{"id":951,"date":"2018-06-28T06:00:18","date_gmt":"2018-06-28T06:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=951"},"modified":"2020-06-19T11:41:59","modified_gmt":"2020-06-19T10:41:59","slug":"951","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/?p=951","title":{"rendered":"The story of Lucky Jim and Twinkletoe: Is the material culture of folklore providential or problematic for the historian?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Daniel Millard, <\/strong>a second year History student at the University of Portsmouth, wrote the following blog on the toy mascots carried by Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown on the first Transatlantic flight for the Introduction to Historical Research Unit. Daniel discusses the ways in which we can use these items of material culture to ask better questions of the past. The unit is co-ordinated by Dr Maria Cannon, Lecturer in Early Modern History at Portsmouth.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Next year will see the centenary of the world\u2019s first Transatlantic flight. For the historian this offers an exciting opportunity to re-acquaint with two notable aviators from the twentieth-century. I refer, of course, not to Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, but to the two cats that accompanied them on their sixteen-hour journey from Newfoundland to Ireland.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Twinkle toe mascot<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018Twinkletoe\u2019 and \u2018Lucky Jim\u2019 were toy mascots presented to the airmen by their loved ones to keep them safe on their record-breaking trip alongside bunches of white heather \u201ccarried as evidence of our friend\u2019s best wishes\u201d. [1] This was a time when air crews \u2013 fresh from the First World War \u2013 had \u201can atavistic faith in magical powers” \u00a0with superstitious belief manifesting itself\u00a0 in the carriage of amulets and charms in a cornucopia of size and form. [2] Brown himself later acknowledged his own delight in espying \u201c a large black cat [\u2026] saunter[ing] by the transatlantic machine as we stood by it early in the morning\u201d for \u201csuch a cheerful omen made me more than ever anxious to start\u201d. [3]<\/p>\n

Five months \u2013 to the day \u2013 after Alcock and Brown\u2019s biplane took to the skies, a lecture exploring the collection and use of lucky charms was held at the Royal Society of Arts in London at which Arthur Rackham, the then president of The London Society,<\/em> kicked off proceedings with the words \u201cIt is a very general habit to regard folklore as [\u2026] something which concerns the historian\u201d. [4] It is a subject field that retains our attention to this day for the material culture of \u2018superstition\u2019 \u2013 like that of other subject areas \u2013 offers the potential of \u201ca more wide-ranging, more representative source of information than words\u201d alone. [5] Tim Dant agrees, believing material culture \u201cprovides evidence of the distinctive form of a society [\u2026] because it is an integral part of what that society is; just as the individual cannot be understood independently of society, so society cannot be grasped independently of its material stuff\u201d. [6]<\/p>\n

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Lucky Jim mascot<\/p><\/div>\n

In a discussion in The American Historical Review<\/em> , Leora Auslander, Amy Bentley, Leor Halevi, H. Otto Sibum, and Christopher Witmore declared that \u201cfor most historians material culture means stuff found in a museum,\u201d and it is within this very institution that Lucky Jim and Twinkletoe reside \u2013 the former in the Air and Space Hall of the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, and the latter at the RAF Museum, Cosford. [7] Richard Grassby believes the relationship between museum-object and historian remained strained for such a long time because, until recently, curators \u201csought the unique, significant and noble to the neglect of the ordinary and utilitarian\u201d. [8] Of course, few people can deny that Twinkletoe and Lucky Jim were added to the nation\u2019s collections because of their \u201ciconic or associational value\u201d. [9] In addition, their confinement behind glass also raises important questions around Sibum\u2019s belief that in order to make sense of an artefact it makes a difference as to whether you physically touch it. [10] There are, then, other challenges the mascots pose. For example, three-dimensional objects \u201care multifarious entities whose nature and heuristic value is often determined by the diverse range of narratives that historians bring with them\u201d. [11] We therefore find many researchers devising \u201ctheir own models to engage with and analyse the different types of material evidence\u201d. [12] These range from Jules David Prown\u2019s straightforward three-tiered approach involving description, deduction and speculation to Beverly Gordon\u2019s use of proxemics to \u201cilluminate women\u2019s relationships to things such as quilts\u201d. [13]<\/p>\n

