Catalogue Number
NBS I/D 383
Object Name
banner
Title
TIN PLATE WORKERS SOCIETY UNITED TO SUPPORT BUT NOT COMBINED TO INJURE
Place
Liverpool & Merseyside; Lancashire & England & UK
People
Dixon, William; artisans; workers: tinplate workers
Date
1821
Creator(s)
NBS National Museum of Labour HistoryNBS National Museum of Labour HistoryDixon, William
Description
This is the oldest banner in the museum's collection.
It is a fine piece of naive art. It features two allegorical figures of Hope and Justice, a bundle of sticks bound together to denote the strength of unity, a union jack and the all-seeing eye. The eye is a common symbol taken from the iconography of the free masons. The union jack indicates the loyal image that early trade unions wanted to project after a period of repression during the Napoleonic Wars.
The banner was conserved in the museum's conservation studio in 1992 with financial assistance from the National Heritage Memorial Fund.
Materials: linen, oil paint.
