Cultures & Communities

Cleveland Many Peoples One Language Poster

Furniture, cooking wares, clothing, works of art, and many other kinds of artifacts are part of what knit people into communities and cultures. The Museum’s collections feature artifacts from European Americans, Latinos, Arab Americans, Asian Pacific Americans, African Americans, Gypsies, Jews, and Christians, both Catholics and Protestants. The objects range from ceramic face jugs made by enslaved African Americans in South Carolina to graduation robes and wedding gowns. The holdings also include artifacts associated with education, such as teaching equipment, textbooks, and two complete schoolrooms. Uniforms, insignia, and other objects represent a wide variety of civic and voluntary organizations, including youth and fraternal groups, scouting, police forces, and firefighters.

Letter to Mary Copp from Sarah Rathbone

The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s.
Description
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1811-03-18
originator (author or composer, etc.)
Rathbone, Sarah
recipient
Copp, Mary Esther
originator (author, etc.)
Rathbone, Sarah
ID Number
DL.006873.015
catalog number
6873.015
accession number
28810

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, 20th Century

The obverse of this large sperm whale tooth is filled with the etching of a large, unidentified three-masted ship sailing from left to right with all sails flying.
Description
The obverse of this large sperm whale tooth is filled with the etching of a large, unidentified three-masted ship sailing from left to right with all sails flying. Although it has an American flag at the stern, the vessel is unidentified and there are no visible crew on deck handling the sails or rigging.
The reverse is decorated with a dove perched in a small bouquet of flowers over a heart with "1863 Susanna" carved in the middle. A pennant at the top of the tooth is inscribed "SAMUAL WIGGENS". There is no one named Wiggens in the New Bedford Whaling Museum Whaling Crew List Database.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
20th century
ID Number
1978.0052.26
accession number
1978.0052
catalog number
1978.52.26

Letter to Mary Copp from Sarah Rathbone

The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s.
Description
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1818-10-09
originator (author or composer, etc.)
Rathbone, Sarah
recipient
Copp, Mary Esther
originator (author, etc.)
Rathbone, Sarah
ID Number
DL.006873.069
catalog number
6873.069
accession number
28810

The American Crisis

Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis was a pamphlet series published from 1776 until 1783. This pamphlet was number five in the series, originally published March 21, 1778. The pamphlet was addressed to General William Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in North America.
Description
Thomas Paine’s The American Crisis was a pamphlet series published from 1776 until 1783. This pamphlet was number five in the series, originally published March 21, 1778. The pamphlet was addressed to General William Howe, Commander-in-Chief of the British Army in North America. While Howe sent a letter of resignation in 1777, he did not depart the Colonies until May of 1778. Paine attacks him generally for his unjust war against the colonies, and specifically for actions like distributing counterfeit colonial currency.
The Copp Collection contains about 150 books of early American imprint and shows a wide range of reading matter typical of a New England Puritan family living in a port town. Literacy was expected of many New Englanders, as Puritan doctrine required everyone to read the Bible. The abundance of multiple Bibles, psalms, hymnodies, sermons, and morality tales reflects the Copp’s religious beliefs. Other highlights of the library include the works of Shakespeare, almanacs, historical and political texts, and travel narratives.
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
DL.006868.005
catalog number
006868.005
accession number
28810

Letter to Mary Copp from Ann Phelps

The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s.
Description
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1812-07-07
recipient
Copp, Mary Esther
ID Number
DL.006873.031
catalog number
6873.031
accession number
28810

Hunter Weathervane

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
1875-1900
ID Number
CL.65.0922
catalog number
65.0922
accession number
256396

Picture postcard, "Carmel Mission, Near Monterey, Calif."

This postcard view of Carmel Mission in Monterey was printed by the Detroit Publishing Company in about 1910, using a copyrighted photolithographic process called "Photostint."The Detroit Publishing Company, previously known as the Detroit Photographic Company, was first listed i
Description (Brief)
This postcard view of Carmel Mission in Monterey was printed by the Detroit Publishing Company in about 1910, using a copyrighted photolithographic process called "Photostint."
The Detroit Publishing Company, previously known as the Detroit Photographic Company, was first listed in Detroit city directories in 1888. William A. Livingstone, its manager, invited the famous landscape photographer William Henry Jackson to join the company as a partner in 1897. Jackson brought with him his own photographic images, which would be used by the company.
Mission San Carlos Borroméo del rio Carmelo, or the Old Mission Chapel, was established in 1770 by Fr. Junípero Serra, the Spanish Franciscan founder of twenty-one missions in California between 1769 and 1823. San Carlos was the second of these missions, established to convert American Indians of the Esselen and Ohlone, or Costanoan, tribes to Catholicism.
Today the mission serves as a parish church.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1910
graphic artist
Detroit Publishing Co.
ID Number
1986.0639.2014
accession number
1986.0639
catalog number
1986.0639.2014

