ON LINE COLLECTIONS DATABASE:The Online Collections Database now includes almost 200 selections from the extensive artifact collection at Historic Richmond Town. Featured database items include firefighting equipment, children’s furniture, and men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing and accessories. The Online Collections Database was made possible by a generous grant from The Coby Foundation, in partnership with the Historic House Trust of New York City.
To access the Online Collections Database please click on the blue folder icon below. ↓
Behind the Scenes at the Museum
What does it look like when a museum is turned into a photo studio, and the models are actually dress forms wearing authentic historic clothing? This video, animated from time-lapse photographs of our crew at work, gives a behind-the-scenes peek at a recent photo shoot as it was happening. The video was created by taking 1 photograph every 20 seconds over the course of one workday and assembling the images into a video.
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To create the photographs seen in Historic Richmond Town’s new Online Collections Database, curators worked with Staten Island-based photographer Vinnie Amessé (www.amessephoto.com) to turn the Historical Museum into conservation-quality photo studio. Museum-worthy dress forms were acquired, hand-carved, and padded by the project staff to fit each garment. A team of six to seven people, including curators and clothing historians, was on hand for each of five photo shoots, to make sure the pieces were handled with utmost care and presented in a historically appropriate manner.
Project staff included: Chief Curator Maxine Friedman, Associate Curator Sarah Clark, Historic House Trust Curator Sandra Huber, Curatorial Assistant Carlotta DeFillo, Historic Clothing Consultant Lorraine Danischewki, Volunteer Carli DeFillo, and Intern Melissa Pugliese. Notice that white gloves were worn and shoes were removed when stepping onto the black seamless backdrop.
Bringing Up Baby: Children's Furniture and Family Life
Imagine bringing up baby without running water, an automatic washing machine, or, dismay -- no disposable diapers! Our ancestors did just that. They may have even welcomed the advice from a naive (and apparently, childless) physician in Philadelphia in the 1820s to urge parents to “Begin potty training at one month of age.”
TOYS! explores some of the many ways in which children learn about themselves and their world from toys. The exhibition features more than 200 of the best-loved and most fondly remembered toys from the 1840s through today.
Borough President James P. Molinaro and Historic Richmond Town bring to the public a new documentary film by Vinnie Amessé that reveals how people were changed forever by 9-11. The film tells the stories of courageous families who continue to cope with the burden of the tragedy today. Some have found hope, others despair, all have been forever changed.
Made on Staten Island:Agriculture, Industry, and Suburban Living in the City
Between 1819, when the first major industrial plant was established in what became known as Factoryville, and 1929, when the Great Depression struck the metropolitan area, Staten Island hosted an impressive series of industrial and manufacturing enterprises. Staten Island linoleum, soap, bricks, paper, lager beer, and printed cloth are products that received national, even world-wide distribution. Locally used products included carriages, baked goods, furniture, and baskets.
Exhibits
