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Exhibits

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Cooking by the Book: Amelia Simmons to Martha Stewart

January 18, 2013 - April 13, 2013

Explore the history of food in Connecticut using a diverse collection of cookbooks with recipes that range from the scrumptious to the not-so-tasty. This exhibit is created in a collaboration between Museum Studies students from Central Connecticut State University and graphic designs students from the University of Hartford. Cooking by the Book showcases one of only four surviving first editions of Amelia Simmons' American Cookery (1796), America's first cookbook, published in Hartford. Simmons' cookbook instructed women how to combine recipes from England with ingredients in America, creating a distinct American cuisine.

Cats & Dogs in Art and Life

September 27, 2012 - April 6, 2013

Portrait and landscape paintings, drawings, needlework, sculptures, decorative household items, and photographs--all from the collection of the Connecticut Historical Society and never before seen together--will be on display to illustrate the practical and emotional bonds between dogs, cats, and people and how those connections have changed or endured over time.

Your dog or cat can be in this exhibit! Submit a photograph of your pet to be displayed in the Cats & Dogs Gallery, which features photographs of beloved cats and dogs from the 1800s to today. Upload your photograph at chs.org/mypetphoto. For a $10 donation (payable online), a 5" x 7" photograph of your cat or dog will be displayed in the gallery. A larger donation will receive a larger photograph. For more information, check out our original Kickstarter page that got this project started.

Cats & Dogs in Sound and Music: Inspired by Cats & Dogs in Art and Life

Cats & Dogs in Sound and Music is the third installation in the "micro-gallery" at the CHS, created by students in the New Media Collaborative at the University of Hartford, this year under the direction of Scott Comanzo, Professor of Composition and Music Technology at the Hartt School of Music. This crowdsourced sound and image installation uses a wide variety of cat and dog noises to create sound pictures that complement the visual images and artifacts presented in the CHS exhibit.

Ongoing

Making Connecticut

Don't miss this exhibit 400+ years in the making! Colorful, interactive, and filled with more than 500 historic objects, images, and documents, Making Connecticut is the story of all the people of Connecticut, from the 1500s through today. Themes of daily life, clothing, transportation, sports and leisure, work, and social change run throughout the exhibit. Hands-on activities for kids (and adults!) include working a World War II assembly line, hand stenciling designs for a 19th-century chair, sewing a Native American moccasin, replacing bobbins in a textile mill, and cooking a meal and setting the table in both a colonial and a 1980s kitchen. Come be surprised, inspired, and amused as you explore our state's past and your own place in "Making Connecticut."

Inn & Tavern Signs

Between 1750 and 1850, there were more than 50,000 inn and tavern signs produced by American painters, creating a distinct visual language and offering a glimpse into tavern life, travel, and patriotic ideals in early America. Only a fraction of these signs survive. The Connecticut Historical Society's collection numbering more than 60 signs is by far the largest and most spectacular in the country. Learn more about the sign for Carter's Inn in the Collection Highlights gallery. A book about our inn and tavern sign collection is also available on-site and online through our store.

Connecticut Connections | Connecticut Collections

The Connecticut Historical Society has been preserving and sharing the stories of what makes this state unique for almost 200 years. If you live in Connecticut now, had ancestors here long ago, or just enjoy visiting, you are part of this story. We are testing out ideas for a permanent exhibit coming later in the year, and you can help. Dress up a marble bust, submit your awkward family photos, mark your place on the Connecticut map, or showcase your personal collection of stuff to help tell your story in Connecticut.

Veeder Living Room

The Connecticut Historical Society is located in a Colonial Revival mansion originally owned by inventor Curtis Veeder. Veeder graduated from Lehigh University in 1886 with a Masters of Engineering degree and moved to Hartford to start his own company. The Veeder Manufacturing Company produced counting and precision manufacturing devices--all invented and designed by Veeder himself. An exhibit in the original living room of the house (which Veeder had built in 1928) features wall labels, blow-ups of the original blueprints, and an interactive touchscreen explaining the history of the building and the Veeder family.

At the Old State House

History is All Around Us

The Connecticut Historical Society created this interactive, multimedia exhibit about the history of Hartford and the history "all around us" for the Mortensen Gallery at Connecticut's Old State House. Explore history in the places we live, the things that we use every day, and the actions we take. Build and re-build Hartford over time on the large-scale floor map, find out about the era of urban renewal and its effects on the city, delight in everyday objects from long ago (and not so long ago!), come face-to-face with a 1912 steam-powered fire engine, encounter creative and innovative people who have made a difference, and consider your own place in history. Connecticut's Old State House is located at 800 Main Street, Hartford. For information on visiting: www.ctosh.org.