Collections Highlights

The Mansion is presenting a weekly series on social media highlighting some of the lesser seen items from our collections storage space in the attic. To view these items up close and personal, visit the  Mansion. Our special exhibition changes every month. Tours offered Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 12:15, 1:15, 2:15, 3:15. Reservations are not required. https://ebenezermaxwellmansion.org/visit/

July: Graphic Design

Favori Brand Crystallized Ginger

This script and logo design on this gorgeous green tin, which once held crystallized ginger candy from Mitchell, Fletcher, and Co. Inc., is absolutely to die for! Before it was brought over to Europe through early trading routes, ginger was used in South Asian cooking traditions for centuries. Cooking the root in sugar a soft, chewy candy that is not only delicious but also an anti-nausea treatment.

Fry’s Cocoa Powder

This beautifully bold cocoa tin, distributed in the late 1800s by J.S. Fry & Sons, definitely deserve the spotlight, don’t you agree? More importantly, do you notice Egyptian motifs on the tin? You can find more Egyptian-inspired designs on the second floor of the mansion, which has a decorative style attributed to the 1870-80s Egyptian Revival period.

April: Fashion

 Garrigues Wigton Wedding Shoes

In November 1912 Anna Maxwell Garrigues, a granddaughter of Anna and Ebenezer Maxwell, married Charles Benson Wigton and wore these shoes as part of her wedding ensemble. The full ensemble includes the wedding gown, stockings, shoes and shoe trees. The shoes are marked on the inside with a Lord and Taylor inscription, and the heel still includes the original $5.00 price tag.

Wedding Hat

1896 This wedding hat was found in the home of Sarah Emlen Moore, located on 121 West Coulter Street in Germantown. She may have worn it at her wedding on May 14, 1896 when marrying Walter T. Moore at Germantown Friends’ Meeting House. The label on the inside of the hat reads “Miss C. McLaughlin, Millinery Parlors, 226 Armat Street, Germantown.”

Watch for next weeks Tuesday Treasure!