[BCMA] Haunted pianos, Oscar season, and office accessories, or objects available for transfer from the Vernon Museum and Archives .

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Hello,
It is day 4 of the Vernon Museum and Archives storage reorganization, and the things we have found! We even have a few available today for transfer:

With Oscar season just around the corner now is the perfect time to launch an exhibit of trophy's and local contests. An ideal contribution to this would be our silver trophy for the "Men's Open 220 Yard Dash". It's also great for summer camps, make the kids run 220 yards and let the fastest one have the trophy for the day. (1981.47.06)

A carriage, either for a large doll or a tiny child. As our catalogue describes it "Imitation reed, painted yellow, metal framework, spoked wheels with rubber tread. Turned wooden handle painted black." The paint is peeling and the wicker is flaking but it certainly invokes a gentler age when well bustled young mothers wearing elegant feathered hats pushed their babies down Main Street, stopping to peer in the shop windows at that seasons latest ribbons. (2012.94.004)

If you have a player piano, and feel like making visitors believe your museum is haunted, try our player piano reels. We have 30 of them, 29 in their original boxes. Stick them in, start the piano up, walk away, and watch your visitors get excited.

We also have a small office chair, metal, with a low back, on wheels which once belonged to the Vernon Fruit Union. Museums display so many farmers, housewives, and well to do Victorians but now you can use this chair and instead evoke the presence of an overworked, exhausted accountant who just doesn't understand why no one is writing down their sale numbers properly. (1984.327.149)

Why not keep channeling the working man/woman theme and take on our Dazor Floating Fixture, a brown/beige lamp which clamps to a desk. It just screams "9-5" office job, a part of history which does not get its due. This sample was in fact owned by a jeweler. (09.57.3)

Extra, extra, read all about it: before cell phones people needed another way to get their news! To help you display this to your visitors today we have a large free standing teletype machine. It comes in a grey metal case with a keyboard mounted on the front and inside you will find a ticker tape fixture with a slot for tape on the front. (Has no dial ). (2007.098.001)

No agriculture display is complete without a grain grinder. I'm sure you have one that is unique to your region, a treasured piece. So why not also accept our spare, and turn it into a hands on activity? It comes in three pieces, is cast metal with an attractive red finish and can be mounted on a bench. I promise you once a small child sees how much effort it takes to actually produce a bag full of grain they will  see the past with new eyes (2012.106.001)

Now I assume most of you reading this have bellows. It's good to have some bellows, kids these days just don't get how important making and maintain a fire once was. However, do you have a really big pair of bellows? Like toddler sized bellows? Perfect for your very big fire making needs...or at least it was, it's in rough shape right now, woods chipping, leather's dried out, but it's still big. This is a perfect way to extend the fire making discussion from the house into the small business realm (1965.058.001)

Lastly, we have two telephone pieces. The first is a telephone extension bell, a square wooden box mounted on a wooden base that mounts on to a wall. It has two large black metal bells (magneto) and a length of wire extending from the back. My favorite though is an oak wood box with 2 magnetic bells on the front and a cranking handle on the side. It can be wall mounted and the front is hinged on the side and has a screw fastener at front. This one is the best because if you crank the handle the bells ring, which makes it perfect for object handling. You can pass it around to school children and have them guess what it is. (2013.007.003, 2013.007.001)

I am happy to send photographs or more information.  If you wish to have one of the objects listed here today for your museum shipping costs will be your museums responsibility, and in some cases there will be an extra fee for shipping materials. If you are interested please contact: Carolyn.ben at vernonmuseum.ca<mailto:Carolyn.ben at vernonmuseum.ca>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.vifa.ca/pipermail/bcma/attachments/20200117/3e8c3d44/attachment.htm