Objects and HeirloomsMore than a million objects are in the collections of the Kansas State Historical Society. They represent all facets of Kansans' lives from all periods of history and pre-history. This page includes general information on significant groups of artifacts in the collections of the Society's Kansas Museum of History and Archeology divisions. Cool ThingsTo learn about important individual artifacts, check out the Cool Things page. New CollectionsOur latest acquisitions can be found on the New Collections page. Research Policies & ProceduresIn addition to the collections themselves, researchers may utilize resources maintained in the Curatorial Offices at the Kansas Museum of History. These resources include U.S. patent records (from 1790 through 1959) and a complete set of Sears, Roebuck & Co. catalogs, all on microfilm. Also available to researchers is a 3,000-title curatorial library with works on material culture, museum collecting and administration, and exhibition theory. Basic information on the collections listed below (except for Archeology) is on database and may be searched by subject, author, object name, and association. Direct all requests for searches to the webmaster. Collection storage areas are closed to the public. Researchers may study artifacts by appointment from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or other times by special permission. Contact the Webmaster at the above e-mail address at least one week in advance to schedule a visit. Researchers must complete a registration form and show one form of photo identification. Personal belongings must be stored in Research Room lockers. Researchers may use one binder or paper, note cards, a personal computer, tape recorder, and pencils when examining the collections. All personal research materials are subject to a search by staff. Index to Significant Groups of Artifacts, Kansas State Historical Society
ArcheologyThe Archeology Office provides a brief general description of prehistoric and historic specimens in the Archeological Collections. For information on individual important artifacts: ArtPortraitsThe museum's art collection features paintings and sculpture that document people, places and events important to the state's history, as well as a variety of works by Kansas artists. The art collection includes approximately 300 portraits in a variety of media. The majority are oil paintings. Subjects range from familiar figures of national renown such as Abraham Lincoln, Carry Nation and John Brown, to those most well-known on the state or local level. Examples of the latter include John James Ingalls, U.S. Senator 1873-91; Fry Giles, one of the founders of Topeka, 1850s; Margaret Hill McCarter, 20th century Kansas novelist; and Mary Elizabeth Lease, Populist orator and head of the State Board of Charities in 1893-94. A few Kansas artists, including George Stone and Henry Worrall, are represented by multiple works in the portrait collection. The museum owns nearly fifty portraits by Stone (1858-1931), a native of Topeka. After pursuing art studies for several years in France, Stone returned to Kansas to establish an art school and pursue a career as a portrait and landscape painter. Henry Worrall (1825-1902) is represented by seven oil portraits of prominent Kansans. Worrall came to Kansas from Cincinnati in 1868 and quickly gained fame both as an artist and as a musician. Worrall produced landscapes (see Drouthy Kansas) and satirical works as well as portraits. BuildingsFor information on the Humbarger Log House see the "Cool Things" page. Valentine DinersVisitors to the Main Gallery of the Kansas Museum of History will see "Dorothy's Rainbow Diner," a vignette where they can learn about the states' contribution to the restaurant and fast food industry. "Dorothy's" is patterned after one of those contributions, the Valentine diner, made in Wichita from the late 1930's into the 1960's. The conditions of the Great Depression allowed for the development and promotion of Valentine diners. They were small eight- to twelve-seat operations with a limited menu which made them ideal for a one-man operation, keeping expenses down. It was an opportunity for someone to operate a profitable business with very little capital. One way this was promoted by Valentine was through the wall safes just inside the door. As part of the sales agreement, a portion of the profits were deposited there to pay off the diner. Valentine representative would pick up the money from the safe on a regular basis until the building was completely paid for. The Ablah Hotel Supply Company of Wichita originally made these prefabricated diner buildings, though sales were apparently limited to the region. An Ablah employee, Arthur Valentine, began the Valentine Manufacturing Company out of the Ablah business in 1938. Sales of the buildings expanded nationwide. The diners often were located along major highways. In addition to use as a diner, the same building shell was utilized for such varied commercial enterprises as bakeries and liquor stores. See the special Valentine Diners section of this web site for more history on Arthur Valentine and his businesses, and to locate Valentine diners