Browse Items (164 total)
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"The New Art Gallery"
The great expositions of the 19th century were spectacles that displayed the nation's industrial, technical, and cultural accomplishments in the decades following the Civil War. Massive galleries dedicated to art provided unprecendented opportunities for American artists to exhibit their work the hundreds of thousands of visitors. Thum exhibited work at the Southern Exposition held in Louisville from 1883-1887. It helped launch her career and she developed a lasting friendship with expo's curator Charles Kurtz, an influencer in New York. Following the exposition Thum actively exhibited her work throughout the country.
-1893, Columbia's Exposition in Chicago
-1886 and 1889, National Academy of Design in New York City
-1897, Nashville, Centennial Exposition
-1898, Trans-Mississippi International Exposition
-1905, St. Louis World's Fair -
A voyage to North America, and the West Indies in 1817
"Encounter with a rattlesnake on the banks of the Ohio" pages 75-83. -
Abigail Prather Churchill, needlework sampler, 1828-1830
Samplers were a staple in the education of girls, designed to teach needlework skills needed for household duties. Samples could be symbolic of the girl's culture, religion, social class, or personal accomplishments. Sampler making was seen as the ground work for civic, social, and familial responsibility. This was made by Abigail Prather Churchill the daughter of Abigail Pope Oldham Churchill (1789-1854), around age 11-13 at Nazareth Academy (which is near Bardstown, KY). -
Account of an earthquake from Daniel Chapman Banks, 25 November 1815
Daniel Chapman Banks was a Louisville Presbyterian minister. The diary chronicles his 1815-1816 trip from Connecticut to Louisville in which he travels through New Yok, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. In this diary entry, Banks gives an extensive account of the earthquake in New Madrid, Missouri, as it was told to him by a Mr. Hayes. -
Account of sales of the estate of John Lyon, 29 January 1813
Account of sales of the estate of John Lyon and the hiring out of the people he enslaved, including their names. -
American Republican Manifesto Broadside, circa 1850
This broadside linked the American Revolution's result, "INDEPENDENCE OF FOREIGN NATIONS", to the 1850s "danger of foreign influence" they believed was posed by immigration of Germans and Irish. This threat was magnified by the "most gross and outrageous frauds...committed under our present Naturalization system." Once naturalized, adult white male immigrants could vote. -
Ann Clark Shawl
This shawl is said to have belonged to Ann Rogers Clark Gwathmey (1755-1822). See also 1943.5.1 (miniature portrait). Paisley Shawls were a luxury item worn by affluent women. Paisley, as a style, didn't get its name until the 1830s-40s, named after the Scottish town that began to reproduce designs copied from textiles that were originally imported from India. The pin and cone design motifs had their origins from Indo-Iranian people in Persia. Luxurious textiles from India were in high demand among the upper class and often can be seen in portraits of affluent women. By the mid 18th century, England's East India Company was importing shawls to London. In the early 1800s, Scottish mills began producing their own version of the highly sought after shawls, which made them more accessible to the rising middle class. -
Annual Catalogue of Pupils
In 1852, 250 girls attended Science Hill Female Academy. Students were primarily from Kentucky as well as Tennessee, Louisiana, Mississippi, Iowa, Texas, and California.
Tevis advocated for equal education in science for women. Despite advice to "let Chemistry alone" as a subject better suited for men, Tevis built a chemistry lab a Science Hill in the early 1850s.
"Chemistry is especially requisite for the successful progress of our inquiries and researches into the nature of those things whence we derive the means of our comfort, our happiness, our luxuries, our health, and even our existence...In an an experimental science, where truth lies within our reach, we should make use of our sense and judge for ourselves."
