An exhibition at Harborough Museum, which transports visitors back to the world of Ladybird Books in the 1970s and 1980s, has proved to be a big hit, pulling in more than 2,400 visitors since it opened a few weeks ago.
H is for House: Living in a Ladybird Home is based on scenes recreated from the iconic Ladybird books from the period. The books perfectly captured everyday objects and fashions through exquisite illustrations and remain hugely popular today, providing a social snapshot into our recent history.
The exhibition features several original Ladybird Books, as well as familiar household items from the Leicestershire Museums Collection, including a trim phone, a vacuum cleaner and a teasmade.
There are also lots of hand-on opportunities to recover lost dialling skills on a rotary telephone, have a go at creating Ladybird-style illustrations or play in the child-sized kitchen styled on the museum’s 1980s dolls house.
H is for House made its debut last year at Charnwood Museum in Loughborough – the original home of Ladybird Books. In the 11 weeks it was open, the exhibition saw a total of 18,400 visitors through the doors, making it Charnwood Museum’s most successful exhibition since 2015.
Now, nostalgia fans and those who weren’t even born when the books were first around are being urged not to miss the exhibition, which runs until Saturday, 29 June.
Ladybird Books are fondly remembered by a generation of people who read them as children. This is a fascinating exhibition and we have had lots of good feedback from people who have already visited it. It appeals to those who remember the books and those who are discovering them for the first time – it’s a perfect outing for the upcoming Easter holidays
Person:Zara Matthews, county council market town museums managerEntry to the exhibition is free. Harborough Museum is open from 10am to 6pm on Tuesday-Fridays and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays.
Harborough Museum and Market Harborough Library are located on the first floor of The Symington Building in the centre of Market Harborough.
Phone 0116 305 3627, email Harborough.museum@leics.gov.uk or see the website at www.harboroughmuseum.org.uk
Harborough Museum is a partnership between Leicestershire County Council, Harborough District Council and the Market Harborough Historical Society.