Dragao Porto Comments Silves Cork Museum’s Ancient Archives Saved By Faro

June 21, 2012 - PRLog -- Dragao Porto a local sales and marketing company based in Porto were amazed by the discovery of the archives and hope that they are handled with care. Historic files belonging to Silves’ desolate Fábrica do Inglês cork museum, left forgotten in a basement for almost 100 years, have now been salvaged and transferred to the Faro District Archives to prevent deterioration.

Manuel Ramos, former manager of the museum which was closed down over three years ago, said that there was a risk that the documents would deteriorate if they had stayed where they were as they require specific conservational

Mr. Ramos said that the transferring archives are believed to contain some of the most important documents in the world about the history of the cork industry. It is an important step “to avoid it being lost” should the likely insolvency of the museum be officially declared. A source from Dragao Porto stated “It’s vital that these documents are transferred so that future generations can learn about them.”

Among the various assets transferred to Faro there are many 19th century documents mostly containing factory workers’ pay slips, which were found in 1998 in the basement of an on-site chalet located in the middle of the former factory and which housed the museum’s administrative services.

According to Mr. Ramos the archive will be returned to Silves when adequate conditions to keep it have been arranged and it has been inventoried, classified and made public. The director at Dragao Porto had this to say. “I for one cannot wait to read these archives and I hope many of you will be able to take a look at them and read them and see what information you find out and learn about.”

The transfer of the archives to Faro was done under a protocol signed between the administrators of Fábrica do Inglês and the State Secretary for Culture through the General Board for Archives.

Several pieces of unique cork-producing machinery and other equipment that dates from the era when Silves was the cork-producing capital of Portugal now sit abandoned.

As well as showcasing an old cork factory – once considered Portugal’s main cork factory – and being home to the museum, the Fábrica do Inglês also comprised restaurants, bars, an open-air show venue, and in its heyday it hosted several well-known events such as the Beer Festival.

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