Images from VADS have been used in a series of events marking the 100th anniversary of the Women’s Suffrage Procession along Princes Street in Edinburgh.  The culmination of this celebration will be a re-enactment of the march through the streets of the city on 10th October 2009.

Photographic Postcard Of Women With Edinburgh Banner from Mary Lowndes Album, 1908 © Public domain. Right of reproduction held by London Metropolitan University

The Gude Cause Project has used images of suffrage banners on VADS in an exhibition at the launch of the project, which was held at the Scottish Parliament in October 2008.  The images have also been used at various events in different parts of Edinburgh and Glasgow where members of the Gude Cause committee have spoken to local community groups about the project.

North Berwick Banner Design, 1907-1922 © Public domain. Right of reproduction held by London Metropolitan University

The suffrage banner collection available on VADS is from the Women’s Library at London Metropolitan University. The Library houses an important collection of early twentieth century suffrage banners, many designed and created by the artist based suffrage organisations the Artist’s Suffrage League and the Suffrage Atelier. The Library’s entire collection of suffrage banners, along with associated artwork, has been digitised and is available for research on VADS’ searchable database.

The Gude Cause project is being organised by the Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre. For more information, see: http://www.gudecause.org.uk

Illustrations from the Woolmark Company Archive on VADS will be featured in a forthcoming book Sharp Suits by fashion journalist Eric Musgrave, which examines the fascinating history of the evolution of the modern suit from the days of 19th century bespoke to the mass industrialisation of the early part of the 20th century.

Two suits by Hector Powe, 1964 © London College of Fashion/The Woolmark Company

The International Wool Secretariat, now The Woolmark Company, was established in 1937 to undertake research and the global promotion of wool. To that end, they built up a large library of promotional photographs and accompanying press releases which they generously donated to the London College of Fashion. The two thousand or so black and white photographs date from the 1940′s through to the early 1980′s and capture both the fashion of the time and the style of photography.

Cricketeer creates for the man about town a single breasted suit of blue merino wool, 1970 © London College of Fashion/The Woolmark Company

Man-on -the-move wears crisp credentials, suit by Hart Schaffner & Marx, 1964 © London College of Fashion/The Woolmark Company

Images from the Woolmark Company Archive and the London College of Fashion College Archive will be used this year in a number of publications, including Developing a Collection written by Elinor and Colin Renfrew, and a publication by James Sherwood on bespoke tailoring, to be published by Thames and Hudson.

Wheelwright © Bodleian Library, University of Oxford: John Johnson Collection

The VADS website has been used in research this month for the History e-Learning Project led by Kingston University in partnership with The London Grid for Learning. The project is developing a history online learning resource for primary schools. Pupils will be able to reinforce curriculum requirements by looking at the ‘Victorians’ and comparing how they lived then to how we live now.

The project has chosen this image to use as a colourful illustration of a wheelwright, for 7-11 year olds, because the vast majority of them will not have come into contact with anyone working in this profession. Dr Heidi Topman, researcher for the Project said, “I chose this image because it is one of the few good quality images of a wheelwright, which I’ve managed to locate. The cartoon like, colourful nature, of the picture will also appeal to children.”

The Paper Patterns Collection on VADS was recently used by MA Fashion Curation students at London College of Fashion for Occupying Spaces: The White Dress Project, exhibited at the Carnaby Gallery.  The collection was used to source a pattern which was then reproduced to make 12 identical white dresses, which were each displayed in different ways.  The intention of the project was to reveal how context and meaning are inextricably entwined.

Simplicity Pattern 1969. © London College of Fashion

The project team says “This particular design was selected as, to our eyes, it resonated with 1960s Carnaby Street fashion, whilst its very neutrality could simultaneously be situated within international contexts. Although archival records document the pattern as being in poor condition, some 40 years later it still served its original function. The pattern envelope features five illustrations indicating how this one design can achieve five – of possibly endless – distinctive ‘looks’ and could serve as a metaphor for the curatorial dilemma.”

The VADS website has been used in research for a new exhibition Super Contemporary which opened at the Design Museum in London last week.  Super Contemporary celebrates the creative magnetism of London and its enduring reputation as a beacon of design, and showcases 12 new commissions from designers such as Paul Smith.

The exhibition also includes a timeline of London’s design history from the 1960s to the present day, charting the city’s defining creative moments in architecture, fashion, product design and communication. It features a number of design classics available on the VADS site, including work from the Tom Eckersley Collection held at University of the Arts London.

Concorde poster by Tom Eckersley, 1976. © BAA. The design was reproduced on a wall at Heathrow Central Airport.

Kenneth Grange’s Brownie Vecta has also been included as an innovative approach to camera design – its vertical format was, and still is, unusual in its approach. Grange noticed that most amateur photography tended to be of people rather than landscapes, and he felt that the vertical format was better suited for portraiture.

Brownie Vecta’ camera made by Kodak Ltd. and designed in consultation with Kenneth Grange © Design Council Slide Collection

Other notable products of the era featured in the exhibition include Robin Day’s polypropylene chair, which is one of the very few chairs still in production after over 40 years, and Peter Murdoch’s fibreboard chair.

The exhibition runs until 4 October 2009 at the Design Museum in London.

Polypropylene chair, Hille International, designed by Robin Day © Frederick Parker Foundation

‘Those Things’ childrens table, chair and stool in fibreboard, designed by Peter Murdoch © Design Council Slide Collection

The VADS image collections have been contributed to the service by a number of expert curators, museum managers, librarians, and archivists based at universities and arts institutions across the UK. These expert curators have begun sharing some of the fruits of their research on the VADS blog. Curators’ Choice is a new feature on the blog which will provide fascinating insights into the history and context of items from the VADS collections.

In conjunction with the Curators’ Choice, VADS will be launching ‘Your Pick’, which will showcase images that you are using in research, publications, exhibitions, or other projects.   We would like to hear from you about the ways in which you are using the VADS site – tell us at info@vads.ac.uk or 01252 892723.