Object number
2011/24/1-2
Description
Sample boxes from Mr Logan, agricultural technician for ICI, sales representative of seed dressing machines, for oats and barley.
These are two wooden sample boxes belonging to a sales representative of seed dressing machines, one for oats and the other for barley. They belonged to the donor's father, Mr Arthur Logan, who was born in 1917 and died in 2007. Mr Logan was an agricultural technician who worked for ICI within the seed-dressing side of the business and subsequently for Plant Protection. He probably acquired these sample boxes during his career. Mr Logan began his career in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire in the 1940s and moved to Reading in 1952. He retired circa 1979 but carried out a couple of years of consultancy work for ICI and Plant Protection after that. The boxes were found in the garage/workshop after Mr Logan's death. The donor's husband and son are arable farmers.
These are two wooden sample boxes belonging to a sales representative of seed dressing machines, one for oats and the other for barley. They belonged to the donor's father, Mr Arthur Logan, who was born in 1917 and died in 2007. Mr Logan was an agricultural technician who worked for ICI within the seed-dressing side of the business and subsequently for Plant Protection. He probably acquired these sample boxes during his career. Mr Logan began his career in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire in the 1940s and moved to Reading in 1952. He retired circa 1979 but carried out a couple of years of consultancy work for ICI and Plant Protection after that. The boxes were found in the garage/workshop after Mr Logan's death. The donor's husband and son are arable farmers.
Physical description
2 boxes: wooden, with metal clasps; good condition
Archival history
MERL ‘Object Accession Form’ – 'Short description (free text): 2 x Sales Rep's sample boxes, used to sell seed processing machinery // ... // Physical description (free text): 2 wooden sample boxes, one a darker wood than the other. Fair condition, both have numerous scratch marks. Original owner's name and address are written on paper sellotaped to top right corner of lid. The writing has faded and sellotape is coming away, but reads as follows: 'Please return to:- Arthur Fletcher, 54 Buckland Hill, Maidstone, Kent.' The lid is affixed by means of two metal hinge joints at the back. It locks by means of a metal hook on either side of the box which hooks onto a screw in the lid. The underside of the boxes have circular holes at each point where a sample of dressed seeds is situated within the box. The lighter-coloured box also has the name, 'A. Fletcher' written on the underside and the label, 'Barley' attached next to it. The interior of both boxes contains a wooden base with images of the seed dressing machinery stuck on and labelled arrow diagrams to show which part of the machine produces the different stages of dressed seeds. The boxes also contain 11 samples of seeds. These are contained in round, metal containers fitted into the box with clear glass on the top to allow potential buyers to view the sample. // ... // Associated information (free text): These two sample boxes were used to sell seed dressing machines. The lighter-coloured box contains barley seed samples, while the darker box contains oat seed samples. They belonged to Ms More's father, Mr Arthur Logan (1917-2007), who worked as an agricultural technician firstly for ICI (within their seed-dressing side of the business) and subsequently for Plant Protection. Mr Logan began his career in Middlesbrough, Yorkshire in the 1940s and moved to Reading in 1952. He retired circa 1979 but carried out a couple of years of consultancy work for ICI and Plant Protection after that. He acquired the sample boxes during his career. Ms More located them in her father's garage/workshop after he passed away and donated them to MERL. Ms More's husband and son are both arable farmers. // References: 'Seed Improvement in Britain', Central Office of Information (St Nicholas Press LTD) in particular p99-103.’
Object name
Material
Associated subject
Associated person/institution