Letter to Mary Copp from Samuel Copp

The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s.
Description
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1812-05-11
originator (author or composer, etc.)
Copp, Mary Esther
recipient
Copp, Jr., Samuel
originator (author, etc.)
Copp, Jr., Samuel
ID Number
DL.006873.028
catalog number
6873.028
accession number
28810

strips, set of cloth

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2006.0079.03
catalog number
2006.0079.03
accession number
2006.0079

Camera-ready comic strip, entitled Mary Worth

Mary Worth, also titled Mary Worth's Family during the early 1940s, was famously drawn by Ken Ernst and written by Allen Saunders during the 1960s-1980s. It continues to be distributed by King Features Syndicate, although with new artists and writers.
Description
Mary Worth, also titled Mary Worth's Family during the early 1940s, was famously drawn by Ken Ernst and written by Allen Saunders during the 1960s-1980s. It continues to be distributed by King Features Syndicate, although with new artists and writers. The strip features the title character Mary, a former teacher and widow, in a soap-opera style storyline including the drama surrounding her apartment house neighbors. In this strip, Tony tries to divert Avonne's afternoon plans by asking his mother to serve his friends lunch, even though it is her afternoon off.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
08/21/1966
graphic artist
Ernst, Ken
maker
Saunders, John Allen
publisher
Publishers Newspapers Syndicate, Inc.
ID Number
GA.22450
catalog number
22450
accession number
277502

Concession Stand

Concession stands provided refreshments for park vistors.Currently not on view
Description
Concession stands provided refreshments for park vistors.
Location
Currently not on view
negative
1972
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.088
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.088

Engraved woodblock of an "Australian grave and carved trees"

This engraved woodblock of an “Australian grave and carved trees” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 37 (p.76) in an article by Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) entitled “Pictographs of the North American Indians: a pr
Description
This engraved woodblock of an “Australian grave and carved trees” was prepared by the Government Printing Office in Washington, D.C.; the image was published as Figure 37 (p.76) in an article by Garrick Mallery (1831-1894) entitled “Pictographs of the North American Indians: a preliminary paper” in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian, 1882-83.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1886
publisher
Bureau of American Ethnology
printer
Government Printing Office
author
Mallery, Garrick
block maker
J. J. & Co.
ID Number
1980.0219.1206
catalog number
1980.0219.1206
accession number
1980.0219

Scrimshaw Sperm Whale Tooth, mid 19th Century

The carving and artistry on this sperm whale tooth indicate the hand of a professional artist or engraver. In the center of the obverse is an American crest with stars and stripes.
Description
The carving and artistry on this sperm whale tooth indicate the hand of a professional artist or engraver. In the center of the obverse is an American crest with stars and stripes. From either side come American flags hung on spears, which change on both sides into three bayonets affixed to rifle barrels below. Under the bayonets are large cannon muzzles, below which are the rams used to clean and prepare the tubes for the next shot. At the top of the crest, a large sailing ship with all sails raised sails towards the viewer. Below is an intricate geometric border surmounted by a floral device in the center under the crest.
The complex shading, imaginative composition and absence of any image registration pinholes attest to the master craftsmanship of the piece; unfortunately, it is undecorated on the back side.
Scrimshaw began in the late 18th or early 19th century as the art of carving whale bone and ivory aboard whale ships. The crew on whalers had plenty of leisure time between sighting and chasing whales, and the hard parts of whales were readily available on voyages that could last up to four years.
In its simplest form, a tooth was removed from the lower jaw of a sperm whale and the surface was prepared by scraping and sanding until it was smooth. The easiest way to begin an etching was to smooth a print over the tooth, prick the outline of the image with a needle and then “connect-the-dots” once the paper was removed. This allowed even unskilled craftsmen to create fine carvings. Some sailors were skilled enough to etch their drawings freehand. After the lines were finished, they were filled in with lamp black or sometimes colored pigments.
Scrimshaw could be decorative, like simple sperm whale teeth, or they could be useful, as in ivory napkin rings, corset busks (stiffeners), swifts for winding yarn or pie crimpers. The sailor’s hand-carved scrimshaw was then given to loved ones back on shore as souvenirs of the hard and lonely life aboard long and dangerous voyages.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 19th century
ID Number
DL.374485
catalog number
374485
accession number
136263

