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- Digital photograph of dress on screen-printed paper. After the Scott Paper Company created the first paper dress as part of a promotional campaign, other designers began to experiment with disposable fashion. The two-dimensional form served as the perfect surface for printing images like this one. The temporary nature of the garment makes perfect sense for clothing that would only be worn briefly. George Romney served as the governor of Michigan before unsuccessfully running for President in 1968.
- This collectible tin plate, made in 1908, sets William Howard Taft and his running mate, James S. Sherman, amongst Republican Party luminaries, including Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses Grant, James Garfield, and Theodore Roosevelt. Taft won the election of 1908 and became our 27th president., Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit. MUS 2003.0.25
- Framed oil painting of Hamilton Utley, his wife, and two of their thirteen children, Horatio and Ellen. The portrait is primitive, as the limbs look unnatural, the eyes are too large and staring, and the family seems to be crowded together in too small a space. Colonel Utley painted his parents, sister and brother when he was twenty-four years of age. Hamilton Utley was a pioneer of the Western Reserve, making his home in Newbury, Geauga County, in 1817. This painting was originally thought to be Merrill Squires and Family. The group portrait has a dark background and one child holds a cat. Leon Hodges was the grandson of Lavinia Merrick Utley, oldest child of Hamilton and Polly (Squires) Utley. She was born in Monson, Massachusetts in 1812 and died in Newbury in 1877. She married Erastus Hodges in Newbury on April 23, 1830. Lavinia was a child of five years at the time her mother, Polly with a baby only a few months old and another child of four years, William Laurence, emigrated from Massachusetts to the Western Reserve in 1817. The father, Hamilton, had stayed over at Alexander, New York that winter to teach school before he joined them in the Spring of 1818 in Newbury Township. Above information is from a genealogy, "Ancestors of Colonel William Laurence Utley, Son of Hamilton and Polly (Squires) Utley., MUS 848. Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- Transparency of photograph of day boots c.1965 Black Suede Greece 2.5" round heel. Round toe, 18" high with hook/ lace closure. Crewel embroidery in multi-color floral trim boot sides, leather soles, insoles and lining. 11" heel to toe. Label: "Shoe Biz at Bendel, made in Greece" on insole., MUS77.16.8-A,B
- Transparency of afternoon dress of cotton printed yellow, pink, olive, chartreuse, lavender and other colors. Tabby weave, white, printed with typical psychedelic design with 1.625" border. Knee length with round neckline on front and V-neckline in back. Sleeveless, A-line with dropped waistline. back zipper closure set off center to left. Bodice in three panels (two in back and one in front) fitted with long, curved darts from bust point to slightly above waist at hip. Skirt in front and back panels, neckline, center back closure, waistline and hem defined by printed border. Dress pieces to look as if printed 'en disposition.", MUS93.38.3 Gift of Mrs. L. N. Gross.
- Picture of an Indian whose name, Joc-o-sot, means "The Walking Bear." Picture is 17-1/2" by 11" with white mat and 1" wide black frame. Framed measurement-25" by 18-1/2". Joc-o-sot was a Sauk Chief and came to Cleveland from the Lake Superior region with Dr. H. A. Ackley. He was contacted by Dan Marble, an actor and theatrical manager who engaged him to appear in native costume and to perform Indian dances and songs. He was a great success and became a sensation in England where he presented his program before Queen Victoria. He returned to Cleveland, ill. Reached Cleveland early in 1844 and was befriended by John B. Stockly and Dr. H.A. Ackley. Died and buried in Erie St. Cemetery. Further informational in files and scrapbook, Vol. 2 Pages 20 & 28; Vol. 3, page 103.
- The Superior was the second steam-powered vessel to operate on the Great Lakes. It was built with the engine of the first steam vessel, Walk-in-the-Water, which sank in 1821. Like her predecessor she combined steam-powered sidewheels and sails. On May 28, 1822, the Cleveland Herald reported, "the new steamship Superior arrived here on May 23 from Black Rock (near Buffalo) on its first trip to Detroit...headwinds may cause some delay so that she may no leave Buffalo on her next trip quite as soon as advertised." Cleveland became a way port for sidewheel steamers running between Buffalo and Detroit. The painting is executed in the British-American tradition of ship portraiture and is both detailed and realistic. Note the passengers at the stern holding parasols and seated on Windsor chairs and the crew members in the rigging., MUS 83.54.1. Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- Plaid is created by weaving different colored yarns to form stripes intersecting at right angles. When the horizontal and vertical groupings are identical, the plaid is considered a tartan. The origins of Scottish tartans were seeded centuries ago, but theirs is a history steeped in fantasy. Scotland’s “traditional” highland dress and the association of tartans with clans were actually fabricated by the English during the early 19th century. The assignment was, in fact, given randomly by weavers in preparation for George IV’s visit to Edinburgh in 1822 and held fast. Thereafter popularized as a fashion trend by Queen Victoria, plaid has the ability to transform style from classic, to preppy, hip, and even subversive. It can be serious and subdued, or bright and festive: it’s a chameleon. Since plaid’s entry into the fashion world, Ohio’s men, women, and children have worn the fabric as a way to showcase their identities. Today, plaid celebrates the season, shows school pride, embraces heritage, and expresses a particular brand of rugged American style.
- Transparency of photograph of painting. This is the earliest surviving oil painting of Public Square. The Cleveland Grays were organized in 1837 as an independent volunteer militia company to bolster the local constabulary and to protect the city in case of invasion from Canada. Here they parade on Public Square on the occasion of their second anniversary. They wear new gray uniforms, from which they took their name, and display a new banner, presented to them by Charles Giddings who also commissioned this painting. The buildings around the square are a mix of residential, commercial, and religious with the Presbyterian Old Stone dominating the center. The Square’s quadrants have painted board fencing, to protect newly planted saplings. Groupings of citizens, possibly the town’s entire population, watch the parade. The view is from an upper story of the Cleveland House Hotel on Superior west of the Square., "Donated by General S.A. Sanford". Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- Patchwork quilt, each block of different material, some appliqués and some inset. Unusual designs. Large Greek cross, quilted, in center, of white material upon which is inset bowl of flowers. Green and purple grapes inset in each corner. Bound with narrow stripe of red print cotton. Made by Martha Pierson, East Nottingham, Pennsylvania in Sept. 18, 1847. (signed in ink on quilt block), MUS42.4249. Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit