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.

These
are the largest Blackburns I have found so far - Mount Blackburn, Alaska and
Blackburn Island,
Massachusetts (larger versions of the pictures
here.)


1st
May 2001
Having
found more items than a few in the first two weeks of searching for Blackburniana,
the need for some organisation is apparent. The initial categories will be
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Artifacts – items made or designed by individuals or firms
with this Great Name. I split this page up on 8th July 2001 into Engineering,
Food and Drink, Medicines
and Miscellaneous
as it was getting too disparate.
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Books – written by Blackburns. For the moment, this will
cover all types, fiction and non-fiction.
Now split into four
alphabetical sections. |
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Other
Art –
paintings, music, films etc.
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Locational
– things
associated with the town of Blackburn rather than people of that name. Also
other locations with that name, e.g. Mount Blackburn, Alaska
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Links
– added 28th June 2001 - to other relevant sites - the first is a doozy
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People
– added 17th May
2001 in response to the data which is turning up.
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Crud
– things I would prefer not to have found
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Memorials
- Blackburns killed in action |
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Fictional
Characters - now up and running |
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.

And here's an item
which fits into no existing category, so it can start on this page:
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A new (30th July 2002) picture of Blackburn's
Warbler (Dendroica blackburnia), from an
old postcard. The artist's name is Reed. The old one is
here. |
From Hawaii, Blackburn's Butterfly (Udara blackburni)
added 18th March 2002, found
here and
here.
There is also a Blackburn's Sphinx Moth
(Manduca blackburni).
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October 2006 I'm not sure how enthusiastic to get about
this, but there is a Blackburn Dung Beetle, Saprosites mendax
Blackburn, 1892.
I have no image of this (yet), but I do have an article, kindly sent by
Kit Heald, notes taken from a meeting of the Warrington Archaeological and
Historical Society, at which the life and works of John Blackburne of Orford
Hall, Warrington was discussed.
I have reproduced the notes here. |
The
butterfly has also appeared on
a private Hawai'i Post stamp
added Jan 2005
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