So, how should we go about beginning to unlock the mascots\u2019 evidence? For Adrienne Hood the starting point is to \u201cuncover [their] collecting [\u2026] history\u201d by researching textual and photographic documents found within the Museum\u2019s registration files. [14] Whilst that, in itself, sounds easy to accomplish paper evidence can, in reality, often disappoint. Documented information frequently reveals little more than from where the items were sourced at time of donation, whereas historians \u201cplace great significance on the way objects were acquired \u2013 through scavenging [\u2026] hunting [\u2026] means of trade [\u2026] gift giving [\u2026] conquest or piracy\u201d at every stage of an object\u2019s existence. [15] Whilst we are told from contemporary newspaper accounts that Alcock gave his cat mascot as a souvenir to the welcoming party on arrival in Ireland, Lucky Jim\u2019s registry file does not contain any detailed information as to what happened to the toy in the years between 1919 and its acquisition by the Museum of Science and Industry some seventy-two years later. [16]<\/p>\n

For any object the need \u201cto locate, and correctly interpret, the \u2018culture\u2019 in material culture is important\u201d. [17] For Nicole Boivin \u201cthe consideration of emotion is often crucial to understanding the role that objects [\u2026] can have in human affairs and particularly in processes of memory, identity and personhood\u201d. [18] That \u201cpeople invest things with elaborate meanings\u201d is clear, but from looking at the mascots can we truly get closer to understanding what was going through Alcock and Brown\u2019s minds as they placed the cats within the aircraft or the sentiment that went into their production and presentation by their relatives? [19] It is an enquiry Leor Halevi is fully justified in raising when he states: \u201cI do agree that emotions can be expressed through objects in unique ways that cannot be captured by language, but the question then arises, how can we access those emotions and sense experiences as historians?\u201d [20] For Riello the answer is simple for objects, like Lucky Jim and Twinkletoe, \u201cshould not be used as an aid for providing enhanced answers\u201d, but for helping historians \u201cask [\u2026] better questions\u201d. [21] This is a viewpoint that is shared by Adrienne Hood, who believes that \u201ca systematic and detailed consideration of the chosen \u2018thing\u2019 leads to a series of questions that would not arise in any other way\u201d. [22]<\/p>\n

As Alcock and Brown embarked upon their pioneering voyage Brown reported that Lucky Jim wore \u201ca hopeful expression [\u2026] whereas Twinkletoe [\u2026] expressed surprise and anxiety\u201d. [23] These are emotions that mirror those of historians as, from the 1970s onwards, they began to emerge from \u201ctwo centuries [of] little or no engagement with objects\u201d. [24] Whilst the mascots\u2019 validity in helping tell the story of the world\u2019s first Transatlantic flight \u201cis no longer suspect, how to unlock [their] secrets in a meaningful way remains challenging\u201d. [25] Therefore, we must echo Alcock and Brown\u2019s own reaction in readying themselves for the journey: \u201cwe hoped for and expected the best, but it was as well to be prepared for the worst\u201d. [26]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Notes<\/p>\n

[1] Arthur Whitten Brown and Alan Bott, Flying the Atlantic in Sixteen Hours: <\/em>With a Discussion of Aircraft in Commerce and Transportation<\/em>, (New York: Frederick A Stokes Company, 1920), 32.<\/p>\n

[2] Bill Wallrich, \u201cSuperstition and the Air Force\u201d, Western Folklore<\/em>, Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan., 1960): 11.<\/p>\n

[3] Brown and Bott, Flying the Atlantic<\/em>, 32.<\/p>\n

[4] Ross MacFarlane, \u201cLondon\u2019s Lost Amulets and Forgotten Folklore\u201d, The Telegraph<\/em>, October 28, 2011. https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/travel\/destinations\/europe\/uk\/london\/8854074\/Londons-lost-amulets-and-forgotten-folklore.html<\/a><\/p>\n

[5] Jules David Prown, \u201cMind in Matter: An Introduction to Material Culture Theory and Method\u201d, Winterthur Portfolio<\/em>, Vol. 17, No.1, (Spring 1982): 3.<\/p>\n

[6] Tim Dant, Material Culture in the Social World: Values, Activities, Lifestyles<\/em>, (Buckingham: Open University Press, 1999), 2.<\/p>\n

[7] Leora Auslander, Amy Bentley, Leor Halevi, H. Otto Sibum, and Christopher Witmore, “AHR conversation: Historians and the Study of Material Culture”,\u00a0American Historical Review<\/em>\u00a0114, No. 5 (2009): 1365.<\/p>\n

