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Mon, 17 Feb 2020
A new exhibition with donations from a resident inventor displaying some of the most significant British timepieces has launched.
Objects dating from 1500 to 1800 are on display in a new Luxury of Time exhibition at the Manx Museum in Douglas, made possible by Dr John C Taylor OBE.
The display will include the golden age of clock and watchmaking from Saturday 15th until Sunday 10th May 2020.
Born in Buxton, Derbyshire in 1936 and schooled at King William’s College, Dr Taylor returned to the Island in 1977 to bring up his young family and founded Strix in 1981, made numerous world-changing inventions including kettle controls now used a billion times a day.
He retired and left the company in 1999 and currently has over 400 patents to his name.
Dr Taylor has since focussed on philanthropy and passing on his knowledge to future generations through talks, lectures and endowments.
He said: 'I’ve always loved clocks and my interest started at a young age when I would watch my father, who was an engineer and inventor. He would boil clock mechanisms in a pan to release built-up grease and then scrub and clean the metal until he breathed new life into the gear wheels and got them working again.'
The inventor has built up a unique collection of early clocks and watches from the British Isles that tell many stories of great design, metalwork, furniture making, entrepreneurialism, engineering and timekeeping.
The exhibition will feature 30 different unique timepieces, including a gothic lantern clock, made by blacksmiths dating from 1500, clocks and watches.
Kirsty Neate, Head of Professional Services for Manx National Heritage said: 'The exhibition would not have been possible without the support and collaboration of Isle of Man resident, inventor and philanthropist, Dr Taylor, and his team, to whom Manx National Heritage are extremely grateful for their generosity in bringing this unique collection together for display on the Isle of Man for the first time.'
Dr Taylor commented: 'Most people state that the world’s greatest invention is the wheel. The wheel is the servant of mankind, but mankind is slave to the clock so therefore, surely, clocks are the most important objects ever invented.'
The Luxury of Time exhibition runs at the Manx Museum, Kingswood Grove, Douglas, Isle of Man IM1 3LY, from Saturday 15th February - Sunday 10th May 2020 and will be open daily from 10 am - 5 pm with free admission.
For more information about the latest exhibitions at Manx National Heritage museums, visit www.manxnationalheritage.im.
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