Lady Jane's Museum

In 2019, a crowdfunding campaign, 'Lady Jane's Museum', enabled Derbyshire Record Office to catalogue, package and photograph the objects in the Gell collection.

In 1835, whilst her husband was in command of HMS Rainbow in the Mediterranean, Jane Franklin visited Turkey, Palestine, Syria and Egypt. This mummy cloth likely came from her Egyptian travels.

In Egypt she brought back these nuts from Mount Sinai. The Tasmanian acorns came from trees which she had planted whilst her husband was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land (now Tasmania) 1837-1843.

Van Diemen's Land was a penal colony and Lady Franklin made efforts to improve the lot of female prisoners there. This token of love, given by a prisoner to her child, is likely a memento of Lady Franklin's work with prisoners.

Whilst in Tasmania the Franklins adopted an indigenous Australian girl called Mathinna (sometimes spelled Methinna). She was educated by Lady Franklin's 16 year old step-daughter, Eleanor, and made this pincushion.

There is a second pincushion in the collection, which is similar in style. Perhaps this was made by Eleanor.

This doll is dressed in the style of the early 1840s. We know from Eleanor's diary that Mathinna was given a doll. Might this have been Mathinna's?

In 1841 HMS Erebus and HMS Terror wintered in Tasmania on their three year exploration of Antarctica. Whilst there, they held a ball on the ships, to which Eleanor was invited.

Lady Franklin visited India, China, Japan and Malaysia. Maybe she picked up these Indonesian bone hairpins whilst in the region.

In 1845, Sir John Franklin led an expedition to discover the North West Passage. 'Kalli', an Inuit who helped search for Sir John, came to England and was befriended by Eleanor Franklin who kept his letters and drawings after his death.

A tiny decorated scroll of the first fourteen chapters of the Gospel of Saint John, this may have been a souvenir picked up by Lady Franklin on her travels, or it may have belonged to one of the Gell family.

This medal, in its original case, commemorates the coronation of King William IV in 1831.

This lace came from the Boudoir of Princess Alexandra on her wedding day with the Prince of Wales in 1863. Did Lady Franklin attend the wedding?

Lady Franklin visited America in 1860, just before the outbreak of the civil war. Possibly, these samples of cotton made without slave labor were acquired by her, or they may have belonged to John Philip Gell.

This label to Rev John Philip Gell on his birthday seems to have been pinned to the "Free Labor" cotton samples. Perhaps the samples were a birthday present.

A horn book was a primer for small children. This early 18th century horn book belonged to Honor Borrow, John Philip Gell's great-grandmother.

This 17th century fan was labelled 'Fan from Wirksworth', and likely belonged to one of the Gells of Hopton Hall.

This early 18th century fan with carved ivory sticks may have been a mourning fan. The painting on the fan leaf is rather gloomy, in shades of black and grey.

This beautiful pierced ivory brise fan dates to about 1805-1810.

Major Thomas Gell was John Philip Gell's uncle. He wore these spurs at the Battle of Albuera in 1811.

Was this small pill box a craft project by Eleanor or one of the Gells, or did Lady Franklin bring it back from her travels?

These medallions commemorate two world fairs, one in 1862 and the other in 1882.

Labelled 'Native copy book from Madras 1871' this is a palm leaf page which probably came from a religious text. It may have belonged to John and Eleanor's daughter, Mary.

John and Eleanor's son, Philip Lyttelton Gell designed this seal for Toynbee Hall, a centre designed to effect social change in the deprived East End of London. Philip was the first Chairman of Trustees.

Thanks to the generosity of our crowdfunding donors, the objects are now properly packaged so that they can be preserved for future generations.