A Visit To The Potsdam, New York Museum - Part 1

One day I decided to tour the town museum in Potsdam, New York. I'd been there before, of course, but they keep changing things to keep it interesting:

The museum, town offices and library are in what used to be the Unitarian Church and, though the windows you see are clear glass, many others are still stained glass:

The museum had a theme of "Portraits Of Potsdam Families" but there was also a Victorian Era theme, left over from their "Charles Dickens Christmas." Potsdam was a boom town in the Victorian Era, rich on furs, ores and lumber:

There were top hats (and a red hat box, made especially for top hats, in the above photo):

A small pump organ, circa 1880, used as a practice organ by Julia Crane, founder of what is now the Crane School of Music in Potsdam:

The Raymond family of Potsdam. I wish now that I'd gotten closeups of the portraits, but you can click on this photo to enlarge it:

A lovely bureau from the Victorian Era:

And a Windsor-style writing desk, c. 1816-27:

A woman's evening cape, c. 1920, of tan silk with beige, black and red embroidery all over:

The Shoenhut Company, established in 1872, became noted for their toy pianos. They were more than just toys, though, for they stayed in tune and were accompanied by sheet music to encourage the children to play:

I didn't know whether to call this a settee or loveseat, so I checked and discovered that it could be called either. Loveseats, however, usually had two separate cushions, one for each person, so I'll call this a Victorian settee:

Children's clothing and toys:

This black, wooden pony came with a detailed explanation, which I'll post just below it:

For the black pony in the above photo:

The Blackmon family: Jennie Ketcham Blackmon and her four sisters. There was more to see at the Potsdam Museum, though, and I'll post Part 2 tomorrow: