Exhibition Area
Located by the main entrance is the exhibition area with an introduction to the Black Country and a selection of local artefacts. The BCLM is close to the site where Thomas Dudley first mastered the technique of smelting iron with coal instead of wood charcoal and making iron which was pure enough for industrial use. Thus having a claim to be the birthplace of the industrial revolution, the Black Country is famous for its wide range of steel-based products from nails to the anchor and anchor chain for The Titanic. A representative range of smaller items are displayed at the BCLM.
It is also home to a working replica of a Thomas Newcomen atmospheric engine; an invention which was first successfully put to use in nearby Tipton in 1712. The Museum's reconstruction was based on a print of the engine engraved by Thomas Barney, filemaker of Wolverhampton, in 1719.
Glass working was a major Black Country industry. One source of skills in decorative glassware was refugees such as the Huguenots, leading to major producers of crystal glassware setting up in the area.
Read more about this topic: Black Country Living Museum
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
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—Robert Musil (1880–1942)