McKinley cartoons framed!

I just finished matting and framing the McKinley cartoons from our collection that will be in the exhibition Campaigns & Cartoons! This traveling exhibition from the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site includes 36 framed cartoons representing many Presidents and some of the most famous political cartoonists.

Next I'll be writing the labels for them.  I've already made four large panels, highlighting the Front Porch Campaign, the 1896 election, the 1900 re-election, and the Spanish American War in cartoons.  I'm pulling some interesting campaign items, including this lantern that was donated to the museum just last year:

We also have a 45-star flag from the famous Front Porch, some musical instruments that were used in the daily parades from Canton's train station to the Front Porch on Market Avenue, and lots of ribbons and buttons.

The exhibit opens in the Keller Gallery on Friday June 8 with a FREE reception from 6 to 8 PM.  We hope to see you there!

Field trip season!

May is traditionally the busiest month of the year for field trips at our Museum. And this year is no exception!

I have been helping organize groups and get them where they need to go when they switch between their history tours, Discover World tours, Planetarium shows, lunch, and Monument visits!  Sometimes I've even helped bag in the Museum Shoppe!

In between the thousands of school kids, I'm working on Campaigns & Cartoons.  Museum members will be receiving their invites to the opening this week, but it's open to all!  Hope to see you there June 8 from 6 to 8PM!

McKinley cartoons

I've had a lot of fun going through our collection of McKinley political cartoons in preparation for our next Keller Gallery exhibition Campaigns & Cartoons.  Lots of interesting commentary on the Spanish-American War.

We will be supplementing this traveling show from the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site with campaign items from our own collection.  It's going to be a fantastic exhibit!

This is one of the cartoons that I have incorporated into the exhibit panels about McKinley (dated March 6, 1901):

INAUGURAL BALL, MARCH 4th, 1901 — ENGAGED FOR ANOTHER DANCE

We've hired a conservator for Ida's dresses!

GREAT NEWS!

We've hired textile conservator Chandra Obie to do an assessment of our collection of Ida McKinley gowns!  She will review each dress, prioritize the work, and recommend options for treatment.

Chandra comes highly recommended by the people she has done work for in the past.  We are thrilled to have her involved in this project, and we can't wait to get started!

Remember, you can make a donation to this important project IN ANY AMOUNT by sending a check to:

Ida McKinley Dress Restoration Project
McKinley Presidential Library & Museum
800 McKinley Monument Dr NW
Canton OH 44708

Our goal is to stabilize the gowns that are currently too fragile to display for the public to enjoy.  You could be a part of preserving history for future generations!