The Blackburn Collection

Click here to contact the collection's curator.

If any visitors possess or come across any items with Blackburn associations, I would be grateful to receive a picture and details, or even the actual item. I will be happy to refund the cost of postage - but please check first.

Recent features,  more information on Blackburn Memorials
the terrible tragedy of Edward and Ernest Blackburn
and Lawrence William Blackburn III

Please send your Blackburn Baby pictures in for the New Arrivals page.

Time now [early 2000 when I wrote that] for a new collection - Blackburniana. I typed the name into eBay and was astonished at the pages of items which came back. Admittedly a lot of it is Blackburn Rovers football paraphernalia, with quite a few baseball cards as well. But the rest is a treasure trove. I am mostly interested in the products of people with this prestigious name and, for example, intend to get at least one book by every Blackburn published (see linked page). But there are plenty of other items I will find to clutter a cupboard. The plan is to buy small inexpensive items for display. Anything large and/or expensive I will just acquire for my virtual collection, i.e. copy and paste from eBay (or wherever) to this page.   

6th Jan 2002
Following an executive New Year Resolution, Blackburnes are now being included in the collection. This is justified by (1) the confusion over Linelle and Lena; (2) the discovery of Blackburne Engines; and (3) the fact that it will allow the inclusion of Joseph Blackburne the English chess player who was the only other Blackburn I had heard of before starting this collection.

Most of the items come from eBay auctions. The convention I have adopted to begin with is to show my comments in normal script and sellers comments in italics.

A pal and fellow Blackburn Enthusiast, Colin, (he lives there) sent me a small stack of these Blackburn stickers and other relevant goodies. If any kindred Blackburn would like one, let me have your address and I will keep sending them until I run out. (May 2002)

On the left is a (rather expensive) badge from Blackburn Aircraft Ltd. The company is featured on the Engineering page with an overflow onto its own page.

And on the right a cider coaster incorporating my nickname, Blackrat.

I want to be a tree

(digression added 11th June 2001)

Not just any tree, but a Sabal blackburniana palm as above. I'm trying to get hold of some seeds to grow one in the lean-to neighbour Reg will be building for us shortly. When I find some, any spares will be available to extended family members.

We also have a rather unexciting shrub, COTONEASTER APICULATUS 'BLACKBURN' (aka BLACKBURN CRANBERRY COTONEASTER) which is a variant on that below, with "showy red fruit in late summer", details here.

A category which is a pain to document is songwriters – I have found a few references to songs by Blackburn & Suessdorf. The CD Frank Sinatra and Sextet ~ Live In Paris, includes their song  Moonlight In Vermont. I cannot see any interesting way to illustrate this and so will ignore them for the time being.