Archives

Items in this collection include records of pre-1975 local authorities; records of local businesses and industries; records of local organisations, including trades unions and societies; records and memorabilia of private individuals and families; records which accompany accessioned objects; and maps of the local area. Falkirk Museums also maintain a small library to support staff research - this is available to the public on a reference only basis. Falkirk Museums have an extensive photographic archive of approximately 40,000 items, relating to all aspects of life within the district.

Textiles

The textile collection contains uniforms relating to the military, police and various trades. There are children's, men's and women's clothes and domestic textiles such as tablecloths etc., as well as flags, banners and quilts. A significant collection of 1930s-1980s women?s clothing was donated in 1996.

Applied Art and Fine Art

The Museum holds a significant collection of ceramics relating to the Falkirk area including Dunmore and Bo'ness pottery. The visual arts collection currently consists of documentary views and portraits connected with the locality. Contemporary art works, sculptures and design by established and emerging artists with connections to the area are also included. The Scottish Arts Council bequest in 1997 allocated 14 works of art by contemporary artists and these include items, which relate in subject matter to Falkirk life.

Numismatics

The Museum holds medals, coins and Scottish Communion Tokens (the museum already has a documented collection of 1300 tokens).

Contemporary

The Museum has a collection of contemporary art and a small collection of contemporary objects relating to Falkirk for example a 2005 football scarf from Falkirk FC.

Falkirk History - Social and Industrial

With the establishment of the Carron Iron Works in 1759 - the first integrated 'manufactory' in Scotland, Falkirk can fairly claim to be the birthplace of the Scottish Industrial Revolution. Industry has shaped the social past and present of the area, its landscape and natural environment, and its artistic development. The Museums hold especially strong industrial collections, particularly of tools, machines, products and archives from the iron and related industries. They include the machinery, tools and products of allied trades, transport, agriculture, engineering, shipbuilding, brick making, local government, war and weapons, commerce (including coins and local bank notes), aerated water production, retailing, and domestic items. They incorporate significant collections of hand tools from trades known to exist within the district - for example: bookbinding, dentistry, carpentry, joinery, plaster work, confectionery, tin smithing, saddlery and coopering.

Natural Sciences

Falkirk Museums have a collection of invertebrate specimens, several mounted birds and small mammals, and a herbarium representing flora found in Falkirk district. There is also a small collection of geology specimens. The collections were actively augmented in the early and mid-1980s with some additions since then - particularly a lepidoptera collection from a local natural historian.