within Kansas. The museum is gathering information about both the Ablah and Valentine buildings, as well as the short-lived efforts of the Hayes Manufacturing Company of Wichita. Of particular interest is data on surviving buildings around the country and any information that would provide a clearer picture of the companies, including various forms of documentation and photographs. If you have any information or questions, please contact Blair Tarr, Museum Curator, btarr@kshs.org. CommunicationPrintingGiven the Society's origins (it was founded in 1875 by Kansas newspaper editors and publishers), it is not surprising that the museum collections include a number of presses and related printing equipment. The history of printing in Kansas is closely tied to the history of the state's newspapers. Newspaper offices frequently housed their communities' only presses. The printing of handbills, calling cards, stationery, and other small jobs was lucrative and many a town's newspaper office thrived because of this business. It was common (particularly in the nineteenth century) for newspapers to ally themselves with political parties. These alliances gave a voice to the party while providing the newspaper with a ready pool of subscribers among the party's voters. Some newspapers were established specifically for a political campaign and then disappeared immediately after election day. Newspapers were critical to the growth of Kansas communities. Most importantly, they tirelessly promoted their home towns and generated publicity to attract new residents. They also served as a primary source of entertainment before radio, television, and other forms of media appeared. Jotham Meeker is generally regarded as the first printer in Kansas. A Baptist missionary, Meeker set up a press in present-day Kansas City in February 1834. There he printed around 90 pieces in various Native American languages using an orthography he and other missionaries developed. He also printed a newspaper in the Shawnee language for a number of years. Although the collections do not include any of Meeker's printing equipment, they do contain several of his publications and 12 volumes of his journal (1832-1855) in which he documented establishing his press. For a biography of Jotham Meeker and a description of the Society's holdings on his life and work, see the Jotham Meeker Papers. During Kansas' territorial period (1854-1861) a flurry of newspapers appeared, usually in support of either the anti- or pro- slavery cause. Several newspaper offices were ransacked for their political views during the "Bleeding Kansas" era and later during the Civil War. The Society's collections include type from Lawrence's Herald of Freedom, thrown into the street during an 1856 raid that destroyed the office. The bed from a press that printed another Lawrence paper, the Tribune, was salvaged as a Civil War relic after border ruffian William Quantrill sacked the city in 1863. By far the largest portion of the printing collections, however, dates from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Major groupings in the collections include type and type cases, chases, composing sticks, engraving plates, and furniture from printing presses around Kansas. Newspapers and printing plants associated with this equipment include the following:
The collections encompass a number of printing presses, including three hand presses--a Washington press (R. Hoe & Co, New York) used in printing Cawker City's The Public Record, a Mustang/Mailer (St. Louis) that printed the Americus Greeting, and a Chandler & Price (Cleveland). A linotype machine used by the Cunningham Clipper and manufactured by the Mergenthaler Linotype Co. (Brooklyn) also is included in the collection. The two platen presses in the collection are a Curtis & Mitchell (Boston) used by the Norton Telegram and a Chandler & Price that printed the Lockwood Herald. The latter press' history is typical of nineteenth century newspapers in Kansas. First used at a Salem, Kansas, printing plant established by M.L. Lockwood in 1883, the press printed The Friend for a number of years before moving to Athol with its owner. Later the press traveled to Smith Center where it printed The Journal, then to Lebanon for the Lockwood Herald, on to Easton for The Easton Light, and finally back to Lebanon where it served the Lockwood Printing Company before being retired. It was donated to the Society in 1977. By the mid-twentieth century most newspapers were no longer in the business of job printing (i.e., taking on supplemental work). The Society's collections include equipment from some of the printing plants that appeared during this time period, including the State Printing Plant in Topeka. Home FurnishingsQuiltsAbout 180 quilts are in the collection of the Kansas Museum of History. They date from the late 18th century to the present, although most were made between 1850 and 1940. Kansas quilts are the highlight of the collection, but many of the bedcovers were made elsewhere and brought to the state by immigrants. Although the Society has been collecting since 1877, most of the quilts have been collected since 1954 and two-thirds have been accessioned since 1970. The first