Investigating and communicating the historical significance of Matthew Boulton (1728-1809)

2009年，伯明翰市将纪念其历史上最重要的居民之一马修·博尔顿（1728-1809）逝世200周年。两个大型展览将开幕，新的互联网资源将提供，书籍将出版，国际会议将举行。为了让人们了解这些200周年纪念活动并最大限度地发挥其影响，博尔顿专家将在2007-2008年举办一系列研究研讨会，汇集了来自英国和国外的学者、策展人、档案管理员和图书管理员。在探讨博尔顿的历史意义和完善2009年庆祝他的计划的过程中，知识和专业知识将被分享。1762年，马修·博尔顿（Matthew Boulton）在伯明翰的苏荷区（Soho）建立了一家工厂，到1767年，这家工厂已成为世界上最大的工厂。他以新的规模运用劳动分工，大量生产了一系列金属产品。1775年至1800年间，博尔顿和詹姆斯·瓦特垄断了第一台旋转蒸汽机的生产，这种蒸汽机可以驱动机械，为英国加速的工业化提供动力。但是，除了在革新工业组织和技术方面发挥关键作用外，博尔顿还以前所未有的规模大规模生产视觉艺术。为了满足人们对奢侈品的需求，他汇集了来自欧洲各地的艺术家、工匠和工程师，在国内外设计和制造高品质的银器和ormolu。然后，在18世纪80年代末，博尔顿在伯明翰建立了一个多技能的国际团队，开发了世界上第一个蒸汽驱动的铸造技术，生产了数百万枚硬币和交易代币，供世界各地使用。这些新的、难以伪造的货币大部分都是由库奇勒、庞松、杜马雷斯特和德罗兹等主要的欧洲奖牌获得者为博尔顿设计的。博尔顿的铸币项目将大量生产的视觉艺术送入数百万人的口袋，但也促进了全球贸易和资本主义工资经济的出现。博尔顿不仅是一位开创性的实业家和企业家，还是英国和国际科学家、神学家、艺术家、企业家、工程师、银行家和政治家网络的重要成员，他们的合作为人类努力的各个领域的知识进步做出了重大贡献。他的定期通讯员包括约翰·弗拉克斯曼（英国著名雕塑家）、伊拉斯谟·达尔文（植物学家，查尔斯·达尔文的祖父）、安托万·拉瓦锡（发现氧气的人）和本杰明·富兰克林（美国开国元勋之一）。博尔顿被称为“伯明翰之父”，但他的遗产对艺术、科学、贸易和工业具有持久的国际意义。

In 2009 the city of Birmingham will mark the bicentenary of the death of one of its most historically important inhabitants, Matthew Boulton (1728-1809). Two major exhibitions will be opened, new internet resources will be made available, books will be published, and an international conference will be held. In order to inform these bicentenary events and maximise their impact, a series of research workshops will be held by Boulton experts in 2007-2008, bringing together academics, curators, archivists and librarians from Britain and abroad. Knowledge and expertise will be shared as the workshops explore Boulton's historical significance and refine plans to celebrate his life in 2009.In 1762, Matthew Boulton established a manufactory at Soho in Birmingham that, by 1767, was the largest in the world. He used division of labour on a new scale to mass-produce a range of metal products. Between 1775 and 1800, Boulton and James Watt held a monopoly on the production of the first rotary steam engines that could drive machinery and power Britain's accelerating industrialisation. But, as well as playing key roles in revolutionising industry's organisation and technology, Boulton also mass produced visual art on an unprecedented scale. Aiming to satisfy demand for luxury goods, he brought together artists, artisans and engineers from across Europe to design and manufacture high quality silverware and ormolu at home and abroad. Then, in the late-1780s, Boulton established a multi-skilled international team in Birmingham that developed the world's first steam-driven minting technology, producing millions of coins and trade tokens for use across the world. Much of this new, and difficult to counterfeit, money was designed for Boulton by leading European medallists like Kuchler, Ponthon, Dumarest, and Droz. Boulton's minting project put mass-produced visual art into millions of people's pockets, but also facilitated global trade and the emergence of capitalist wage economies. As well as being a ground-breaking industrialist and entrepreneur, Boulton was a key member of British and international networks of scientists, theologians, artists, entrepreneurs, engineers, bankers, and politicians whose collaborations contributed significantly to the advancement of knowledge in diverse areas of human endeavour. His regular correspondents included the likes of John Flaxman (the leading British sculptor), Erasmus Darwin (the botanist and grandfather of Charles Darwin), Antoine Lavoisier (who discovered oxygen), and Benjamin Franklin (one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America). Boulton has become known as 'The Father of Birmingham', but his legacies are of lasting international significance to the arts, sciences, trade and industry.