Victorian Era Casket

During the Victorian era (1860-1910), funerals were held in the home of the family of the deceased. For the funeral, the coffin was draped with a black shroud, and all the mirrors were covered with black crepe. The funeral would have been the last formal reception of the guests by the deceased. Based on the etiquette of the period, the family of the deceased would provide gifts, food, and wine. The gifts ranged from ostrich feathers to gloves, fans, and mourning jewelry. Often, feasts were prepared as part of the mourning ritual, and in some cases the wine served at the funeral would have been wine that was saved from the deceased’s wedding. The extravagance of the funeral and mourning gifts reflected the social status of the deceased and their family.

Here in the museum we hold two Victorian era caskets. The one pictured is a child or infant size unlined coffin (casket) made circa 1900. It was made of mahogany (now blackened) finish on wood with silver decorations at the corners of the base. The lid has a glass-covered opening for viewing. The casket was never used, but was purchased by Henry Nieman for resale of the Nieman Brothers Funeral Home in Pemberville Ohio.

This casket was donated to the museum by Doritt Beckman of Pemberville. Dorrit Beckman was married to Clarence Beckman (5/10/1924-01/1995). Clarence's maternal grandfather, Henry Nieman, was the funeral director and mortician at the Nieman Brothers Funeral Home in Pemberville. Henry's brother, Charles Nieman (who had funeral homes in Woodville and Gibsonberg before joining his brother in Pemberville), was a partner. The Nieman Brothers became the Nieman-Beckman Funeral Home in 1940, when Clarence became a partner.

This item is held at the museum in memory of Clarence Beckman of the Nieman-Beckman Funeral Home, Pemberville, Ohio.

*This post prepared by WCHC graduate student intern Erin Gentry.

A Bike With Wooden Wheels?

Lucas Bicycle, 1898.

The bicycle has been around for nearly two centuries, and has been a popular form of transportation and entertainment for those seeking something different and fun. The ‘hobby horse’, the first form of bicycle, was invented in 1817 in Germany by Baron von Drais. This bicycle, however, was slightly different from the bicycles we know today. It had no pedals! The ‘hobby horse’ was a two-wheeled vehicle, but did not have the ability to be self-propelled. It wasn’t until 1866 that Pierre Lallement received the patent for a pedal driven bicycle. Another major step towards the modern bicycle was the pneumatic bicycle tire manufactured by Dunlop in 1888. Before that, bicycles had wooden wheels. No wonder one of the early bicycles was called ‘the boneshaker’!

Here at the Historical Center, we hold a ladies bicycle from 1898 in our collection. The bicycle was called the Lucas, and was manufactured by the Ott & Hemley Company, which operated out of Toledo, and who, to the best of our knowledge, only manufactured bicycles for one year. The Lucas features wooden rims, wooden fenders, curved, wooden handlebars with cork handlebar grips, and a ladies frame. The frame was specially designed with a downward sloping curve in the frame in order to accommodate the ladies’ skirt.

The Lucas is a ‘fixed gear’ bicycle, meaning that there is no freewheel that allows the bicycle to coast. There are no brakes on the bicycle because bicycles without freewheels have a built in brake system. All one needs to do is bicycle backwards to force the wheel to stop turning. Freewheels did not become widely commercialized until 1898. The wooden rims on the Lucas are also significant. Wooden rims were very popular until the invention of the caliper bicycle brake in 1876. The caliper bicycle brake mounted on the rim of the bicycle, like most modern bicycles. The friction of the caliper brake against the wooden rim was not safe, and so bicycles equipped with brakes had to use a metal rim. However, fixed gear bicycles without brakes still used wooden rims, as seen on the Lucas, and on track (racing) bicycles until the 1940’s.

From 1817 to present day, bicycles have been loved and used by those seeking entertainment, exercise, or transportation by people of all ages. The bicycle has experienced very few major changes. The form and structure are recognizably the same, and it has not been swept up by the motorized or computerized trends of the later 20th century. From the Lucas to today’s carbon fiber racing bicycles, bicycles have stayed true to form.

Resources used:

Sheldon Brown’s Bicycle Glossary, “caliper brake”. 1996, 2007. Sheldon Brown. 2 Oct 2007.

“Wooden Rims”. 1996, 2007. Sheldon Brown. 2 Oct 2007.

“Myths and Milestones in Bicycle Evolution”. 2007. Jim Langley. 2 Oct 2007.

3,140 Bicycle Brands. 2001-2007. The Wheelmen. 2 Oct 2007.

The Magic Lantern

What did people do for fun before movies?

Magic lanterns were a popular form of entertainment before the advent of moving pictures in 1895. The slides were made of glass and originally pictures were painted on the slides and projected onto the wall. With the advent of photography, slide makers were able to put pictures on the slides and they would paint colors (sepia tone) onto the image to make it more visible and exciting.
The lanterns were originally illuminated by candlelight, but the candles would only project a 2’x 2’ image. Later, the invention of the Oxy-hydrogen limelight and the mineral oil lamp allowed for the images to be projected at much larger scales and Magic Lantern shows became traveling shows. Eventually, smaller Magic Lanterns were made, and the home consumer could buy a lantern and a set of slides for home entertainment use. The Magic Lantern and slides were also used as educational tools. Educators could buy readymade sets educating about morality, health, and art history, a field in which the Magic Lantern was instrumental.

Magic Lanterns were the only form of slide projection from the 1600’s until 1895, when the Lumiere brothers invented the Cinematographe (moving picture camera), changing entertainment forever.

Here at the museum, we have a Magic Lantern projector and a collection of glass slides. The collection features photos of landmarks around Northwest Ohio like Inscription Rock at Kelley’s Island, the Exchange Hotel in Perrysburg, the Administration Building at Bowling Green State University, and other Ohio landmarks. All of the slides have had color added to them. The slides were made in Bowling Green at Biery’s Quality Slides, and some date to the 1930s, which is later than most glass slides were made for the Magic Lantern.

The Magic Lantern held by the museum is a large projector that was probably used for larger audiences. The date of manufacture and manufacturer’s name are unknown, but the lantern appears to have been modified. The top has been cut off, and a light bulb has been installed on a platform of wood in order to provide more projectings power.

Resources for this post include:
The Magic Lantern Society. 18 Sept. 2007..

The Magic Lantern Caslte Museum home page. 1994. Magic Lantern Castle Museum. 18 Sept. 2007. .

* Post prepared by Erin Gentry, WCHC Graduate Student Intern.