Museum Objects: Odd Wisconsin
Wonder Spot "Book" sign that greeted thousands of visitors to the beloved Wonder Spot attraction in the Wisconsin Dells area, c. 1990. (Museum Object #2007.142.8) This sign welcomed tourists to the cabin at the Wonder Spot attraction in Lake Delton,... :: October 23, 2008
Punt gun used to hunt waterfowl on Lake Mendota, Madison, Wisconsin, c. 1866-1870. (Museum object #1947.1743) Talk about bang for the buck! (Or should that be that "bang for the duck"?) Made by August Herfurth of Madison, Wisconsin, this jumbo... :: August 14, 2008
An elaborately beaded jacket worn by pianist, performer, and Wisconsin native Liberace during his performances in the late 1970s. (Museum object #2008.77.1) Liberace, the flamboyant pianist, may have made a name for himself in glitzy Las Vegas, but he grew... :: July 3, 2008
Dairyland Rat Poison container made for the Wisconsin Pharmacal Co. of Milwaukee, 1955-1965. (Museum object #1999.143.34) The same substance that can save your life can also kill you. This is emphatically the case for the compound dicumarol, developed in the... :: June 26, 2008
Surveyor's tree blaze from the 1841 expedition to lay out the boundary between Wisconsin and Michigan, found at Trout Lake, Vilas County, Wisconsin. (Museum object #1977.97) Surveying is the means by which European settlers turned the North American landscape into... :: June 5, 2008
Sheetmetal bucket with wooden handle used to collect cow manure during nutrition experiments at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, 1907-1911. (Museum object #1992.103) It may be hard to believe, but this rather plain looking (and perhaps once malodorous) feces... :: May 29, 2008
Burial dress for a young girl offered for sale by the A.A. Schmidt & Sons Funeral Home, Menomonee Falls, c. 1900. (Museum object #1983.267.7) When a young girl passed away during the late nineteenth century, her parents could purchase special... :: May 15, 2008
Paper dress made by Scott Paper Co., 1966-1967. (Museum object #1969.184.13) Disposable paper clothes seemed the wave of the future in the mid 1960s. At the time, living in space looked like a real possibility, and, as one textile designer... :: April 3, 2008
Six-foot "floor model" Festivus pole and stand made of an extruded aluminum alloy manufactured by The Wagner Companies of Milwaukee, Wisconsin and used by Governor Jim Doyle, 2005. (Museum object 2007.84.1A-C) Unadorned and lusterless. These are typically not adjectives used... :: December 13, 2007
Skunk grease made by Henry Blumer as a home health remedy for Adolph Strahm of Green County, Wisconsin, c. 1920. (Museum object #2006.1.1A-B) Henry "Hank" Blumer, a farmer living near New Glarus, Wisconsin, made this jar of skunk grease medicine... :: November 29, 2007
Escape trunk, restraining devices, and curtain used by magician Ben Bergor of Madison, Wisconsin, 1940s. (Museum objects #1982.159.17,19,21,23,25) Ben Bergor was a Madison-born and Madison-based performer and booking agent, who from the 1910s through the 1950s worked in tent shows,... :: October 25, 2007
Frederics permanent wave machine used in Crisella's Beauty Shop in Blanchardville, Wisconsin, late 1930s. (Museum object #1986.79.2) Prior to the twentieth century, a woman with straight hair who desired curls had to spend hours heating curling irons over a flame... :: September 20, 2007
Shoe last (form) used to make boots for Frederick Shadick of Cottage Inn, Wisconsin, 1849-1854. (Museum object #1968.15.1) Around 1849, Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Shadick moved from New York City to the small village of Cottage Inn, Wisconsin to settle... :: February 15, 2007
Séance robe worn by Louise Parke during her work as a Spiritualist in Wisconsin, 1895-1905. (Museum object #1958.650) Louise (Kingsley) Parke was a member of a Madison family well known for their ability to communicate with the deceased. Her father,... :: October 26, 2006
Simplex fluoroscope machine made by X-Ray Shoe Fitter, Inc., Milwaukee, Wisconsin and most likely used in a Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin shoe store, c. 1945-1955. (Museum object #1992.109) In the late 1940s, Noren's Shoes of Sturgeon Bay attracted customers with the... :: September 28, 2006
Concrete walleye decoy purchased at PARR Rally in Minocqua, Wisconsin, April 15, 1989. (Museum object #1990.178.1) In the spring of 1989, tensions over Native American off-reservation spearfishing rights reached a boiling point in northern Wisconsin. Anti-spearfishing organizations encouraged the design... :: May 18, 2006
Concentration camp sweater worn by Tadeusz Kowalczyk while a prisoner at Auschwitz during World War II. (Museum object #1985.92) In late June 1940 German soldiers arrested Polish veterinarian Tadeusz ?Ted? Kowalczyk while he was tending animals at Polish President Wladyslaw... :: April 20, 2006
Land of the Freed-up Woman American flag banner made from bras, 1971. (Museum object #2000.79.1) By 1971, in the midst of the feminist movement, Marjorie Engelman of Green Bay, Wisconsin had experienced a new sense of liberation. She had started... :: March 16, 2006
Six-foot Evergleam Christmas tree with 94 branches made by the Aluminum Specialty Company of Manitowoc, Wisconsin, c. 1966. (Museum object #2005.174.1.1) Merlin and Nancy Molstad purchased this pink Evergleam aluminum Christmas tree around 1966 when they began operating Nelson Flag... :: December 15, 2005
Water glass used by Theodore Roosevelt just after he was shot by a would-be assassin in Milwaukee, 1912. (Museum object #1954.291) On the night of October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was addressing 9,000-12,000 people in Milwaukee Auditorium when he stopped... :: October 13, 2005
Pink flamingo from the flock that graced Bascom Hill on on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, 1979. (Museum object #1979.302A-C) As sleepy students made their way up Bascom Hill on the first day of classes in 1979, they were greeted... :: September 1, 2005
Engine fragment from the van used in the Sterling Hall bombing, 1970. (Museum object #1994.8) This twisted piece of metal is the only known remnant of the van that carried the bomb that rocked the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on... :: August 18, 2005
Iron collar removed from a fugitive slave by Wisconsin soldiers in 1862. (Museum object #1961.73) In early June 1862, the 4th Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry occupied Baton Rouge, Louisiana. According to John T. Perry of Company I, within days of the... :: June 16, 2005
Charred bread slices recovered from the Alden's Corners archaeological site in Dane County, Wisconsin. (Museum object #2002.211.1,3,5) In 2002, archaeologists from the Museum Archaeology Program of the Wisconsin Historical Society were surprised to find what may be the oldest pieces... :: April 28, 2005
Multi-Purpose Food from Cold War fallout shelter in Racine, Wisconsin, 1960. (Museum object #1996.81.81) Paul and Edith Sobel purchased this and several other cans of Multi-Purpose Food (MPF) to help stock the fallout shelter they installed in their new ranch-style... :: April 14, 2005
Giant knife presented to John Fox Potter by Missouri Republicans after Potter's threatened duel with a Virginia congressman, 1860. (Museum object #1957.1122) John Fox Potter was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican from Wisconsin in 1856... :: April 7, 2005
Vest worn by Charles C.P. Arndt when he was shot on the floor of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature, 1842. (Museum object #1963.300) On February 11, 1842 the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature met in Madison only to be interrupted by the shooting... :: February 4, 2005
Want to see unusual museum objects in person?
Come to the Wisconsin Historical Museum's Odd Wisconsin Exhibit, opening October 3, 2008.
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