America's Kitchens Exhibition

Hello, all ♥

It seems like ever since I created this blog,

I'm inadvertently being drawn to different New England

things on my very own home-turf of Long Island.

Long Island- of it's "so close, but so far away"

proximity to New England- is fortunately
(for me) able to participate in various 

New England activities from time to time.

... Have no idea what I'm talking about?

Well, yesterday, my mom and I decided to go

for a Sunday drive to The Long Island Museum;

she loves the painter William Sydney Mount

whose work is permantly featured there, and

we also heard of their America's Kitchens exhibition

that we thought sounded very interesting...

Short biography of William Sydney Mount

(or you could always ask my mom-

she's a Mount groupie.)

So where does New England come into this?...

We stepped into the exhibit, only to discover

that the Historic New England organization presented it!

And the stranger coincidence is that the only other 

museum the exhibition is being showcased in

is the Heritage Museums & Gardens 

in Sandwich, Massachusetts!

(Is that a sign I'm meant

to live there, or what?! :p)

 

Anyways, the America's Kitchens exhibition 

portrays the evolution of American kitchens

from the Colonial era to present day 

through vignettes, and interactive activities:

"America’s Kitchens showcases the important role of kitchens throughout history. Historic New England’s collections contain innumerable items related to the New England kitchen. For comparison, the exhibition also includes kitchens from the South, the Midwest, and the Southwest.
Each item in the exhibition tells a story – about food preparation and other domestic work, the use of household help, the impact of new technologies, changes in gadgets and appliances, how advertising portrays women’s roles -- and excerpts from letters and diaries reveal both nostalgic memories and despair at the endless drudgery of kitchen work.
Although kitchen chores have changed from the multi-tasking of colonial and early nineteenth-century households – cooking, laundering, preserving, making soap and candles, spinning, and minding children - to common activities taking place in kitchen today like paying bills, doing homework, entertaining, and microwaving popcorn, the kitchen remains the 'heart of the home.'"

Upon walking into the exhibit, we found a little

table (where the girl is sitting) next to a
shelf stacked with cookbooks; on the table

were notepaper, pencils, and a recipe box.

A sign indicated that the blank paper was there for

us to jot down any recipes that caught our attention...

How cute is that?!

The first book my mom found on the shelf.

She immediately turned to me and went, "Oh, Erin...."

I naturally yanked it out of her hands, 

and began scribbling down recipes.

(If you click on the photo, you can read my horrendous

chicken-scratch copy of a hot crab dip recipe.)

♥

Another book that I completely swooned over

(and buying, ASAP!)

Now, on to the exhibit!

The Tucker Kitchen in Wiscasset, Maine, 1921

So cute!

The Mary Frances Cook Book (1912),

Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls (1957),

"Little Fanny" Toy Cast-Iron Stove (1880-1900),

and The Little Lady Oven (1952)

The Koravos Kitchen in Andover, Massachusetts, 1957

Canned goods from 1915 and 1935... so cool!

I have such a fascination with preserved foods;

it's truly like living history!

Kitchen from the 1880s 

My mother and I's personal favorite:

The Coffin Kitchen in Newbury, Massachusetts, 1765

Adorable.

A Chambers Fireless Gas Range from 1920

and a stove from the 1950s.

Gorgeous painting (that I wanted to squeeze in my 

pocket book) by William Sydney Mount of his kitchen.

... Great exhibition!

Afterward, we drove to Port Jefferson, another

New England-y town on the Island (a ferry

from the port goes to Bridgeport, CT daily!)

and got some Fish and Chips at The Village Way

Mmm...

A perfect ending to a pretending-I'm-in-New-England day!

♥