Special Exhibits
|
NORTHEAST GALLERY |
|||
|
And the Bride Wore: Montana Weddings, 1900-1960 (through November 2013) |
|||
|
Weddings are both profoundly personal and intensely public, reflecting every couple’s own wishes and the times and culture in which they live. Throughout Montana history, couples have wed in large community celebrations and small family gatherings, in formal church ceremonies and simple courthouse proceedings, in fancy outfits and everyday dress. The Montana Historical Society's newest temporary exhibit, "And the Bride Wore," examines how history has shaped weddings - and particularly wedding fashion - during the first half of the twentieth century. Sixteen delightful and diverse dresses are on display, including a hand-stitched dress made of white lace and yellow silk ribbon (worn in Butte in 1907), a Crow elk-tooth dress (worn in Lodge Grass in 1945), and a ballerina-style white dress of synthetic satin, lace and tulle (worn in Hardin in 1957). Museum visitors are asked to participate in the exhibit by voting for their favorite ensemble and trying their hand at an old-fashioned Singer treadle sewing machine. |
 |
||
|
|
Wedding outfits, Agnes Metully Stefanich and Charles Stefanich, Butte, 1907 Gift of Darlene Cramer, Montana Historical Society Museum Collection 2007.46.07 a-c, 09 a-b |
||
|
|
|||
|
LOBBY GALLERY |
|||
|
Domestic Economy: Managing the Home 1890-1920
|
|||
|
As men and women homesteaded across Montana, they worked to make a new start. Women were expected to managed the household ---working hard to make these dwellings, often shacks, homes. Everything needed to make these rooms homes would fall on her shoulders. Meal planning and food preservation, making, laundering, and storing clothing, and caring for any sick children and family would have to take place under her supervision. Domestic Economy would encompass all of these parts of her daily life. |
|
||
|
Catalog #951-980 Carrie Dunn at work in the ranch kitchen, ca. 1902. Photographed by James Harper Tappan Not for resale. Permission is granted for ONE USE ONLY. Photos may not be re-used without written permission of the MHS Photograph Archives. This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code) Credit: Montana Historical Society Research Center Photograph Archives, Helena, MT |
|||
|
|
|||
|
MONTANA MOMENTS GALLERY |
|||
|
Dora's Laundry |
|||
| Between 1909 – 1923, Dora Linebarger ran a booming laundry business in Montana. Today, her ledger books have remained to tell the stories of those who had their laundry done – names marked on clothing to return it later, seasons of life – diapers appearing, and frugality in the ½ pairs of socks that were still washed long after their mate had worn out. Visit this new exhibit to explore more of these everyday clothing items that were popular on the homestead. |
 |
||