quilt arrived in 1924--a Broderie Perse quilt that was found by an Illinois soldier on a southern Civil War battlefield. The soldier later moved to Kansas, and it was his widow who offered it to the Society. It was accepted as a war relic. The Society helped document the state's quilt making traditions by co-sponsoring the Kansas Quilt Project which recorded the makers and histories of more than 13,000 quilts. Project data was researched and compiled into the book Kansas Quilts and Quilters (also available through the Museum Store). Much of this information is available to researchers on a data base at the Society. To study this data contact Joy Brennan, Folk Arts Coordinator, jbrennan@kshs.org. FurnitureOne of the earliest and most successful business in the Kansas Territory (1854-1861) was the furniture company established in 1856 by James L. Abernathy and his brothers, William and John. Abernathy Brothers Furniture of Leavenworth became a highly visible regional business, lasting nearly a century. While the furniture has become desirable on the collectibles market, little has been written on the company itself. James Abernathy was the most prominent of the brothers, apparently made successful by his ambition and (like others of his generation) his service in the Civil War. Born in Warren County, Ohio, in 1833, he settled in Leavenworth in 1856 with his brother William where they opened a retail furniture business. During the Civil War (1861-1865) James became captain of a company of the Eighth Kansas Volunteer Infantry, eventually rising to the rank of lieutenant colonel. William expanded the business during the war, operating a wholesale and retail furniture business in Kansas City. William died in 1869, and James took control of his interests; brother John also would become a partner, though the dates of his involvement are unclear. Abernathy Brothers continued to operate its plants at Leavenworth into the 1940s and in the West Bottoms of Kansas City into the early 1950s. The latter facility still stands. Bedroom and dining suites appear to have been the company's specialty, although in the early years advertisements indicated a little bit of everything from carpets to oil cloths to lace curtains. During the 1870s the company catalog was included in the Leavenworth City Directory. The Kansas State Historical Society's Kansas Museum of History has a few pieces of Abernathy furniture in its collection, including a sofa bed (ca. 1915) and a 1930s playpen and crib (pictured above). Perhaps the finest Abernathy furniture in the collection is a three-piece Renaissance Revival bedroom suite purchased in 1877 by John J. LaRosh, a Pennsylvania native who moved his family to Osborne, Kansas, in that year. The suite remained in the family for three generations before coming to the museum in 1983. MilitaryFlagsThe primary focus of the museum's military flag collection is the 82 flags which date from both the Civil and Spanish-American Wars. The majority of these flags represent most of the Kansas regiments raised to serve in these wars. The flags of the Civil War regiments were presented to the state by veterans in a ceremony in Topeka on July 4, 1866. Included were flags of the First through Sixteenth Kansas Regiments, with the exception of the Third and Fourth, which never fully organized and were taken into the Tenth Regiment. No flag exists for the Seventeenth, which organized late in the war. Also included were flags of the First Kansas Colored Infantry, the Second Kansas Colored Infantry, and the First and Second Kansas Batteries. No flags exist for the Third Battery and the Independent Colored Kansas Battery. The flags were originally the responsibility of the Adjutant General, and remained so until 1905. They were probably kept at Topeka's Constitution Hall until part of the Capitol was ready for occupancy in 1870. At least part of the time they were kept in a case in the Governor's Office. In 1905 the flags were transferred to the Kansas State Historical Society. For nine years they were kept in a case in the Society's rooms on the fourth floor of the Capitol. When the Society moved in 1914 to the newly constructed Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Building, they were moved in a stirring ceremony where veterans of the Kansas regiments marched the flags from the south steps of the Capitol to the new building. Until the early 1960's they would remain encased in the building's auditorium. A remodeling program at that time forced them into storage. No flags exist from the Indian War-era's Eighteenth and Nineteenth Regiments. Eight flags exist for the Spanish-American War's Twentieth through Twenty-second regiments, but none for the Twenty-third regiment. These flags were turned over to the state shortly after use in that war and the Philippine Insurrection. The collections also include a Spanish banner, taken by a member of the Twentieth regiment, which bears the signatures of the men of Company E. Sadly, many of the Kansas flags are made of silk and have not stood the test of time. Many remained furled in poor condition and are badly fragmented. The Kansas State Historical Society is currently raising funds for their conservation through the Save Our Flags! project. Among the artifacts conserved through this project are flags from the Eighth Kansas Infantry and Major General James G. Blunt. For more information about the flags, contact Blair Tarr, Curator of Decorative Arts, btarr@kshs.org. To research Kansas troopers, see Soldiers in Kansas. Personal GearA description of personal gear (e.g., clothing, headwear, footwear) will be added at a later date. For information on important individual artifacts:
