Features

Curated articles that explore the rich intersections of history, craftsmanship, and collecting culture. These long-form pieces are your gateway to learning something new, seeing the familiar in a fresh light, and connecting with the past meaningfully.
/ Features
The flyer for Sears’ Quilt Making Contest featuring the Century of Progress Building reached out to women by asking “You can ‘bake a sweet cake,’ but can you ‘sew a fine seam?’”

The Sears National Quilt Contest

An essay from Quiltindex.org by Merikay Waldvogel The Sears National Quilt Contest organized by Sears Roebuck & Co. in connection ...
/ Features
John James Audubon, Self-portrait, 1822-23

John James Audubon: A Short Reflection on His Life and Works

by Pat Raynock, Biologist and Audubon Collector As a career biologist, I have spent a lifetime looking at the beauty ...
Figure 2: Henry D. Thoreau, ambrotype by Edward Sidney Dunshee, 1862. Th33b, Henry D. Thoreau, Gift of Mr. Walton Ricketson and Miss Anna Ricketson (1929). photo courtesy of the Concord Museum

Collecting Inspiration: Henry David Thoreau & Nature

by Erica Lome, Ph.D. One April morning, when Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) was fishing in a stream outside the center ...