Talk:Derby Museum and Art Gallery

I have added material on the Lunar society link and the enlightenment, but intend to improve this when I have gathered more facts together. The absence of any material on Herbert Spencer is a personal issue of mine, which I have taken up with the museum. While I suspect that some may regard my comment here as original research, the absence is a simple fact which may be of interest to others researching Spencer. --Memestream (talk) 14:28, 22 November 2007 (UTC)

Some is OR I suspect. Erasmus wasn't living in Derby until 1783 when he reformed the Derby Philosophical Society. All the Orrery stuff predated him by about 20 years. Victuallers (talk) 00:50, 4 January 2009 (UTC)

Why so much about Lunatics?

This article seems to be too much about the Lunar Society. 1858 swa the creation of a 4000 book collection from Derby Philosophical Society.... not the Lunar Society Victuallers (talk) 12:38, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

• There is (was) an exhibit on the Lunar society and it's members in the museum, adjacent to the Wright gallery. The Lunar society is widely regarded as hugely important, not in relation to any particular place so much as for the role it's members and participants played in the industrial revolution, the Enlightenment, the French revolution, and the founding of the modern scientific and democratic age. One of it's key founders, Erasmus John Whitehurst lived in Derby. Another, Erasmus Darwin, moved to Derby and continued his influence from there. Add to that the fact that Derby Museum is a major owner of paintings by Joseph Wright of Derby, and that many of his paintings relate to the Lunar society, and his friends in it, and are poignant commentary on it's activities, and we surely have THE central story of Derby and it's major personalities as represented in Derby Museum and Art Gallery.

• Museums are places for artifacts, but they are surely failing if they do not tell the story behind those artifacts. Derby, at the heart of the Midlands, with so many links to industrialists, scientists and philosophers, has arguably the biggest story of all to tell - that of the founding of the modern world. Herbert Spencer, friend of Darwin, and of George Elliot, coiner of the phrase 'survival of the fittest' founder of Sociology, and one of the most famous men of his time, was acclaimed by crowds on his visit to the USA, and inspired the title of a 2007 scholarly book "Herbert Spencer and the Invention of Modern Life". I wrote to the museum a couple of years ago suggesting that they should make more of this, and they replied that they would try to in the coming reorganisation.

• This page is about the museum of course, not the story as I would tell it, but now that a collaborative project has begun with the Museum, I say 'wake up Derby - you have one of the biggest and most exciting stories of all to tell; and you own stunning paintings to back it up - an opportunity to tell the big story of the birth of science (which so often takes second place) in an appealing way. It would be good if the museum acquired and put on display a copy of Erasmus Darwins's illustrated book Zoonomia. Did I read that they have Darwin's microscope!! Also Herbert Spencers books might be shown (hard going yes, but what an effort they represent).

Bird in the Air Pump

Why is this picture included here? Yes, it is by Wright of Derby, but the painting is not in Derby Museum's collections, unlike The Orrery. So its inclusion seems a bit misleading.Parkywiki (talk) 23:30, 6 December 2010 (UTC)

Indeed, but there are sketches etc, some of which may well be in Derby. But this should be clarified. Johnbod (talk) 16:40, 6 February 2011 (UTC)