RecreationA description of recreation artifacts in the collection will be added at a later date. For information on one important donation of sports equipment, see Jess Willard's Boxing Gear. Society/CommunityArtifacts of Fraternal Societies & Other OrganizationsAs in many other parts of the United States, community and social life in Kansas was for some time focused largely on the activities of voluntary organizations. Participation in such groups, which ranged from secret societies to veterans' organizations to occupational associations, peaked in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Kansas Museum of History collection reflects the pervasive influence of such groups in the community. The collection includes a large number of pins, badges, ribbons, and other symbols of membership or rank in an organization. Several groups are represented by sets of ceremonial objects used during meetings. These often include such items as an altar cloth, a flag, a Bible, and sometimes symbolic objects specific to the group and its rituals. The museum also has numerous examples of membership cards, chapter charters, and other representative paper artifacts. The following fraternal societies and auxiliary groups are among those represented in the collection:
A sizeable portion of the organizational artifact collection is made up of badges and other symbols of the Grand Army of the Republic. In 1914, the Kansas State Historical Society moved into a new building erected as a memorial to Civil War veterans. For some years, the Memorial Building housed not only the Historical Society, but also the offices of the G.A.R. and other veterans' organizations. Because of this connection, quite a few G.A.R. items found their way into the museum's collections. These include many badges, pins, and ribbons from local chapters and from annual encampments. Also in the collection is a large stained glass representation of a G.A.R. medal, which once hung in the Memorial Building's G.A.R. auditorium. [For other information on the G.A.R., see Soldiers in Kansas]. Besides the G.A.R., museum holdings represent the following organizations for veterans and their families:
An assortment of Ku Klux Klan items reflects the darker potentials of people-in-groups. In the 1920s, the Klan became a potent force in Kansas politics, and membership in the state multiplied. In the museum collection are several examples of KKK robes and hoods, including a complete outfit for a horse. Of particular interest is a large primitive painting depicting a klansman on horseback, found in what served as a small-town Klan meeting hall. Museum holdings also represent occupational and labor groups. In keeping with the importance of railroads in Kansas are items from the Brotherhoods of Rail Road Trainmen, Locomotive Engineers, Railway Clerks, and Railroad Carmen of America. Other professional groups represented are the Bakers and Confectionary Workers International, the Kansas Editorial Association, and United Commercial Travellers. Also to be found in the museum are items related to a variety of special-interest groups. These organizations include old settlers' associations, the WCTU, irrigation congresses, the Anti-Horse Thief Association, and the "International Association for the Prevention of Smoke." These and others are among the many formal organizations represented in the collections of the Kansas Museum of History. All such items can be accessed by the name of the group with which they were affiliated. Kansas Territorial-Era CurrencyImagine having no money. Not being poor, but simply having no money--no bills, no change. And imagine that if you did get your hands on some, you wouldn't know exactly what it was worth until you tried to buy something with it. Having no money was a way of life for many settlers in Kansas during the territorial years from 1854 to 1861. A nationwide banking system, with uniform currency throughout all of the states, was not established until passage of the National Bank Acts of 1863 and 1864. In the absence of such a system many banks, and even individuals, issued their own currency. The rate of bank failure was high, especially during periods of business recession. This situation was generally difficult, but even more so for settlers on the Kansas frontier, far from major business and transportation centers. In Kansas Territory the small amount of currency available was a mixture of paper from unsound banks, counterfeit printings, and legitimate currency from banks in New England, New York, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. Paper money might actually be worth face value or considerably less depending on the perceived soundness of its source. The territorial legislature tried to bring some order to the situation by declaring in January, 1857, that only banks chartered by legislative act would be considered legitimate and could issue currency. Only two chartered institutions, the Kaw Valley Bank and the Lawrence Bank, are known to have actually begun operations before 1861. The museum's collection of territorial currency reflects the activities of these legally-established banks. It also includes bills issued by non-chartered banks (some of which never actually came into being) and by other businesses, governmental entities, or individual businessmen. Territorial Kansas currency in the museum's collection was issued by the following banks or other entities (grouped by town):
