Oshkosh Museum Spreads the Word about Preservation

The Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has over 50,000 visitors each year, but few of them were aware of the museum’s preservation efforts, which take place mostly behind the scenes. Recently, it produced “Take care of Oshkosh’s past…” to educate citizens about preservation at the museum. The brochure was mailed to 22,000 households in Oshkosh.

According to Bradley Larson, the museum’s director, the publication received a positive response from citizens, many of whom had not realized how much goes into safeguarding artifacts. It also had a political benefit, pointing out the museum’s important work and preventing a budget reduction.

The brochure includes images of photographs, paintings, textiles, cannon, and other objects in various states of preservation and shows the museum’s creativity in funding and carrying out conservation treatments. Volunteers from the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War cleaned three 19th-century cannons, washing and waxing a bronze barrel to inhibit corrosion as well as cleaning, priming, and painting two iron cannon barrels. Earnings from the Behncke Trust paid for the preservation of Joy Boy, a 1916 bronze sculpture by Oshkosh artist Helen Farnsworth Mears. Interest from the Museum’s Collection Fund paid for the cleaning of two paintings at the Upper Midwest Conservation Association.

The brochure was produced with a Conservation Project Support grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services. A limited number are available on a first come, first serve basis.

The museum, housed in the 1908 Edwardian mansion of lumber baron Edgar P. Sawyer, tells the story of exploration, settlement, and development of the Lake Winnebago Region in Wisconsin. It was founded in 1924 and has a collection of more than 250,000 artifacts, images, and documents. The museum offers exhibits and educational programs to educate people of all ages. Its collection is owned by the City of Oshkosh. For more information, visit the museum’s Web site at www.publicmuseum.oshkosh.net.

Photos: Courtesy Oshkosh Public Museum. Top right, conservation of Joy Boy; bottom right, conservation of the cannon. Top left, brochure cover; bottom left, the Oshkosh Public Museum.

To see previous Preservation Spotlights (formerly Preservation Projects of the Month), click here.

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