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In
the Historical Museum
"Bringing Up Baby: Children's Furniture and
Family Life"
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(opens April 10, 2008 and
runs through March 29, 2009)
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| 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.” |
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Ladderback Highchair
1780 - 1820
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But, our parents’ great, great grandparents were
not without the same
kinds of concerns we have for our children today. They worried about
their safety, what they ate, how they behaved and, yes, if they washed
behind their ears. Objects of childhood tell a great deal about family
life.
The Staten Island Historical Society’s planned
exhibition of children’s furniture from 1780 to 1925 explores the role
of these items in American homes.
More than 30 historic furnishings will be on display including
highchairs, cradles, and baby carriages, along with other childhood
artifacts and photographs. Today’s parents will have a unique
opportunity to look at the family life of their
ancestors with this exhibit. |
Visitors to the museum with see how
furniture changed as childrearing practices and parental aspirations
evolved through the century. The solid sides and paneled hood of a
cradle from 1780-1820 reflect parents’ concern with shielding their
infants from drafts and protecting their eyes from light. As
ventilation emerged as a greater concern, cradles made later in the
19th century were given slatted or spindled sides.
By the end of the century, fears that the rocking motion was harmful to
infants rendered cradles nearly obsolete. A ladderback highchair made
1780-1820 is essentially a child-sized version of an adult chair, but
with long legs so its tiny user could reach the table. Its tall stiles
angle inward for increased stability. In contrast, an innovative
convertible highchair made 1876-1890 is specialized and complex,
intended to safely contain and entertain the child. A patented
mechanism allows it to convert to a rocking chair or a stroller.
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Rattan Potty Chair
1850 - 1925
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| Additional exhibition
highlights include a child’s rattan potty chair
from 1850-1925, reflecting a time before indoor plumbing was standard
in middle-class homes; and an elegant child-sized parlor chair,
1850-1875, which suggests the genteel behavior parents expected of
their child in a formal setting. Seen together, the display of
children’s furniture has visual impact that comes from the petite scale
of the objects and also from the legacy of the original owners. |
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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.
Hands-on
activities encourage visitors to consider toys in new ways and to
better understand toys as agents of self-discovery and socialization.
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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.
Made on
Staten Island presents a wide variety of objects crafted and
produced on the island from the 18th to the 20th centuries, along with
tools and other artifacts that highlight the industrial and social
development of Staten Island from its agricultural roots, through the
industrial period, to the suburban building boom after World War II.
| Highlights of the
exhibit include: |
- a shellfishing boat known as a "Staten
Island
skiff," ca.
1890, representing the oyster industry, which played a significant role
in New York City's economy and social life;
- an
original carved horse from the Midland Beach Carousel, evoking Staten
Island's beer gardens and beach resorts;
- a
Weissglass milk delivery wagon, ca. 1910, recalling the importance of
dairy farming and processing to the early-20th-century economy.
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