Exhibits
Pickard China As the Pauline Pottery company was ending, one of their employees, Wilder Austin Pickard, began Pickard China in 1894 in Edgerton, Wisconsin. Wilder’s company imported porcelain blanks to be painted by his artists whose work emphasized quality in artwork and a generous use of gold decorations. The Pickard China display shows the fine painted China of Pickard’s early years, including several pieces made while the company was in Edgerton, Wisconsin. …
George Kemp Tallman Gun Collection George Kemp Tallman, grandson of William Morrison Tallman and the son of Edgar Dexter Tallman, was an avid gun and weapon collector. A portion of his extensive collection is now on display at the Helen Jeffris Wood Museum Center. Come by to see antique matchlocks, flintlocks, dueling pistols from the 18th century, percussion pistols and rifles from the Civil War era, and modern rifles and pistols from the early 20th century. The Helen Jeffris Wood Museum Center is free and open to the public. …
Parker Pen Room George S. Parker was a teacher of telegraphy who sold and repaired pens in 1888. In that year, he discovered a way to make a better product. With a patent secured in 1889, Parker and William F. Palmer formed a partnership and in 1892 incorporated the business as the Parker Pen Company. During World War I the company achieved its first million dollar sales year and just after the war built its own new plant on East Court Street in Janesville. The ” Big-Red”, Parker Duofold, was introduced in 1921 and instanly became its most successful product. The company was noted for its “Lucky Curve” pens and later for its self-filling pens. In 1954 Parker introduced a ballpoint and in 1966 a fiber tip pen.
The Parker Pen Room exhibit is located in the Helen Jeffris Wood Museum Center. The collection features over 136 pens and includes artifacts such as ink bottles, key chains, tie clasps, cigarette lighters, clocks, partsof the company’s advertising displays and historic photos. New items are added monthly.…
Pauline Pottery Pauline Jacobus was forty years old in January 1881 when she saw an exhibit of Sarah Bernhardt’s paintings and sculptures. Inspired, she enrolled in the Rookwood Pottery School in Cincinnattie, Ohio to pursue her interests in art pottery. In 1882 she returned to Chicago and started to produce the first commercial art pottery in the city. After importing clay from Ohio for a number of years, the pottery moved to Edgerton to be near a quality clay source in 1888. Here, the Pauline Pottery company continued to produce a variety of artistic pieces, which were decorated by hand under glaze. These included bowls, vases, candleholders, ewers, jardinieres, and many others. …
Winter in Wisconsin The Rock County Historical Society’s new exhibit, Winter in Wisconsin will be open weekdays from 9 to 4 pm from November 20th and January 2nd through February 28th November 20th to December 30th the exhibit will be open dailly from 9 to 4 pm at the Helen Jeffris Wood Museum Center, 426 N. Jackson Street, Janesville. This exhibit is free and open to the public.
The exhibit features a Wisconsin Carriage Company sleigh from the turn of the century with carriage blankets and a stack of foot warmers nearby. Outdoor wear from the 1880’s to the 1960’s including gloves, mittens, and muffs and a variety of games and indoor activities are displayed along with the green wood sled that George Tallman carved his initials in. Do you remember the “Big Blizzard” of March 4th, 1881 or the Janesville Woman’s Hockey Team coached by Ernie Rost? Heavy wool coats and fur coats, an ice plow, and a variety of winter sports memorabilia will be on display including skis, skates, sleds, and ice fishing equipment.