History
The Museum’s history collection focuses primarily on American material culture spanning from the colonial period to the present day. Encompassing some 7,000 objects, the collection includes books, cast-iron mechanical banks, ceramics, currency, glassware, jewelry, musical instruments, needlework, photographs, scrimshaw, tools, toys, wartime and political ephemera, weaponry, woodcarvings (including rare Connecticut duck decoys), and an extensive collection of meerschaum pipes and other tobacco-related paraphernalia. Of note, the Museum houses objects associated with Ernest Thompson Seton and the Woodcraft Indians, and a robust collection of archival material related to artists Leonard, Mina, and Dorothy Ochtman.
Mechanical Bank
Mechanical Bank, circa 1910 Cast iron Bruce Museum, Gift of Samuel Pryor, 80.34.300
Trick Dog ,mechanical bank from the early 20th century
Trick Dog ,mechanical bank from the early 20th century, cast iron, Gift of aviation pioneer Samuel Pryor, Bruce Museum Collection
Wind-up Toy
Louis Marx and Company, Wind-up Toy, n.d. Tin, paint, and cardboard Bruce Museum, Gift of Frank E. Larson, Robert K. Larson and Alice Larson Ennis in Memory of Frank S. Larson, 96.13.23
