The home in 50 objects This series explores objects that have defined our domestic world and are part of the collection of the Museum of the Home in London © Copyright Geffrye Museum, London The home in 50 objects #37: Cribbage boardCould this ‘old person’s game’ be making a comeback as a lockdown leisure activity? The home in 50 objects #36: Brexit WareThe unfolding drama was recorded on household crockery, following in the centuries-old tradition of political pottery The home in 50 objects #35: Nordic teak wall unitThe clean lines of Finmar furniture broke with the drabness of the UK’s postwar years The home in 50 objects #34: posset pot (1695)Posset, a sweet, milky cocktail, was served at celebrations in a purpose-built vessel The home in 50 objects #33: King James BibleIt became the most widely published text in English and is selling well in these pandemic times The home in 50 objects #32: salt cellar (c1580)With salt once a scarce and valuable commodity, it needed something grand to sit in More from this Series The home in 50 objects #31: Murphy colour TV (1973/74)The Queen’s coronation of 1953 spurred many people into acquiring a television The home in 50 objects #30: Art Nouveau writing bureau (c1900)This English piece is a restrained example of Art Nouveau, which was more flamboyant and glamorous in Europe The home in 50 objects #29: ‘Aristotle’s Masterpiece’First published in 1684, the bestselling pregnancy and childbirth manual contains ‘the secrets of nature in the generation of man’ The home in 50 objects #28: the showerOn arrival in Britain it was regarded as an American mod-con but, in fact, had origins in 19th-century London The home in 50 objects #27: ‘Chinese Girl’ (Vladimir Tretchikoff, 1952)Both loved and loathed, this is believed to be the best-selling print of the 20th century The home in 50 objects #26: the Ercol chairIt emerged from a time of constrained construction into an era of simpler and lighter Modernist design The home in 50 objects #25: Wedgwood vase (1933)How the father of English potters created a ‘Georgian superbrand’ The home in 50 objects #24: the gramophone (HMV, about 1930)With its portable case, this provided an early form of recorded music on the move The home in 50 objects #23: mirror with walnut frame (England, 1690-1710)Mirrors are handy for checking your finery is in order — and are an essential design fix The home in 50 objects #22: Utility furniture permit (1948)The furniture-buying scheme was part of the wartime rationing of many goods The home in 50 objects #21: French cotton curtains (c1958-1962)Was this maximalist design an attempt to embrace the colour of the Swinging Sixties — or an escape from it? The home in 50 objects #20: Murphy radio, model A30CRadio’s heyday in UK life ran from King George V’s Christmas message in 1932 to the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II The home in 50 objects #19: ‘mashrabiya’ screen (1885-1890)For the Victorian householder, this screen could evoke the mysticism, romance and ‘otherness’ of the east The home in 50 objects #18: the gasolierIts flickering, yellowish light was not popular with everyone, but it certainly lent itself to a life lived in the shadows The home in 50 objects #17: Juicy Salif lemon squeezer Philippe Starck’s polished aluminium artefact remains as controversial today as when it was created for Alessi in 1990 The home in 50 objects #16: the telephoneAlexander Graham Bell patented his telephone in 1876 but it was only about a century later that most British households had their own The home in 50 objects #15: cast-iron coal fireplace (1700-1750)The coal fire was a high-maintenance affair engrained in the very fabric of British society The home in 50 objects #14: peacock feather fan with cane handle (c1880-1900) These dazzling plumes were an essential element of the Aesthetes’ ‘house beautiful’ The home in 50 objects #13: ‘Front Room, Islington High Street’, oil on canvas, by Frank Stanton (1968) The painting showing the front room of the artist’s flat in Islington hints at the gentrification to come The home in 50 objects #12: artichoke custard pot (c1780s-1790s)We all love a good custard — but why the artichoke shape? The home in 50 objects #11: the Isokon stoolAn emblem of the Modernist movement that thrived in 1930s Britain The home in 50 objects #10: ‘Hints on Household Taste’ by Charles Locke Eastlake (1868)This tome by a high priest of Victorian tastemaking offers advice on everything from crockery to clothing The home in 50 objects #9: Videosphere television by JVC, c1970Released the year after the Apollo 11 moon landing, this futuristic design was meant to appeal to a public in thrall to the space race The home in 50 objects #8: ‘Scoop’ chair by Terence ConranWrapped in thick, wide-ribbed corduroy, this sculptural piece was formed from a solid block of upholstery foam ‘scooped’ out to form a seat The home in 50 objects #7: Lantern clock, 1660sThe clock — one of the earliest types of domestic timekeeping devices — would be placed high on a wall so that the weights would hang down, driving the mechanism The home in 50 objects #6: 1967 Heirloom mug by John ClappisonThe design was created using an innovative screen-printed relief method for Yorkshire company Hornsea Pottery The home in 50 objects #5: portrait of Francis Brewster and his familyIt is thought the oil painting by Thomas Bardwell (1736) was made following an outbreak of smallpox The home in 50 objects #4: Laura Ashley Home Decoration catalogue This 1988 edition would have offered hours of fanciful perusal for aficionados of florals, flounces and chintz The home in 50 objects #3: the taxidermy tableauThe Victorians were fascinated with the natural world — and sought to bring it into their homes The home in 50 objects: #2: the audio cassette holderThe Cass Bar model, reminiscent of a Brutalist-era car park — and the epitome of groovy The home in 50 objects #1: the HooverThe household appliance that would literally sweep the world
