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Wisconsin Historical Museum Online Collections

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These online collections represent only a small fraction of the museum artifact collections held by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Some other museum objects may be seen in online exhibits.

Link to Quilt Collection. Detail of a Giant Dahlia quilt made by Ella Strahm of New Glarus, Wisconsin, 1940. The Quilt Collection
Browse more than 150 quilts and comforters from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. View more about the content and organization of the tour.
Link to Painting Collection. Portrait of Lucius Fairchild by John Singer Sargent, 1887. The Painting Collection
Browse more than 400 paintings from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. View more about the content, images, and organization of the tour.
Link to Children's Clothing Collection. Girl’s dress, pale orange wool with black soutache trim, 1865. The Children's Clothing Collection
Browse more than 2,000 articles of children’s clothing from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. content         organization
Link to Moccasin Collection. Pair of beaded buckskin moccasins using an abstract design of brown, sky blue, green, and magenta opaque seed beads on opaque white seed bead background. HoChunk, 1930-1950. The Moccasin Collection
Browse more than 150 pairs of moccasins from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. View more about the content and organization of the tour.
Link to Doll Collection. Bisque doll (named Nancy Hanks) made in Germany by Simon & Halbig/Kammer & Reinhardt, 1905-1909 The Doll Collection
Browse 1200 dolls from the collection of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. View more about the content and organization of the tour.
Link to Sampler Collection. Sampler made by Betsy Manchester, Rhode Island, 1793 The Sampler Collection
Browse 64 needlework samplers from the collection of Wisconsin Historical Museum. View more about the content and organization of the tour.


Link to ceramic art collection. Candleholder by Pauline Pottery, Edgerton, WI, 1888-1909. The Wisconsin Ceramic Art Collection
Browse 175 examples of ceramic art from the collection of Wisconsin Historical Museum. View more about the content and organization of the tour.


Link to Curators' Picks collection. Trade figure from the Big Boy restaurant on S. Park Street, Madison, Wisconsin, 1971-1985. (Museum object #1993.52) Curators' Favorites
Browse more than 200 objects from the collections of the Wisconsin Historical Museum. They tell rich, fascinating stories about Wisconsin's history.


The Children's Clothing Tour is made possible through a donation by Pleasant T. Rowland. The Doll Collection Tour is made possible through the donation of time and labor by Madison Area Doll Club members, specifically Gloria Laundrie, Margaret Hendricks, and Karen Field. If you would like to know more about any object in these tours or would like to arrange an appointment to research the artifacts in person, please note the catalog numbers and contact Joe Kapler (for paintings or ceramic art), Leslie Bellais (for dolls, quilts, samplers, or children's clothing) or Paul Bourcier (for moccasins or Curators' Favorites).

The information in our online collections tours comes from an extensive database of more than 200,000 object records created and managed by the Wisconsin Historical Society. Currently, most of these records contain only basic, inventory-level information about the artifacts. New acquisitions are cataloged and described in the database, but imaging, re-cataloging, and data entry of the enormous backlog of objects received before 1999 requires funding.

If you would like to see other collections online, please e-mail the Museum's Chief Curator, Paul Bourcier, and indicate the kinds of objects you would like to tour in the future.

Museum Collections Send Feedback
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