Henry Syer Cuming

Henry Syer Cuming FSA Scot (1817 – 7 October 1902) was a British collector of objects, art and antiquities, notable for exposing the Shadwell forgeries, and who bequeathed his collection to what is now the Cuming Museum, in Southwark, South London.

Cuming spent his life building on the work of his father Richard Cuming (1777–1870),[1] a collector from Walworth in South East London. Father and son were both fascinated by collecting things from the everyday lives of people all over the world, but Cuming's interests were more local than his father's, and he pursued them more seriously. Cuming collected thousands of objects from the ordinary lives of south Londoners in the 1800s, from theatre adverts and rail tickets, to cheap toys and good luck charms. His collection included thousands of ancient objects dug up by labourers building the canals, docks and railways that profoundly changed London in the 18th and 19th centuries.

Personal life

Born in 1817, Cuming was the second son of Richard Cuming Jr., and his wife Anne Warner (died 1853). Cuming lived with his parents and sister, Ann Bagwell Cuming (died 1893), first at 3 Dean's Row just off Walworth Road, and then 63 Kennington Park Road.[2] Neither Henry nor Ann married, and all four lived together amicably until their various deaths. Cuming's elder brother, Richard Howton Cuming (died 1887) was disinherited by his father for marrying a Catholic; thus Cuming inherited his father's collection.

The Cumings enjoyed a comfortable existence and had sufficient funds and leisure for at least three generations of gentlemanly (and ladylike) pursuits.

Shadwell forgeries

During Cuming's lifetime the growing antiques market trade was flooded with fakes which Cuming enjoyed collecting and exposing. In 1858, Cuming exposed what became known as the Shadwell forgeries, or the Billy and Charley fraud, at a meeting of the British Archaeological Association.[3] This fraud, perpetuated by two Londoners, William (Billy) Smith and Charles (Charley) Eaton, involved the production of lead medallions, which the fraudsters then claimed to have found at Shadwell dock.[4] Cuming's lecture was reported in The Athenaeum and The Gentleman's Magazine, causing a drastic reduction in sales of the medallions. Outraged, George Eastwood sued The Athenaeum for libel, but the judge found for the defendant;[5] Cuming wrote "We gained a glorious victory".[4] However, Smith and Eaton continued to sell their forgeries, and improved on their production process by making more delicate medals using cock metal, a copper and lead alloy, rather than lead alone.[4] In 1964, Cuming again lectured to the British Archaeological Association regarding these forgeries; a year later, the value of the forgeries had declined so much so that Cuming was able to acquire them for a penny.[4]

Career and legacy

Cuming was a member of the British Archaeological Association from its formation in 1843,[6] becoming secretary in 1856,[7] and later, vice president.[8] He edited the association's journal for several years,[7] and gave lectures and published articles on the history of subjects ranging from slings to mistletoe. In 1867, Cuming became a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland.[9]

Cuming wrote extensively, providing a fascinating picture of a man obsessed with detail, with an eye for then-ordinary things which have become extraordinary to us today and with a great breadth of interest.[10] He also created beautiful drawings of his objects, although he was not as well regarded as his fine amateur artist uncle John Brompton Cuming.

When Cuming died on 7 October 1902,[11] he left the family's collection of 100,000 objects[1] to the then parish of St Mary Newington,[8] with the sum of £8,000 and instructions that the parish should open a museum bearing the family name.[8] An addition was built onto the Newington Library building, and the museum was opened on 10 October 1906 by Lord Rothschild.[12] Due to the wide array of items displayed, the Cuming Museum was billed upon opening as the "British Museum in miniature".[1]

Works

Over a 58 year period, Cuming published nearly 200 articles in the Journal of the British Archaeological Association,[6] including:

  • Cuming, H. Syer (1859). "On Celtic Antiquities Exhumed in Lincolnshire and Dorsetshire". Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 15 (3): 225–230. doi:10.1080/00681288.1859.11887121.
  • Cuming, H. Syer (1882). "On seals of the Knights Templars". Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 38 (2): 122–126. doi:10.1080/00681288.1882.11887793.
  • Cuming, H. Syer (1888). "On the relics and mementos of Mary Stuart". Journal of the British Archaeological Association. 44: 60–76. doi:10.1080/00681288.1888.11888013.

References
  1. le Vay, Benedict (2012). "Museum of the eclectic and peculiar". Ben le Vay's eccentric London: a practical guide to a curious city (3rd ed.). Chalfont St. Peter: Bradt Travel Guides. p. 75. ISBN 9781841623948.
  2. "Henry Syer Cuming (Biographical details)". British Museum. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  3. Jones, Mark (1990). "Chapter 6. The 19th century: the great age of faking. 199. 'Billy and Charley's' medieval forgeries". In Jones, Mark; Craddock, Paul; Barker, Nicolas (eds.). Fake? The art of deception. University of California Press. pp. 187–188. ISBN 9780520070875.
  4. Halliday, Robert (1986). "The Billy and Charley Forgeries" (PDF). London Archaeologist. 5 (9): 243–7.
  5. Axon, William E.A. (1907). "Some forged antiquities". Transactions of the Lancashire and Cheshire Antiquarian Society. 25: 113–116.
  6. Addyman, Mary (2017). "Private and Public: The Cuming Collection". Victorian Review. Johns Hopkins University Press. 43 (1): 16–22. doi:10.1353/vcr.2017.0004. S2CID 165729307.
  7. "Henry Syer Cuming". The Athenaeum. London (3912): 525. 18 October 1902.
  8. "General notes. Another London Museum". Museums Journal. Museums Association. 2 (7): 216–217. January 1903.
  9. "Anniversary Meeting, 1st December 1902. Minutes" (PDF). Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 37: 3. 1903. Retrieved 30 June 2018.
  10. Humphrey, Stephen (2002). An Introduction to the Cuming Family and the Cuming Museum. London: Southwark Local Studies Library. ISBN 978-0-905849-33-1.
  11. Carter, A.C.R. (1903). "Obituary of the year 1902". The Year's Art. London: Hutchinson and Co. 24: 317.
  12. "Libraries and librarians. London: Southwark". The Library World and Book Selector. London: Library Supply Co. 9: 169. 1907.
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