[8] Richard Grassby, \u201cMaterial Culture and Cultural History\u201d, The Journal of Interdisciplinary History<\/em>, Vol. 35, No. 4 (Spring, 2005): 598.<\/p>\n

[9] Prown, \u2018Mind in Matter\u2019, 4.<\/p>\n

[10] Auslander et al<\/em>., \u2018AHR Conversation\u2019, 1384.<\/p>\n

[11] Giorgio Riello, \u201cThings that Shape History:Material Culture and Historical Narratives\u201d, in History and Material Culture: A Student\u2019s Guide to Approaching Alternative Source<\/em> edited by Karen Harvey 24-46, (Abingdon: Routledge, 2009), 30.<\/p>\n

[12] Adrienne D Hood, \u201cMaterial Culture: The Object\u201d, in History Beyond the Text: A Student\u2019s Guide to Approaching Alternative Sources<\/em> edited by Sarah Barber and Corinna M Peniston-Bird, 176-198. (Abingdon: Routledge, 2009), 180.<\/p>\n

[13] Prown, \u2018Mind in Matter\u2019, 7; Hood, \u2018Material Culture\u2019,<\/em> 180.<\/p>\n

[14] Hood, \u2018Material Culture\u2019, 182.<\/p>\n

[15] Auslander et al<\/em>., \u2018AHR Conversation\u2019, 1366.<\/p>\n

[16] The Lancashire Daily Post<\/em>, \u201cAtlantic Crossed\u201d, June 16 1919, 5; Museum of Science and Industry registered file, (Ref: Y1991.437.5).<\/p>\n

[17] Auslander et al<\/em>., \u2018AHR Conversation\u2019, 1367.<\/p>\n

[18] Nicole Boivin, Material Cultures, Material Minds: The Impact of Things on Human Thought, Society, and Evolution<\/em>, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), 112.<\/p>\n

[19] Ludmilla J Jordonova, The Look of the Past: Visual and Material Evidence in Historical Practice<\/em>, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), 5.<\/p>\n

[20] Auslander et al<\/em>., \u2018AHR Conversation\u2019, 1364.<\/p>\n

[21] Riello, \u2018Things that Shape History\u2019, 30.<\/p>\n

[22] Hood, \u2018Material Culture\u2019,<\/em> 178.<\/p>\n

[23] Brown and Bott, Flying the Atlantic, <\/em>32.<\/p>\n

[24] Alan Mayne, \u201cMaterial Culture\u201d, in Research Methods for History, Second Edition<\/em> edited by Simon Gunn and Lucy Faire, 49-67, (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2016), 49; Riello, \u2018Things that Shape History\u2019, 25.<\/p>\n

[25] Hood, \u2018Material Culture\u2019, 176.<\/p>\n

[26] Brown and Bott, Flying the Atlantic, <\/em>34.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Daniel Millard, a second year History student at the University of Portsmouth, wrote the following blog on the toy mascots carried by Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown on the first Transatlantic flight for the Introduction to Historical Research Unit. Daniel discusses the ways in which we can use these items of material culture to ask better questions of the past. The unit is co-ordinated by Dr Maria Cannon, Lecturer in Early Modern History at Portsmouth. Next year will see the centenary of the world\u2019s first Transatlantic flight. For the historian this offers an exciting opportunity to re-acquaint with two notable aviators from the twentieth-century. I refer, of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":960,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5],"tags":[271,26,280,423,33,48,142,268,267,101,269,219,20,276,277,270,274,275,272,281,98,279],"class_list":["post-951","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-learning_in_focus","tag-american-historical-review","tag-archives","tag-aviation","tag-emotions","tag-first-world-war","tag-folklore","tag-identity","tag-lucky-charms","tag-lucky-jim","tag-magic","tag-mascots","tag-material-culture","tag-memory","tag-museum","tag-museum-of-science-and-industry","tag-royal-society-of-arts","tag-spiritualism","tag-superstition","tag-the-london-society","tag-transatlantic","tag-twentieth-century","tag-twinkletoe"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/history.port.ac.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/RAF_Museum_Cosford_-_DSC08417-e1529941840533.jpg?fit=620%2C300&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s91PlX-951","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=951"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":969,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/951\/revisions\/969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/history.port.ac.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}