New Acquisitions
The guiding principle in the acquisition of material by the Museum has always been that the objects should have been made or used in the Black Country. There is no official geographical boundary for the area known as the Black Country but for the purposes of collecting it is taken to include the boroughs of Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton. No cut-off date has ever been specified, but the Museum has tended to avoid collecting material that dates to a period later that the 1950s.
A comprehensive and active collecting policy is carried out with emphasis being concentrated on areas under-represented at present. You can find details of this policy below.
Collection Policy.
The Black Country Living Museum acquires material by donation or purchase, relating to the social and industrial history of the region. The area known as the Black Country has no officially defined boundary, but for the purposes of collecting will be taken to include the boroughs of Walsall, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Dudley.
The Museum is aware of the collecting policies of the Museum and Archive Services for Walsall, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Dudley and co-operates with services in the acquisition of material from the Black Country.
The Museum is not able to accept every item that is offered for the collections. The Museum will not collect any items that it can not adequately store or care for.
The decision to accept an item for the Museum can only be made by a member of curatorial staff or the Museum Director. The guidelines set out below should be followed when considering the offer of a donation.
Guidelines for collecting.
The Museum is particularly interested in collecting examples of products made in the Black Country. This includes contemporary material as well as historical items. However, items may be refused that duplicate identical items in better condition already held by the Museum, or in somecases, where good examples of the product are known to be held by other institutions.
- The Museum is actively seeking material relating to Black Country activities that are under-represented in the existing collections. This material will be identified through a collections research programme.
- The Museum will acquire material that has a known history of use within the Black Country, provided that history illustrates an aspect of the region's distinctive character.
- Material will not generally be accepted that is in poor condition and likely to deteriorate further.
- Material will not be accepted that duplicates items already held in the collections, unless the material has a significant Black Country provenance.
- Material will not generally be accepted if it is subject to any restrictive covenant or special conditions.
- Personal and civic documents are commonly referred to the appropriate regional archive centre. However the Museum does collect company catalogues, ephemera, and documents with a link to material already in the collections.
- Fine Art and Decorative Art (including fine costume) are referred to the appropriate regional museum service. Paintings and drawings of local industrial scenes will be considered by the Black Country Living Museum.
- The Museum will collect photographs that have been identified as being of Black Country scenes or Black Country people.
- The Museum will collect material of any date, provided it conforms to the collecting policy guidelines.
How do I make a donation?
We are always grateful to receive offers of donation to the museum. If you would like to offer something for our collection, please ring the enquiries number to speak to a member of the curatorial team, or get in touch by letter or email (info@bclm.co.uk). All offers are considered in line with our collecting policy. Please do speak to us before bringing objects to the museum – we cannot accept every offer, and admissions staff may be overwhelmed at busy times.
What happens when I make a donation?
If your offer is accepted, we will ask you to fill out and sign a Museum Object Entry Form. This gives us a chance to record background information about the object, and you can keep a copy of the form as a receipt. Some objects are placed in our permanent collection for future exhibition or research. Other items may be placed in our living history displays instead.
How do I loan an object to the museum?
We can only accept loans on a fixed term, renewable basis, and only for a specific use. If you have an object which you would like to place on loan with us, please phone the enquiries line to talk to a member of the curatorial team.
How do I borrow an object from the museum?
For security reasons, we can only lend objects to other museums or similar institutions. Please phone the enquiries line to speak to a member of the curatorial team.