Tools & EquipmentHere's some information on important individual tools and equipment in the collection:
TransportationFor information on important individual transportation artifacts in the Kansas Museum of History's collection: CarsThe Kansas Museum of History has three automobiles in its collections. A 1910 Thomas Town Car with a Laundaulet body type was donated in 1941 by the estate of Hiram Price Dillon. It originally was purchased by the Dillon family in the fall of 1909. Clearly a luxury car of the time, it has an enclosed rear section with collapsible roof, while the driver's section is open. A signal system indicated to the chauffeur the direction in which to go, how fast to travel, when to start, and when to stop. Made by the E.R. Thomas Motor Company of Buffalo, N.Y., the Thomas Town Car has a four-cylinder engine with 28.9 horsepower. Depending on the accessories, its original cost varied from $5,000 to $6,000. At the time of its donation, the car was put in running order. According to the Topeka Daily Capital of August 31, 1941, the car was found to have its rear axle missing. A family story relates that the axle was removed and hidden to stop the younger members of the family and their friends from using the car without permission. The last hiding place of the axle apparently was forgotten. In 1947 a Great Smith automobile, made in Topeka, was donated by Clement Smith, one of the brothers who owned the automobile company. Clement and his brother, L. Anton, were already in the business of producing artificial limbs, harps, and archery equipment when they added cars to their product lines. The Smith Automobile Company was formed in 1904--although Smith cars were made before then--and operated out of shops at 10th and Jefferson in Topeka. The Great Smith in the KSHS collection was made in 1908. It has a four-cylinder engine with 30 horsepower. Its cost when new was $2,650 without the accessories, which included a top and a windshield. The third car was donated in 1985 by David Fowler of Topeka and is currently on exhibit in the permanent gallery. The car is a 1933 Chevrolet Eagle four-door sedan purchased by Fowler's parents from the Davis-Child Motor Company of Emporia. The car remained with the family after they moved to Admire and later Topeka. The Eagle has a six-cylinder engine with 26.33 horsepower. Its retail cost when new was $565, which made it popular with moderate income families in the early 1930s, with over 162,000 produced. The Eagle maintains its original paint and upholstery. Railroad ArtifactsOver the years, the Kansas State Historical Society occasionally has taken into its holdings what can be called "collector's collections." Among these is the Goebel Railroad Collection, acquired by the Society in 1981. Charles "Bud" Goebel was born near Burlingame, Kansas, on June 27, 1898, and was an employee of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway for nearly 46 years. He started as a cashier in Burlingame in 1917; two years later he was transferred to Woodward, Oklahoma, only to be transferred back to Kansas (Osage City) within three months. In 1933 Bud moved to Emporia, where he served as rate clerk and night warehouse foreman. He moved to Topeka as chief clerk to the agent in 1940. Eleven years later he became the freight agent in Atchison, the position from which he retired on June 30, 1963. Bud Goebel died in Topeka on January 5, 1987, at the age of 88. Bud Goebel's collection of railroad artifacts was actually begun by his son, Kenneth, at the age of 14. When Kenneth died eight years later in 1943, Bud kept his son's collection but did not add anything to it himself for ten years. Eventually, Bud took up collecting as an enjoyable hobby, and occasionally other railroading people contributed items to the Goebel collection. On December 1, 1963, the Goebel collection opened to the public in the waiting room of the Burlingame depot, where it remained until the building closed in 1981. A large portion of the collection--over 4,000 items--was donated to the Kansas State Historical Society. The wide-ranging collection includes everything from depot furniture to tools to paper collectibles to a velocipede. Many magazines and other publications have been added to Santa Fe documents already in the KSHS collections. Some Goebel artifacts are displayed in the Kansas Museum of History's Main Gallery. Another transportation artifact displayed at the museum, but not part of the Goebel collection, is Locomotive No. 132. |
|
 |
