About this collection
- John Holly founded the Future Outlook League in Cleveland in 1935 to help obtain jobs for black residents. The League was ahead of its time in using picket lines and economic boycotts to secure its objectives. This 1952 mural commemorates the League's struggle for equality. Gesturing with his left hand, forefinger raised to a group of African American travelers group to the left. With the left hand he points towards a group of buildings representing downtown Cleveland. An arch bridge and river occupy the middle ground. The male figure stands on a carved stone on which are the words "Militancy, Courage"and partially "Equal Economic Opportunity". Two African American figures in the lower right are depicted carving the stone. Across the top is a title ribbon "The Future Outlook League." The painting is on a thin panel mounted to a second panel and is cased in a plexiglas and wood display case., Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- Framed oil painting of Hamilton Utley, his wife, and two of their thirteen children, Horatio and Ellen. The portrait is primitive, as the limbs look unnatural, the eyes are too large and staring, and the family seems to be crowded together in too small a space. Colonel Utley painted his parents, sister and brother when he was twenty-four years of age. Hamilton Utley was a pioneer of the Western Reserve, making his home in Newbury, Geauga County, in 1817. This painting was originally thought to be Merrill Squires and Family. The group portrait has a dark background and one child holds a cat. Leon Hodges was the grandson of Lavinia Merrick Utley, oldest child of Hamilton and Polly (Squires) Utley. She was born in Monson, Massachusetts in 1812 and died in Newbury in 1877. She married Erastus Hodges in Newbury on April 23, 1830. Lavinia was a child of five years at the time her mother, Polly with a baby only a few months old and another child of four years, William Laurence, emigrated from Massachusetts to the Western Reserve in 1817. The father, Hamilton, had stayed over at Alexander, New York that winter to teach school before he joined them in the Spring of 1818 in Newbury Township. Above information is from a genealogy, "Ancestors of Colonel William Laurence Utley, Son of Hamilton and Polly (Squires) Utley., MUS 848. Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- The Superior was the second steam-powered vessel to operate on the Great Lakes. It was built with the engine of the first steam vessel, Walk-in-the-Water, which sank in 1821. Like her predecessor she combined steam-powered sidewheels and sails. On May 28, 1822, the Cleveland Herald reported, "the new steamship Superior arrived here on May 23 from Black Rock (near Buffalo) on its first trip to Detroit...headwinds may cause some delay so that she may no leave Buffalo on her next trip quite as soon as advertised." Cleveland became a way port for sidewheel steamers running between Buffalo and Detroit. The painting is executed in the British-American tradition of ship portraiture and is both detailed and realistic. Note the passengers at the stern holding parasols and seated on Windsor chairs and the crew members in the rigging., MUS 83.54.1. Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- Plaid is created by weaving different colored yarns to form stripes intersecting at right angles. When the horizontal and vertical groupings are identical, the plaid is considered a tartan. The origins of Scottish tartans were seeded centuries ago, but theirs is a history steeped in fantasy. Scotland’s “traditional” highland dress and the association of tartans with clans were actually fabricated by the English during the early 19th century. The assignment was, in fact, given randomly by weavers in preparation for George IV’s visit to Edinburgh in 1822 and held fast. Thereafter popularized as a fashion trend by Queen Victoria, plaid has the ability to transform style from classic, to preppy, hip, and even subversive. It can be serious and subdued, or bright and festive: it’s a chameleon. Since plaid’s entry into the fashion world, Ohio’s men, women, and children have worn the fabric as a way to showcase their identities. Today, plaid celebrates the season, shows school pride, embraces heritage, and expresses a particular brand of rugged American style.
- In 1821 she married Benjamin Rouse; they lived in Boston and New York before moving to Cleveland in 1830. As a member of the Ladies Tract Society, Rouse made personal visits to every home in the village. She was an original member of the First Baptist Society. In 1842, she founded and became president of the Martha Washington & Dorcas Society, one of the first benevolent organizations in the city, from which originated the Protestant Orphan Asylum, which she served for many years as director. Dedicated to reforming the baneful effects of alcohol, she helped organize the Cleveland Ladies Temperance Union in June 1850., MUS 1206. Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- Sebring, Ohio native Viktor Schreckengost has been called the American DaVinci. He was a painter, sculptor, ceramicist, and designer of everything from dinnerware to lawnmowers. Some of his most endearing designs were for children's toys, including this pedal car resembling a WWII fighter aircraft., Featured in the "Cleveland Starts Here" Exhibit
- Wow Factor, 150 Years of Collecting Bold Clothes showcases gems of the Western Reserve Historical Society’s costume collection, on display in the Chisholm Halle Costume Wing. “Wow factor” is clothing’s ability to inspire feelings of wonder and awe. These emotions are triggered by beauty, craftsmanship, rarity, and humor. Through delicate textiles, bold color, a surprising silhouette, and glittering sequins, each of these qualities entices the viewer and empowers the wearer. It takes bold people to wear these clothes. Although the collection contains menswear and children’s clothing, Wow Factor highlights women, so often left out by the historical record. This collection celebrates women who are immigrants, scholars, travelers, artists, designers, philanthropists, and CEOs. They are Jewish, Jordanian, Japanese, African American, and transgender. Above all, they are Clevelanders.