Patron

A man listens to music at the Hillbilly Ranch bar.Currently not on view
Description
A man listens to music at the Hillbilly Ranch bar.
Location
Currently not on view
print
2003
maker
Horenstein, Henry
ID Number
2003.0169.067
accession number
2003.0169
catalog number
2003.0169.067

Hat

Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
2011.0164.29
catalog number
2011.0164.29
accession number
2011.0164

A Guide to Prayer

While this volume is undated without a publisher, Isaac Watt’s publication of A Guide to Prayer dates to around 1800.
Description
While this volume is undated without a publisher, Isaac Watt’s publication of A Guide to Prayer dates to around 1800. Watts dedicated a chapter to the nature of prayer, the gift of prayer, the grace of prayer, and the spirit of prayer, with a final chapter persuading the reader to learn to pray.
The Copp Collection contains about 150 books of early American imprint and shows a wide range of reading matter typical of a New England Puritan family living in a port town. Literacy was expected of many New Englanders, as Puritan doctrine required everyone to read the Bible. The abundance of multiple Bibles, psalms, hymnodies, sermons, and morality tales reflects the Copp’s religious beliefs. Other highlights of the library include the works of Shakespeare, almanacs, historical and political texts, and travel narratives.
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
DL.006867.40
catalog number
006867.40
accession number
28810

Letter to "Dear Sister" (Mary) from Samuel Copp

The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s.
Description
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1815-04-22
originator (author or composer, etc.)
Copp, Jr., Samuel
originator (author, etc.)
Copp, Jr., Samuel
ID Number
DL.006873.044
catalog number
6873.044
accession number
28810

Pitcher Honoring Frederick Douglass

This hand-modeled and molded, unglazed red earthenware pitcher honors Frederick Douglass, "Slave Orator/ United States Marshall, Recorder of Deeds D.C./ Diplomat."Although the maker is unknown, we do know that the design for the pitcher was copyrighted by a J. E.
Description
This hand-modeled and molded, unglazed red earthenware pitcher honors Frederick Douglass, "Slave Orator/ United States Marshall, Recorder of Deeds D.C./ Diplomat."
Although the maker is unknown, we do know that the design for the pitcher was copyrighted by a J. E. Bruce of Albany, New York, in 1896, one year after Douglass's death.
Location
Currently not on view
Date made
ca 1895
designer
Bruce, J. E.
maker
unknown
ID Number
1981.0353.1
accession number
1981.0353
catalog number
1981.0353.01

Folk-Dance Music

This music book Folk-Dance Music was published by G. Schirmer in New York, New York in 1908.
Description

This music book Folk-Dance Music was published by G. Schirmer in New York, New York in 1908. Printed on the front of the music book:

FOLK-DANCE MUSIC
A COLLECTION OF
SEVENTY-SIX CHARACTERISTIC
DANCES OF THE PEOPLE OF
VARIOUS NATIONS
ADAPTED FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND
PLAYGROUNDS FOR PHYSICAL
EDUCATION AND PLAY.

Location
Currently not on view
publishing date
1908
publisher
G. Schirmer, Inc.
ID Number
1986.0961.01
accession number
1986.0961
catalog number
1986.0961.01

Pit Card Game, Bull and Bear Edition

Parker Brothers developed The Pit card game in 1904, with this Bull and Bear edition dating between 1912 and 1915.
Description
Parker Brothers developed The Pit card game in 1904, with this Bull and Bear edition dating between 1912 and 1915. Pit is a fast paced card game simulating the open outcry bidding system of the commodity exchange used at the Chicago Board of Trade which was known as the “Pit.” The original game consisted of seven commodities—wheat (100 points), barley (85 points), corn (75 points), rye (70 points), oats (60 points), hay (50 points) and flax (40 points)—which players would exchange until one player held nine cards of the same commodity and announced they have “a corner” on the market. The player gets the points for that commodity; doubling their points they hold the Bull, while the player holding the Bear loses 20 points. The game is played until a player reaches a set amount of points. Like many early 19th century games such as “Monopoly” or “Life,” Pit introduces children to modern American society in a fun and exciting way, bringing a small lesson into a youngster’s playtime.
Location
Currently not on view (instruction sheet 2)
ID Number
1986.0814.11
accession number
1986.0814
catalog number
1986.814.11

