Anchoring Museum Objects in the Cold War: The Hidden Meanings of a Transatlantic Telephone Cable

Abstract

This chapter uses a piece of the first transatlantic telephone cable in the collection of National Museums Scotland to interrogate the ways in which museum objects attain significance as Cold War objects. It highlights the ways in which multiple meanings – and layers of meanings – adhere to objects at the same time. Objects not only connect these meanings, but they also exhibit elements of dissonance, noise and silence. Hence, this chapter explores the potential of the concept of anchoring, developed in the context of the history of science and technology by Christian Götter, for a Cold War museology. It offers a number of conclusions about the meaning of Cold War objects in museum collections, their collection, interpretation and display. By bringing history and museology into conversation with one another, this chapter also highlights the ways in which historians can learn through engaging with museum collections and how, in turn, museum and heritage professionals might benefit from interacting with historical scholarship.