Posted on January 22, 2013 by Lynsey

Casing filling in We Made It is progressing nicely so I thought today I’d focus on one case and look at the some of the processes involved in putting the objects in. Today it’s the turn of the Silver Case, displaying items from the Assay Office. We have already looked at mount making in an earlier post but in the Silver Case, mounts are not needed as the objects are placed directly onto the glass shelves. Unlike the Gem Cases, the layout of this case was decided a long time ago and the text panel put in place. In the images below curator Sarah is placing the last few objects on to the shelves, with great care! Curator Sarah placing objects in the case Sarah re-aranging an object Each object is then focused with the individual lights that surround the case. This is a painstaking task but necessary to show the objects off to their full advantage! Object focusing using individual lights Finally, the text panel on the back of the display is checked for errors. This stage is crucial as smaller bits of the text, like ‘i’ dots can get left behind on the transfer paper, as you can see in the image below! Spot the difference! The case label before and after proof reading Eventually, the finished case is ready! All objects in place, well lit and with the correct information, perfect! Now on to the next one and the next one… and the next one! Finished Case The Birmingham Assay Office will  be taking part in a series of Meet The Expert events at Thinktank in February and October. We will bring you regular updates on the launch of We Made It as they happen. To read more about our first trip behind the scences make sure to visit http://www.assaynews.co.uk/heritage/what-links-the-assay-office-a-cow-and-a-car/ You can also follow Thintank’s blog about the new gallery at http://blog.thinktank.ac/