, about 1935Made to Mend, beside the lastCost new: twelve shillings
Darned sock on a mushroom
Ada Merrin, 1940sMade to Mend, in the long caseCost new: the mushroom: fourpence
Wooden spoon, worn to an angle
Probably home made, about 1940The kitchen, in the jar by the rangeCost new: nothing
Biscuit tin with roses
Unknown tin printer, about 1950The kitchen, in the second drawerCost new: came full of biscuits
Donkey stone
Unknown quarry works, Manchester, about 1950The street, on the front stepCost new: two for a jam jar, from the rag man