The Connecticut Historical Society Museum and Library has moved into this era of increased transparency in a big way. They are throwing open the doors to the locked rooms and climate controlled facilities that house the items from their vast collections that are seldom seen by the general public.
While it is true that historians and researchers can access all of the collection by appointment, the museum's holdings are just too vast to be displayed in the limited space available. But in order to emphasize the impressive extent of the items and artifacts that have been assembled over the years, the CHS now sponsors two tours on the second Saturday of every month, one offering a sneak peek into the non-public storage areas of the collection that are not currently on exhibit and one sharing the secrets of the Curtis Veeder House, the historic 1928 house that serves as the front entrance to the Society.
The tours were first offered in January of this year and proved so successful that the CHS now offers each tour twice on the designated Saturday, and allowing tickets to be purchased in advance. Advance tickets are now being sold for the next three months of tours and can be purchased on the Historical Society's website or at CHS itself until noon on the day prior to the tour. Otherwise, in person ticket sales start at 9 am on the day of the tour on a first-come, first served basis. Interested patrons my call (860) 236-5621 to check on ticket availability, but no reservations will be taken over the telephone. Due to space requirements, only a limited number of people can be accommodated on each tour.
The Behind the Scenes collection tour departs at 11 am and 2 pm, with the Veeder House tours departing at noon and 3 pm on the second Saturday of each month.
According to Rebecca Furer, the Society's Director of Education and Interpretation, who recently took a reporter on an abbreviated version of both tours, the library and museum house one of the most comprehensive array of historical resources in the state, a collection that attracts academics, graduate students, historians, researchers and geneologists from around the world. The library's holdings of books, historical documents, family histories, and letters is more than equally matched by the extensive holdings of the museum, which include furniture, textiles, portraiture, painting, dishware, cutlery, ceramics, signage, flags, weathervanes and other artifacts.
Although the Veeder House serves as the front entrance to the library and museum complex, Furer cautions that "we are not a historic house museum per se, but a museum with a historic house as part of it." Today, the house contains the museum's lobby, coat room, gift shop and offices, but nonetheless the structure has been carefully preserved. These tours mark the first organized tours of the Veeder House, taking visitors through what were once the servants' quarters to rooms that once served as the Veeder family's living quarters.
Curtis Veeder, one of the founders of what became known as the Veeder-Root Corporation, was an engineer by profession and his house does demonstrate his capacity for "over-engineering," as Furer explains. For example, Veeder installed one of the first central vacuum cleaning systems in Hartford (which is still operational today) as well as one of the first residential elevators, also operational. His call system to the servants' quarters and work rooms was also very advanced for its time. Most of the original wood from the houses is still visible, along with most of the features from the sun room and terrace and other living spaces.
The Behind the Scenes tour whisks visitors to several large, climate-controlled storage rooms where most of the museum's acquisitions are stored and preserved. A visitor learns quickly, however, that these are more than just store rooms. The museum staff seems constantly engaged in some aspect of repair or preservation, whether it be developing ways to maintain the texture of a century old historic flag or ironing some of the historic clothing and costumes for storage in flat drawers.
One of the highlights of the tour is the remarkable furniture collection, with items dating from the colonial era to the avant garde designs of a Bantam-based manufacturer of office furniture. The collection encompasses smaller items from candlesticks, clocks and lamps to larger items such as bedsteads, bureaus, and armoires. Visitors will be able to see items from all periods of Connecticut's history, with Revolutionary War era benches just a few feet from an art deco chest of drawers or a 50's era kitchen.
Among the most talked-about items on the tour is certainly the Corpse Preserver, dating from the 1870's, a free standing coffin-like display case that allowed a body to be viewed in a private home. Made of wood but lined with horsehair and tin with ice added on a regular basis, this piece would severely limit the decomposition until the funeral and burial.
Another stop behind the scenes is the museum's rich and colorful costume and textile collection, reaching back to the 1700's and extending to modern times. Hanging on tightly congested racks lowered from the ceiling or sheltered under rows and rows of protective coverings, the collection offers a comprehensive study of changing fashions among the rich and poor, through the various wars fought by this country, to the changing and sometimes radical tastes of the twentieth century.
A visitor might be able to catch a glimpse of a one-piece, low cut tennis outfit once worn by Hartford's own Katharine Hepburn or see a formal civil war gown worn to one of Lincoln's inaugural balls. An eye may be caught by the bright red uniform of a Loyalist Redcoat or the dull gray of an 18th century housemaid. Of particular interest to long term Connecticut residents are fashions, hats, shoes, and accessories donated by Beatrice Fox Auerbach from her personal and store collections.
Rail mounted display racks in another storage room allow for access to the museum's painting and portraiture collections, which contain two oils by Connecticut's Jonathan Trumbull of his parents, Governor and Mrs. Trumbull, and a series of panels depicting the battle of Lexington and Concord by Amos Dolittle. The collection includes a rare portrait of President John Adams and a work depicting the early years of Old Newgate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby. There's even a carefully conserved Treasury Guard Flag that was one of five that decorated the Presidential Box at Ford's Theater on the night that Lincoln was assassinated, which was donated to the CHS by a former Treasury official back in 1922. Because of the fragility of the flag, it is doubtful that it ever could be displayed as part of the museum's permanent collection.
Plenty more surprises await visitors on the behind-the scenes tours, but for those unable to make a tour, there is still plenty to see in the museum itself with its permanent and rotating exhibits. The permanent exhibits showcases highlights from throughout the state's history, while currently the museum is offering a special exhibit called "New Life for Connecticut Trees," an exhibition about woodworking, the urban tree canopy and a history of the states trees. The exhibition runs through March 17 and features furniture designed by City Bench from Connecticut trees that were once destined for landfills.
The museum and library is located at One Elizabeth Street in Hartford's West End and offers ample free parking. For museum hours and admission prices, visit the CHS website at www.chs.org
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