The Numismatic Bibliomania Society

PREV ARTICLE       NEXT ARTICLE       FULL ISSUE       PREV FULL ISSUE      

V17 2014 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

The E-Sylum: Volume 17, Number 17, April 20, 2014, Article 21

EXHIBIT: CURIOSITIES FROM THE BANK OF ENGLAND VAULTS

One of my favorite numismatic museums is the Bank of England Museum in London. This article reviews the Museum's latest exhibit of miscellaneous interesting items from its collections. -Editor

Bank of England_nightingale_obverse_pasteup
Pasteup of Nightingale £10 note

The Bank of England Museum's latest exhibition offers a look at some fascinating items from its archives, including bank note test prints and sketches by designer Harry Ecclestone.

Curiosities from the Vaults: A Bank Miscellany is open until July 11 and features items collected by the bank since it was founded in 1694. Alongside paintings, rare ceramics and an 18th century sculpture of its emblem are a series of illustrations and tests for notes created by Ecclestone, who was the bank's first in-house designer.

Ecclestone worked for the bank for 25 years and was responsible for designing the 'D' series of notes, issued in 1970. A president of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, he was awarded an OBE for his services in 1979, and he died in 2010.

Other items in the collection include high value notes signed by Nelson Mandela and George Eliot, a ballot box designed by architect John Soane and a leather trunk used for 'carrying gold across deserts', which is thought to have belonged to army officer TE Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia). Lawrence was offered a job by the bank in 1934, a record of which is also on display.

Bank of England maclise_britannia_5_note_0
Britannia £5 note designed by Irish artist Daniel Maclise

To read the complete article, see: The art of bank note design (www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2014/april/bank-of-england-museum)

Wayne Homren, Editor

Google
 
NBS (coinbooks.org) Web

The Numismatic Bibliomania Society is a non-profit organization promoting numismatic literature. See our web site at coinbooks.org.

To submit items for publication in The E-Sylum, write to the Editor at this address: whomren@gmail.com

To subscribe go to: https://my.binhost.com/lists/listinfo/esylum

PREV ARTICLE       NEXT ARTICLE       FULL ISSUE       PREV FULL ISSUE      

V17 2014 INDEX       E-SYLUM ARCHIVE

Copyright © 1998 - 2020 The Numismatic Bibliomania Society (NBS)
All Rights Reserved.

NBS Home Page
Contact the NBS webmaster
coin