This August, the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database was recognized with an “Award of Merit” from the American Association for State and Local History. The database was one of 57 exhibitions, publications, and projects throughout the country selected by AASLH as exemplars of “commitment to excellence in state and local history.”

The Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database was one of four award-winning projects in Wisconsin. The others include:

–Robert Booth Fowler, for the publication Wisconsin Votes: An Electoral History
–Wisconsin Historical Society Press, for the textbook Wisconsin: Our State, Our Story
–Wisconsin Historical Society Press and Wisconsin Public Television, for the publication Fill ‘er Up: The Glory Days of Wisconsin Gas Stations

Many thanks to Matt Carpenter of the History Museum at the Castle, who recommended the project for the award, and to Anne Pryor of the Wisconsin Arts Board, who wrote a wonderful critical review of the database for the award nomination.

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.

The handwritten inscription on this quilt from the Grant County Historical Society reads "Made by the members of the Young Ladies Soldiers Aid Society Hazel Green Wis. 1864."

I recently added an eclectic group of artifacts to the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database. Nine objects from the collections of the Grant County Historical Society’s Cunningham Museum in downtown Lancaster are now online. Each of these items offers an intriguing glimpse into the everyday lives of men and women living in nineteenth-century Lancaster, Platteville, and surrounding communities in southwest Wisconsin–the “Young Ladies” of Hazel Green who signed their names to the quilt they sewed and sold to raise money for soldiers off fighting in the Civil War; Jane Petty of Rigsby Hollow, who, according to family tradition, rocked all eleven of her children in a handmade walnut cradle; or Thomas Duncalf, who came to Lancaster from England as a young boy and found employment in the Lancaster Woolen Mill.

The items now online from the Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society in Madison also reveal the lives of local people–in this case, several generations of a single family. Born in Bohemia in 1870, Frank J. Hess trained in the craft of barrel making before emigrating to the United States in 1889. In 1904, he established the Hess Cooperage on Madison’s East Side, supplying white oak beer barrels to brewers across Wisconsin and throughout the nation. All four of Hess’s sons, Joseph, Tony, Frank and Edward, carried on their father’s craft, while daughter Josephine Hess served as the company manager.

In recent years, Gary Hess, grandson of Frank Hess, Sr. has carried on the tradition of the Hess Cooperage by collecting, documenting, and sharing the company’s history. The three Hess barrels now online in the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database all came to the Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society thanks to Gary, along with tools, parts, newspaper clippings and other materials that tell the story of the cooperage. In addition, a series of photographs of the Hess family at work is now available online from the Wisconsin Historical Society’s image archives, and Gary offers presentations on the history of the company and the craft of barrel-making throughout the state.

Hess and Sons Cooperage, 1954. Wisconsin Historical Society, WHi-1916.

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.

Jacquard coverlet, Mealey and Leity, Milwaukee, 1850. Property of the Elmbrook Historical Society. Photograph by Jim Wildeman.

Two new groups of artifacts went up on the database last week, both from collections in southeast Wisconsin–and, interestingly, both from historic sites that were once stagecoach inns in the 1840s and 1850s.

The 16 items now online from the Elmbrook Historical Society range from a sampler stitched by a young girl in Hartford, Wisconsin in 1845 to a monumental desk and bookcase attributed to cabinetmaker Lowell Damon, an early settler in Wauwatosa. The Elmbrook Historical Society loaned another of their important early objects–the Milwaukee coverlet pictured above–to last fall’s exhibition of Wisconsin decorative arts at the Milwaukee Art Museum, The Finest in the Western Country.

The 10 objects added to the database from the Hawks Inn Historical Society also run the gamut from small textiles to large case furniture. One of my favorite peices from Hawks Inn was the “housewife” (rolled sewing case) used by Ammi Doubleday Hawks, son of the founder of the inn, during the Civil War. My other favorite was the cherry side table collected in Portage (below)–I love the animated, animal-like presence of its legs and feet.

External links:
Elmbrook Historical Society’s website
Hawks Inn Historical Society’s website

Cherry side table collected in Portage, Columbia County, probably mid-nineteenth century. Property of the Hawks Inn Historical Society.

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.

Frackelton, Susan Goodrich, 1848-1932. Papers, 1882-1953 (Wisconsin Historical Society Archives Milw SC 23 and Museum artifact #1958.1326). Online facsimile at http://content.wisconsinhistory.org/u?/tp,50203

Exciting news for art pottery scholars and enthusiasts–the full text of Tried By Fire, ceramic artist Susan Frackelton’s influential china painting manual, is now available for the first time online through the Wisconsin Historical Society’s “Turning Points in Wisconsin History” web resource. In addition, rare examples of Frackelton’s papers, including a book of glaze formulas and letters announcing some of her many national and international awards, have also been digitized. The originals are on file at the Society’s Area Research Center in Milwaukee.

These important documents complement the Wisconsin Historical Society’s significant collection of Frackelton’s work–featuring china painting and decorated salt-glazed stoneware–as well as the 5 works by Frackelton cataloged in the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database, all from the collections of Milwaukee museums.

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.

I’ll be offering two free public presentations on Wisconsin decorative arts in the next two weeks. This Wednesday, May 13, I’ll be at the Historic Indian Agency House in Portage for the opening of their new exhibition Functional and Fanciful: Pottery in Early America. I’m presenting an illustrated talk on ceramics made and used in Wisconsin in the 1800s, focusing on three very different stories: fashionable tableware imported from Staffordshire, functional stonewares and earthenwares produced by immigrant craftsmen, and china painting and art pottery created by Wisconsin women artists.

