September 10: Shelburne Museum in Shelburne VT

What a beautiful day!  Perfect for our trip to the Shelburne Museum.  This is another pictorial with captions, but if you want to read more about this fascinating museum check out their site: http://shelburnemuseum.org/ 

We started our visit with a guided bus tour.  It took about 15 minutes and helped us pick and choose what we were going to see.  This was a huge place and the guide was quick to point out it would take at least 2 days to see everything.  Some of the buildings that I really wanted to share were just too long and large for me to get great shots, but believe me the building that housed the circus exhibit and the horseshoe shaped barn were something to see.


Now let the tour begin.  There is something for everyone.

 The first few photos are taken from the bus and are representative of the grounds and some of the 39 buildings on the grounds.

 

Jamie, wish I could have gotten better shots of this but it was not
one of our chosen  destinations after the bus ride.  It is
 a house made out of  Four sea storage containers.  Quite novel to us.



Riding the carousel with our grandchildren has always been fun, but we have stood next to them.  This time we rode and laughed and simply enjoyed ourselves.


Yes, we did ride and YES we did enjoy it!



These two photos are of a very large collection of guns made in Vermont.  For those that enjoy the history or the shooting of such weapons, this would be a place to really spend some time.  There are ipods that you can use to take the tour.  We were limited on our time so we just read the information cards at very places.  No flash photograph is allowed in this part of the museum.  I had to cover the flash since mine does not turn off, but it worked out well.

The next series of photos were taken of the Webb travel car.  It had 5 different bedrooms, a sitting room and a dinning room.  I did try with and without flash in here, but these are the best shots I could get.  Henry and Bryson love trains but I am sure this does not look like Chuggington or Thomas.

In the foreground is a very square marble tub that is
in a separate space between two large sleeping rooms

Another unique exhibit is the Ticonderoga which used to steam on Lake Champlain.  It took 65 days in the dead of winter to haul this ship to the museum grounds.  It is absolutely lovely inside.  There are several sleeping berths, dinning spaces, and gorgeous floors.  In the bridge house we were treated to some information about the way the ship operated and the various roles it served during its 50+ years of service.



Treadle driven jigsaw reminded me of the treadle sewing machine
Kevin recently refurbished for me.

 In the Shaker barn we were treated to a number of different exhibits having to do with daily life.  The next few pictures of old time tools.  We also so sausage making machines, irons, baskets, and lots of ironworks including boot jacks in all different designs.  Once again, you could probably spend hours in this one building, but we wanted to see as much as we could.

The next exhibit that we saw was of needlework, quilts, and hatboxes.  There were quite a variety of quilts displayed but this antique quilt was elected to represent because it reminds me so much of the quilts we make for Heart Strings.  The strings could not have been more that 3/4" wide and the fabric was either a silk, satin, or something else with a real sheen.  Once again, no flash was allowed, but I think you are able to get a good view of the quilt.

This exhibit had numerous toys, beautiful dishes, and automatas.  I chose to photograph the doll house in honor of Zoe and Anna.  No flash allowed but you can still peek in the windows.

This is a horseshoe shaped carriage house.  It contains many carriages
and sleighs in a well lit space.  It was fascinating to see all the different
styles of sleighs and wagons and read about how the design was
determined by the use of the vehicle.

Another picture of the landscaping on the grounds.  This building
housed old, high-end pieces of furniture.

This exhibit was very informative.  The blacksmith showed us all the
needed to make a small, decorative horseshoe, plus told us about
what would be done on a regular shoe.  We bought one souvenir and it
was a hook that was made in this shop.

We went into what was billed as a hunting lodge.  The video that
was running talked about the lodge having less creature comforts
than normal but it still showed some elegant furnishings.  The photo
 was taken in part of the lodge that now displays many different
animal trophies.

The next five photos were of the circus exhibit.  The building is near the carousel, but was just too large for me to do it justice in a photo.  The first photo shows the layout of the building.  The second one tries to give you an glimpse into just how large this building is.

Kevin thought this would be a good
photo.  I am not the tallest or the
shortest. 

Jodie, this one is for you.  The whole outer side of the exhibit was made
with these cast iron figures.  It was like a humongous circus parade, and
what is a circus without clowns.

At the end of the circus exhibit they showcased a few
retired carousel horses.  Seemed somehow fitting to end
with these.