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Gasoline Alley

This pen-and-ink drawing, prepared for the Gasoline Alley newspaper comic strip, shows character Walt Wallet being scolded for trying to walk Effie home.
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing, prepared for the Gasoline Alley newspaper comic strip, shows character Walt Wallet being scolded for trying to walk Effie home. She waves goodbye, but Wallet sees little hope in her attentions.
Richard Arnold "Dick" Moores (1909-1986) worked as an assistant to Chester Gould on the Dick Tracy comic strip early in his career. Moores continued to work on other strips and branched out into animation and comic book illustration, working on titles such as Mickey Mouse, Scamp, Donald Duck, and Alice in Wonderland. In 1956 Frank King asked Moores to assist on the daily strip Gasoline Alley, which Moores took over completely after King’s retirement in 1959. When the Sunday artist for Gasoline Alley retired in 1975, Moores took over that work as well, and continued drawing the strip until his death in 1986.
Gasoline Alley (1918- ) originated on a black-and-white Sunday page for The Chicago Tribune called The Rectangle, a collaborative page with contributions by different artists. One corner of "The Rectangle," drawn by Frank King, was devoted to the discussions between four men about their cars, an impetus for the name of the strip Gasoline Alley. Within a year the strip began appearing in the daily newspapers. Gasoline Alley, whose original characters included Walt, Doc, Avery, Bill, and Skeezix, is noted for its use of characters who have continued to age naturally.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-08-13
graphic artist
Moores, Dick
King, Frank
publisher
Tribune Printing Company
ID Number
GA.22550
catalog number
22550
accession number
277502

A Sermon on the Nature and Criminality

This quarto contains Josiah Spalding’s sermon on the “Nature and Criminality of Man’s Inability to Serve the Lord” published by Isaiah Thomas in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1782.The Copp Collection contains about 150 books of early American imprint and shows a wide range of readi
Description
This quarto contains Josiah Spalding’s sermon on the “Nature and Criminality of Man’s Inability to Serve the Lord” published by Isaiah Thomas in Worcester, Massachusetts in 1782.
The Copp Collection contains about 150 books of early American imprint and shows a wide range of reading matter typical of a New England Puritan family living in a port town. Literacy was expected of many New Englanders, as Puritan doctrine required everyone to read the Bible. The abundance of multiple Bibles, psalms, hymnodies, sermons, and morality tales reflects the Copp’s religious beliefs. Other highlights of the library include the works of Shakespeare, almanacs, historical and political texts, and travel narratives.
The Copp Collection contains a variety of household objects that the Copp family of Connecticut used from around 1700 until the mid-1800s. Part of the Puritan Great Migration from England to Boston, the family eventually made their home in New London County, Connecticut, where their textiles, clothes, utensils, ceramics, books, bibles, and letters provide a vivid picture of daily life. More of the collection from the Division of Home and Community Life can be viewed by searching accession number 28810.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
DL.006867.21
catalog number
6867.21
accession number
28810

War Stamp and Bond Drive Poster

The Rohwer High School National Honor Society created these posters to advertise a war stamp and bond drive they were hosting.
Description
The Rohwer High School National Honor Society created these posters to advertise a war stamp and bond drive they were hosting. Although these people were being imprisoned by the government, they still held events to support the war effort and promote their patriotism.
Location
Currently not on view
ID Number
1986.3144.36
nonaccession number
1986.3144
catalog number
1986.3144.36

Camera-ready comic art drawing for Abbie an' Slats

This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Abbie an’ Slats comic strip shows Kit trying to irritate Miss Abbie by proposing to host a party and to demolish Miss Abbie’s apartment.Raeburn Van Buren (1891-1987) started his career as a freelance illustrator for magazines such as Life
Description (Brief)
This pen-and-ink drawing produced for the Abbie an’ Slats comic strip shows Kit trying to irritate Miss Abbie by proposing to host a party and to demolish Miss Abbie’s apartment.
Raeburn Van Buren (1891-1987) started his career as a freelance illustrator for magazines such as Life and The Saturday Evening Post. He quickly became one of the country’s most recognized magazine illustrators and eventually began drawing for Esquire and The New Yorker as well. In 1937 fellow artist Al Capp approached Van Buren with an offer to draw Capp's new comic strip, Abbie an’ Slats. Van Buren drew the strip until his retirement in 1971.
Abbie an’ Slats (1937-1971) was a story about a young orphaned boy from New York, Slats, who goes to live in the country with a spinster cousin named Abbie. Slats is headstrong and rebellious, and often disagrees with Abbie and her straight-laced sister, Sally.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1966-08-23
graphic artist
Van Buren, Raeburn
publisher
United Feature Syndicate, Inc.
graphic artist
Capp, Al
ID Number
GA.22457
catalog number
22457
accession number
277502

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