From matchboxes to teapots, stamps to steam trains – we’re a nation of collectors. And that’s being celebrated in a new offering, Collection, from the artist behind the popular ‘Lost Margate’ exhibition and Margate history walks.
Collection will bring together old cameras, vintage signs, London Underground maps, envelopes with interesting stamps, hundreds of badges, 7″ single sleeves, and paper bags. There will be old postcards, Margate tourist guides from the 20th century, and studio pottery from Broadstairs.
Dan Thompson’s work as an artist, writer and ‘unreliable historian’ involves research and archives, and often some degree of collection for each project. He worked for a number of years with stories of the Isle of Thanet’s print industry, published an unofficial history of Turner Contemporary, and wrote a complete history of Stoke-on-Trent from the Ice Age to 2045.
He was recently Writer-in-Residence on Sittingbourne’s Steam Railway and redesigned the museum at the Pines Garden at St Margaret’s Bay. While some of the research collections have found homes in places like the University of Kent’s library and Kent’s county archives, others have stayed in Dan’s studio.
For the Collection exhibition, he’ll be sharing some intentional collections like Margate tourist guides and seaside postcards. He has used these to devise walking tours, curate exhibitions, programme the popular First Friday events at Marine Studios, and write about local history, including stories for The Isle of Thanet News.
But he’ll also share some things he never intended to collect, like plastic figures and toy people, vintage boardgames, and old coins.
“I’ll often find things in junk shops, flea markets, or at car boot sales,” he says, “and when you buy a box of odds and ends, there’s always a toy soldier or an old coin at the bottom of the box.”
One of Dan’s largest collections is of ephemera found in second-hand books, which includes photographs, postcards, shopping lists, and other things used as bookmarks. In the early days of social media, an exhibition of these things went viral after a story about finding a rasher of bacon used as a bookmark was picked up by national newspapers.
“Collection is a very English habit,” Dan says, “and part of our national character. We spend our leisure time visiting other people’s collections in museums or at country houses, and this is a chance to see some more unusual collections up close.”
Collection is at Marine Studios, Albert Terrace, Margate on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th July, from 11am-4pm.
Find out more about Dan at: danthompson.co.uk
“unreliable historian”. I really like that description. I wish Dan well with this project.
‘artist’ ?!