Helping to create realistic layouts for its train sets, The Lionel Corporation designed numerous accessories for railroading enthusiasts. This 1930s tunnel continued the company’s tradition of making excellent accessories and trains since 1903.
Using a little imagination, an unknown railroad hobbyist made this bridge using Carlisle & Finch track between 1900 and 1945. Similar to the company’s No. 57 cast iron bridge, this bridge uses track, wood, electrical wire and paint. The...
Buddha was once a living man named Siddhartha Gautama, a wealthy and privileged man. When he was 29 years old, Siddhartha asked his driver to take him to a local village so he could see how the common people lived. Shocked by the poverty and...
Gilbert, W. S. (William Schwenck), 1836-1911; Sullivan, Arthur Seymour, Sir, 1842-1900; Opera; Nineteenth Century; Music; Musical theater; Theaters; Savoy Theatre
Englishmen Sir William Schwenck Gilbert and Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan joined their talents of librettist (writer of operas) and composer to create fourteen operettas between 1871 and 1896, paving the way for modern musical theater. Their...
Castles seem to hold a special spell over children in America. Without a real nearby medieval fortress, children use toys like this one to experience a building only seen in movies. Imagining this castle full of dashing knights and beautiful...
United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865; Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877); Postwar reconstruction
Would this bag hold your clothes for a long trip? Many northerners carried their belongings in bags like this one, instead of in suitcases, when they moved south following the Civil War to help with the Reconstruction of the South. The presence of...
In Japanese folklore there are seven treasures and seven deities of good luck. The deities include one from Japan, three from India, and three from China. The story begins on New Year's Eve, when the "treasure ship" with all seven deities...
Mary Todd Lincoln was often ridiculed by her contemporaries for spending money and her forceful personality. She was a well educated woman who terribly missed her husband, President Abraham Lincoln, and sons Willie and Tad. This doll was made about...
Mirrors; China; China -- Social life and customs; China -- History -- Ming dynasty, 1368-1644
Over the past 3,000 years, mirrors have become more than just a grooming aid in the Chinese culture. Mirrors, through the years, were also used as tokens of love, political gifts, and burial items for the afterlife. They were usually owned by the...
Pewter; Tankards; Tableware; United States -- History -- Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775; Plates (Tableware)
Pewter was a popular material for dishes until the mid 1800s when glass and pottery became more preferred. Pewter dishes were common in Colonial America, but England kept tight control of the import of the raw tin needed for making pewter, so most...
Cliff-dwellers; Indians of North America -- Southwest, New; Pueblo Indians; Implements, utensils, etc.; Anasazi
The Ancestral Puebloans (Anasazi) lived in the present-day Four Corners region, which includes New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona. They lived in this area from AD1 and AD1300 and are thought to be the ancestors of the modern Pueblo Indians now...
Holidays -- Mexico; Mexico -- Social life and customs; All Souls' Day; Skeletons; Sculpture; Aztecs; Aztecs -- Religion; Aztecs -- Social life and customs
This skeleton, dressed in the clothing and accessories of an Aztec warrior, honors the roots of the Mexican celebration, El Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). This unique celebration grew from the blending of Aztec beliefs about death with...
Just after the civil war, inventors began experimenting with bicycles with large front wheels. The wheel allowed riders to go faster and more smoothly on rough roads. Most riders were adventurous young men who were not afraid of falling! The...
T-shirts; Clothing and dress; Hip-hop; 1980s; 1990s
The 'hiphop' fashion of the 1980s and 1990s were heavily influenced by the music entertainment industry. Many of these fashions were either designed or promoted by rap artists. Fubu attire was designed by four black designers who wanted to create a...
The Mound Builders were people who built mounds in a large area from the Great Lakes to the Gulf of Mexico and from the Mississippi River to the Appalachian Mountains. Emerging as an agricultural society and living in permanent villages, the...
Gautama Buddha; Wood-carving; Sculpture; China; China -- Social life and customs; 1900s
The Chinese thought that soft pillows robbed the body of vitality, so their pillows were made of wood, leather, and ceramic materials. Some were even filled with herbal remedies to cure disease, turn white hair black, restore lost teeth, and...
What do you think Santa Claus looks like? Children in many cultures around the world anxiously wait for Santa Claus every year to bring them gifts at Christmas time. Each child has a different idea of what he looks like. This is how...
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Northwest Coast of North America; Indians of North America -- Rites and ceremonies; Indian dance -- North America; Indians of North America -- Folklore; Masks; Kwakiutl Indians; Kwakiutl art;...
This mask was created by contemporary Kwagiulth artist Buddy George. Called “Moon with Snakes” mask, it depicts a cosmological theme, as many Northwest Coast legends do. It embodies the moon, a celestial being that was, according to legend,...
Clothing and dress; 18th century; United States -- History -- Revolution, 1775-1783; United States--History--Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775
Breeches are knee-length pants popularly worn by men during the 18th century. These were most likely part of a Revolutionary War uniform for a soldier in the Continental Army.
Indians of North America; Indians of North America -- Folklore; Drum; Eagles; Dragonflies; Indians of North America -- Rites and ceremonies; Musical instruments
Different Native American groups have different traditions about the drum and how to play it. Painted symbols or ornaments on a drum represent various meanings. This hand drum has dragonflies and an eagle painted on the head. In Plains traditions,...