Next week, on Thursday, May 21, I’ll be at the Villa Terrace in Milwaukee to offer a presentation on the Villa’s important collection of work by metal artisan Cyril Colnik. I’ll go beyond Colnik’s own work to consider his influences and some of the other important artisans of turn-of-the-century Milwaukee.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009
7:00 pm
Historic Indian Agency House, Portage
(608) 742-6362

Thursday, May 21, 2009
6:00 pm
Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum
2220 Terrace Avenue, Milwaukee
(414) 271-3656

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.

I spent last weekend doing some intensive project promotion at the Delafield Antique Show. Ron and Debby Christman, the show’s organizers, had very generously offered me a booth space, where I set up a digital projector and my laptop to give live demos of the Wisconsin Decorative Arts Database website. I had some fascinating conversations with dealers, collectors and other interested folks, most of whom were hearing about the project for the first time. The weekend yielded a number of exciting new leads that will make great additions to the database. In fact, I’m heading out this afternoon to photograph some ironwork in a nearby private collection.

Thank you to all who took the time to stop and talk. Enjoy the database, and keep an eye on the blog as this resource continues to grow this summer!

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.

Earlier this spring I spoke with Kelly Herold, director of the Buffalo County Historical Society in Alma, to find out more about their collections. He very generously offered to contact the other historic sites in the county and arrange some appointments for me when I was in the area. Two weeks ago I spent a beautiful sunny day driving all over Buffalo County with Kelly. In addition to the Buffalo County Historical Society, we visited five sites: the Mondovi Area Historical Society, the Lyster Lutheran Church, the Alma Historical Society, the Buffalo City-Cochrane Area Historical Society, and the Fountain City Area Historical Society. I’ve posted a little photo tour of my trip below. Many thanks to Kelly and to all of the volunteers who took the time to share their museums and collections! 

Detail of a painted panel from the Jordet farm in Modena, 1896, now in the Buffalo County Historical Society’s collection.

The local history exhibits in the Mondovi Area Historical Society's buildings include a section dedicated to the community's Knights of Pythias chapter, complete with a very throne-like chair!

Click below for more photos!

The Lyster Lutheran Church was built by Norwegian immigrants in 1867 and still supports an active local congregation.

The church's elaborate interior woodwork was carved in 1883 by local cabinetmaker Ole T. Myren (1830-1908), who came to Modena, Wisconsin from Aurdal, Norway around 1870.

The Alma Area Museum is housed in the former Buffalo County Training School, a training academy for area schoolteachers, constructed in 1902.

An exhibit at the Alma Area Museum examines the history of the logging industry and its important role in the development of the community.

The Buffalo City-Cochrane Area Historical Society is housed in the recently-restored Village Hall.

Bird figurine by an unidentified woodcarver, from the Buffalo City-Cochrane Area Historical Society.

Our last stop was the Fountain City Area Historical Society, where I photographed a quilt with redwork embroidery. One of the highlights of their collection is an impressive array of arrowheads and other early stone tools, all dug locally.

I’ve been on the road quite a bit lately and am starting to get caught up on blogging about some of my latest site visits. Last week I spent a day in Lancaster photographing artifacts at the Grant County Historical Society. One of my favorite items in their collection is a needlework picture depicting Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The work descended in the family of Susan Schnee and is said to have been made by her in about 1840, after she arrived in Wisconsin from Lebanon, Pennsylvania with her parents in the 1830s. 

I also photographed a set of doll furniture crafted from bird’s-eye-maple by Allen Cartwright, a British-born cabinetmaker who worked for the Morgan Company, a woodwork manufactory in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. According to family tradition, Cartwright made the set as a Christmas present for his great-granddaughter in 1893.  

Doll-sized chest of drawers, Allen Cartwright, Oshkosh, 1893.

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.

Three barrels produced by the Hess Cooperage, Madison, 1904-1966.

A few weeks ago I received an email from Ann Waidelich, curator for the Historic Blooming Grove Historical Society in Madison. The HBGHS operates the Nathaniel Dean House, the 1856 home of the Dean family, who were early farmers and merchants in the community. Ann wondered if I might be interested in their collection of artifacts from the Hess Cooperage, one of the last manufactories in the country to produce hand-hewn oak beer barrels, but she wasn’t sure if the objects fit into the category of “decorative arts.”

I was so glad Ann approached me, because the Hess Cooperage barrels are a great example of the kind of objects I’m looking for. They tell a fascinating story of an immigrant craftsman, Frank Hess, who brought a traditional craft to Wisconsin and passed it on to the next generation. Not only that, but the barrels are only one part of the surviving history of the Hess Cooperage. Descendant Gary Hess has assembled a wonderful collection of tools, materials, newspaper clippings, and photographs related to his family’s craft.

“Decorative arts” is a somewhat confusing label, and my project definitely goes beyond what the word “decorative” might imply. The barrels are a great example of the fact that an object doesn’t have to be “pretty” to be interesting! A seemingly mundane object can have some great stories to tell. Not only that, but I am always open to new leads–I welcome tips and suggestions on objects, craftspeople, and collections. Even if something might not fit in the categories I’ve laid out in the database, it could point me towards some exciting discoveries. 

Posted by Emily Pfotenhauer.