-Julia Ann Hieronymus Tevis -
Bars quilt
Quilt belonging to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. The quilt has strips of hand-woven cloth believed to have been made locally in Jefferson County, Kentucky, alternating with a commercial indigo print that was imported into the United States. The quilt, the oldest quilt in the Filson's collection, is more than 100 inches long on each side and was completely hand-stitched. Eliza married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816, who died seven years into their marriage in 1822. Eliza then took on the responsibility of managing their farm in addition to rearing her three young sons. Eliza enslaved seven people who provided crucial labor for the success of the farm and household. After her husband died, an unidentified enslaved woman helped Eliza manage the farm. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera leaving her three sons, all under the age of eighteen, to live with her brother. -
Basting spoon, circa 1800
Basting spoons were used to baste (pour juices or melted fat over meat during cooking in order to keep it moist), as well as for stirring and serving. Basting spoons were used often because of the large amount of meat that was consumed on the frontier. Early Kentucky pioneers had a deep reliance on meat (especially wild game like turkeys or buffalos). They continued to eat wild game as a primary source of food until the pioneers learned to farm in their new environment. As Euro-merican settlers learned how to develop stable food sources through farming and domesticated livestock, they began to hunt buffalo for sport, nearly driving the population into extinction. -
Beaded Mourning Bonnet
Black crepe beaded bonnet, most likely worn in mourning. Possibly worn by Mary Brigham Robinson after the death of her husband Stuart Robinson in 1881. -
Bedcover (white on white), 1800-1825
Handwoven, linen bedcover belonging to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816, who died only seven years into their marriage. Elizabeth then took on the responsibility of managing their farm while also raising her three young sons. Elizabeth enslaved seven people who provided crucial labor that contributed to the success of the farm and household. After her husband died, an unidentified enslaved woman helped Elizabeth manage the farm. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving her three sons, all under the age of eighteen, to live with her brother. -
Bedspread with trapunto design, 1800-1825
Cotton bedspread belonging to Elizabeth Tyler Sturgeon. Elizabeth married Thomas Sturgeon in 1816, who died only seven years into their marriage. Elizabeth then took on the responsibility of managing their farm while also raising her three young sons. Elizabeth enslaved seven people who provided crucial labor that contributed to the success of the farm and household. After her husband died, an unidentified enslaved woman helped Elizabeth manage the farm. In 1833, Eliza died from cholera, leaving her three sons, all under the age of eighteen, to live with her brother. -
Ben Wiemeyer with dog, circa 1890
This cabinet card of a young man and his dog was found in the Mittlebeeler family photo collection. On the back the image is the inscription “Ben Wiemeier [sic] Aunt Lizzie's Boyfriend.”
Elizabeth “Lizzie” Moorman (1879-1945) was born to a German immigrant family in Louisville. She grew up on East Jackson Street in the Shelby Park neighborhood and later moved to Oak Street. In 1890 Lizzie succumbed to Typhoid Fever. Lizzie supported herself as a seamstress and remained single all her life, but this photograph provides a clue into an early romance.
A Ben Wiemeyer is listed in City Directories from the 1880s and 1900s as living on East Chestnut Street, only a half-mile away from where Lizzie lived. He was also from a German family. Although Lizzie and Ben never married, they must have dated when they were teens. Ben went on to marry and became a machinist.
Learn more about German photographer Paul Günter in this online exhibit: https://filsonhistorical.omeka.net/exhibits/show/gunter-photography/life-of-gunter -
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Bill of sale for Marius, an enslaved man, September 16th, 1850.
A bill of sale for Marius, a man enslaved by William Christian Bullitt, transferring him to William's son, Joshua Bullitt. This document is dated September 16th, 1850. -
Blue Empire Dress, circa 1800
Empire dresses emerged in the early 19th century and rapidly became fashionable across Europe (particularly England). -
Boy posing with dog
Quarter plate ambrotype of young Charles Henry Breckinridge (1844-1867) posing for a studio portrait with his dog. Son of Ann Sophonisba Preston Breckinridge and Robert Jefferson Breckinridge, Charles was a member of the Breckinridge family of Baltimore, Maryland. His father served as a leader of the Kentucky Emancipation Party in 1849 and was a strong Union supporter at the start of the Civil War. Charles graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1865. He died in 1867 at only 22 years old while serving as a First Lieutenant in the 15th U.S. Infantry. -
Bridges, Benjamin to George Bridges, July 11, 1833
Letter of Louisville United States Army officer Benjamin Bridges to his father George Bridges discussing his role in the forced removal of Native people to Oklahoma. -
Broadside "Reception of the Remains of Hon. Henry Clay," 6 July 1852
Copy of a broadside calling upon the young men of Louisville, regardless of party affiliation, to meet at the courthouse to make arrangements for the reception and transportation of the body of Henry Clay to Ashland.