Here is one of the many models of famous buildings made, it was said out of matchsticks, by a Stockton man around 1900.
I took this photograph in 1972 when it was on display at Preston Park Museum. Can anyone identify the building in the foreground? The one at the back is a Chinese Pagoda.
Photograph and details courtesy of Fred Starr.
The Richard Old , collection.
I remember these models in the museum, I think they were illuminated if you put a penny in. Whilst visiting Preston a couple of years ago, I entered the museum expecting to see them but just found a big empty room. I enquired as to there whereabouts but non of the staff had ever heard of them. Does anyone know where they are?
More information on Richard Old and his models can be found on my Flikr pages, if anyone is interested. I found him whilst researching my family tree. I would love to know where his large models went to.
This is one of the 750+ models which were made by Richard Old (1856-1932) a Middlesbrough cabinet maker. His models were made by fretwork, not matchsticks. The large model in the foreground of the photo is the Certosa di Pavia, a Carthusian monastery in Italy.
Richard Old lived in a small terraced house in Ruby St, M’bro. It’s said that his work on these models was so obsessive, that not only did he sell off furniture to create more space as they occupied his home, but also, that he could exist on just a couple of hours sleep each night. This, in order to create more time to devote to his hobby, before going off to his day-job at 6 a.m. His models travelled to exhibitions all over Europe and the USA, ‘Milan Cathedral’ being perhaps his most notable creation. He was also an expert on pipe-organs