Let me share with you an object that speaks of Crime & Punishment. . . .

Whilst searching in the Museum store in preparation for out next Hands on History session, Kayleigh, one of our Access Assistants came across this crystal.

“This colourless oval caught my eye as it reflected the light so beautifully. Beside it was a transcript of an original letter, composed by Mr H. Evans a Superintendent based in Nuneaton, without which I would not have known the crystals purpose or significance, particularly in regards to Crime & Punishment in Nuneaton during the early 1900s.

The transcript reads;

‘This crystal was found on a gipsy which was used by her for fortune-telling and was at Law Courts Nuneaton on July 1920’.

The act of fortune-telling involves the prediction of future events and aspects of a particular sitter’s life. Unfortunately we do not know the name of the fortune-teller to whom this crystal belonged but we have discovered that the crystal was confiscated from them and they were evicted from Nuneaton.  At this time the acts of fortune-telling, astrology and spiritualism were deemed punishable offences under the ‘Vagrancy Act’ established by Parliament in 1824.”

Join Kayleigh and Camellia at the Museum & Art Gallery from 11am – 4pm on Saturday 16th July, where they will share with you more objects, exploring their association with both Crime and Punishment.