Mond family grave - Kassel
So far, my travels have taken me to archives in (or associated with) Kassel, Munich, the Imperial War Museum, the Cenotaph, Stonehenge and the National Gallery and of course @catalystarchives.bsky.social 2/4
It's probably the only technical drawing of a 1980 dry cleaning shop you will see today! #iciarchives
A few photos capturing Runcorn Town Hall taken at night in 1996 - just naturally showing up in our #westonpointstudios photographic archive!
Never ceases to amaze me what treasures will emerge from the next envelope as we plough through our #westonpointstudios collection. A very pleasing slide of #liverpoolcorporationwaterworks Beeston Moss Valve House - Walksmans Cottage from 1888
#ThrowbackThursday Photograph of Victoria Road, Widnes looking towards Widnes Central Station. The photograph was taken from the tower of St Paul's Church in about 1905. Looks a bit like a Lowry!
From the Bob Martindale collection
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If you wish to know in detail the hairstyles of the 1929 girl about town then this is the article for you! More petrol nonsense and a recipe for orange cake - par for the course :)
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'The Big Photo Sort'. All photo negatives from our recent rescue of the Weston Point Studios. Since then 50k have already been processed and 18k are scanned (and they weren't even part of this)!
Thank you to Becka, Erin, Hannah, Heather, Megan, Pam, Pat, Sandra and Tiffany who all worked so hard.
Love every mention of the #transporterbridge
'VERA' has been at it again. And her identity is being teased in this Christmas edition. More on the beauty contest next week when we find out who won the holiday to Switzerland! Exciting stuff!
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This time a mention of actress Gladys Cooper that I just happened to have a postcard of! I wondered if she might be behind the mysterious 'Vera'. However looking at her career she'd have been too busy treading the boards :)
Amazing. [searches own archives for MS Gretna] :)
Vera strikes again! Advice column from 1928 for the modern woman #iciarchives
'VERA' is up to Sep 1928 ... First and Second prizes in the beauty competition are a weeks holiday in Switzerland. ICI don't mess about!
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We've started 2026 on an excellent note with these two lovely donations!
Long Service Medal with watch and chain belonging to H Forster and Illuminated Long Service Certificate for 49 years' service awarded to William Allman
We look forward to finding out more about them!
Obviously these things fall in and out of favour, there was the Second World War etc. But it's still nicely completed for the following years: 1905-09; 1957-68; 1972-84; 1990-95 photo of the Weston Point team in 1949 as they seemed to win the most!
Football shield mystery!
The Weston Point & District Schoolboys Competition Shield with 32 inscriptions was presented by Sir John Brunner in 1906 and the latest inscription is 1995-6. All 32 are inscribed but how did the maths work out so well given there are 90 years between first and last?!
Congratulations to Jonathan Davies on his CBE in the New Years Honours 2025.
Obviously best known for appearing in one of the 'Two Wonders of Widnes' advertising campaign at our Museum in 1989. Am pleased to say the large, framed poster still adorns our museum walls!
Take me back to 1990. I'm not sure when people think of a chemical industry museum that photos of #vladivarvodka would immediately spring to mind. ICI registered the product #perspex (seen here impersonating an ice mountain) in the 1930s following it's discovery by two of its chemists. Cheers!
Our archives are a window on the past …
#ThrowbackThursday Photograph of West Bank Dock in about 1965. The boat entering the dock is the 'Donau', all vessels entering the dock on flood tide had to enter stern first.
Great to see some of the original features in the theatre (this part of the building dates back to the early 1900s), which are still visible and we must be one of the greenest organisations as we still have those tables in the last photo!
Here are some photos taken by ICI Weston Point Studios but they are of an Open Day at the Catalyst in 1993.
When worlds collide! One of the joys of rescuing several hundred thousand negatives is not knowing what will turn up next. Not for the first time do we see the long association that chemical firms have had with our museum since its inception.
Hot off the press - the latest on ICI Weston Point Studios rescue :)
