Bigelow & Howes: Guide for the Curious
The objects on display in this cabinet of curiosities represent only a small fraction of the life’s work of Edward F. Bigelow and Paul G. Howes, the Bruce Museum’s founding curators.
Below is a sampling of these objects with details about their creation, use, and acquisition for the Museum’s collection. Culled from a variety of sources ranging from family donations and curatorial and institutional files to purchases from eBay and antiquarian booksellers, these materials speak to the lives and careers of both men. Howes in particular left behind a wealth of material after his death, much of it scattered between family and friends. Bigelow archival material, however, remains sparse but is slowly growing due to new research and collecting initiatives. The Bruce is proud to be a major repository of work by Bigelow and Howes. These objects represent the origins and ongoing development of the collection, but also the history of the Bruce Museum.
Calcite
Calcite
10 x 10 ½ x 12 in.
Bruce Museum, Gift of Gerald J. Porricelli, 79.26.02
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984), American moose miniature diorama
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984), American moose miniature diorama
1946
Oil on linoleum, wood, plaster, natural objects, Louis Paul Jonas Studios models, 30 ¼ x 22 ½ x 15 in.
Bruce Museum, 16556
Paul G. Howes’s Binocular Dissecting Scope
Paul G. Howes’s Binocular Dissecting Scope
Spencer Lens Company
13 x 7 x 7 in.
Bruce Museum Archive
Paul G. Howes’s Paint Case
Paul G. Howes’s Paint Case
4 x 17 ½ x 13 ½ in.
Bruce Museum Archive
Edward F. Bigelow’s Balopticon Magic Lantern Projection Microscope
Edward F. Bigelow’s Balopticon Magic Lantern Projection Microscope
Bausch & Lomb, circa 1896
11 ½ x 32 x 7 in.
Bruce Museum, 00513
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984)
Desert Studies Arizona
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984)
Desert Studies Arizona
1950
Oil on board, 16 ¾ x 20 ¾ in.
Bruce Museum Archive
Paul G. Howes’s Certificate to Collect Wild Birds
Paul G. Howes’s Certificate to Collect Wild Birds
Their Nests, and Eggs for Scientific Purposes
7 1/2 x 8 1/2 in.
Bruce Museum, FIC97.125.40
Paul G. Howes’s Photo Autobiography of P.G.H.
Paul G. Howes’s Photo Autobiography of P.G.H.
Cardboard, paper, photographs, and aluminum, 28 x 27 x 2 ¼ in.
Bruce Museum Archive
Edward F. Bigelow’s Compound Microscope
Edward F. Bigelow’s Compound Microscope
Bausch & Lomb Optical Company, circa 1896
12 x 4 ¼ x 6 in.
Bruce Museum, Gift of Sherman Dean Bigelow, 70.05.01
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984) Mushrooms
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984) Mushrooms
Mushroom (unknown species) Model
6 x 6 x 7 in.
Bruce Museum Archive
Paul G. Howes’s H16 Reflex Film Camera
Paul G. Howes’s H16 Reflex Film Camera
Ballard Bolex
8 1/2 x 10 x 5 1/4 in.
Bruce Museum Archive
Portrait of Edward F. Bigelow
Portrait of Edward F. Bigelow
Harris and Ewing
Photograph, 23 x 18 ¾ in.
Bruce Museum Archive, Gift of Nellie P. Bigelow
Memories
Memories
Edward F. Bigelow (American, 1860–1938)
Memories, September 1916
11 ¾ x 9 ¾ x 2 in.
Bruce Museum Archive, Gift of Jonathan and Robert Bigelow
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984), Trigonopsis howesi (abdominalis), c. 1916
Paul G. Howes (American, 1892–1984), Trigonopsis howesi (abdominalis), c. 1916
Ink and watercolor on paper, and unknown photographic medium, 11 x 9 in.
Bruce Museum Archive, 87.22
Paul G. Howes’s Microscope
Paul G. Howes’s Microscope
Spencer Lens Company, circa 1915
12 x 4 ¼ x 6 in.
Bruce Museum Archive
Portrait of Paul G. Howes
Portrait of Paul G. Howes
Margery Stocking Hart (American, 1888–1993)
Untitled (Portrait of Paul G. Howes), 1981
Oil on canvas, 21 x 17 in.
Bruce Museum, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Howes, Jr., 99.04.04
