Catalogue Number
NBS I/D 251
Object Name
banner
Title
MERTHYR I.L.P. SOCIALISM - W. Morris, Jaures, Glasier, Marx - K. Hardie, H. Morris.
Place
Merthyr Tydfil & Glamorgan & Wales & UK
People
Morris, W & Jaures & Glasier & Marx & Hardie, Kier & Morris, H
Date
c.1920
Creator(s)NBS National Museum of Labour HistoryNBS National Museum of Labour History
Description
Independent Labour Party, Merthyr Tydfil banner, about 1920
The Independent Labour Party (ILP) was founded in 1893 in Bradford. It aimed to represent the working class in the House of Commons. In 1900 the ILP, together with a number of trade union organisations and socialist groups, formed the Labour Representation Committee, which went on to become the Labour Party in 1906.
This banner was made by R. C. Wallhead, a self-taught artist and decorator, who was MP for Merthyr Tydfil from 1922. Wallhead had previously unsuccessfully contested the Coventry seat in 1918, and then was elected to Manchester City Council in 1919 for three years.
The banner lists the names of some leading international socialists, including Keir Hardie who was MP for Merthyr from 1900-1915 and the first ILP member to gain a place in the House of Commons.
This banner was conserved by the museum's conservators in 1992.
Materials: Cotton velvet fabric centre with silk rep woven borders. Rep is a ribbed or corded fabric. Hand stencilled images in oil based paint.
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