Wisconsin 101

The Pauline Pottery

The Pauline Pottery

Chicago-born artist and entrepreneur Pauline Jacobus was the central figure of Edgerton, Wisconsin's art pottery movement. In 1888, Jacobus and her husband Oscar relocated the Pauline Pottery from Chicago to Edgerton to take advantage of the area's quality clay.

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April 20, 2020

Waukesha County / Region 8 - South East / Home Furnishings / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / Education

OBJECT HISTORY: Slate

Before chromebooks, iPads, and even lined paper, students still had to complete their assignments. In the past, students did most their schoolwork on a slate. A slate is a small, rectangular blackboard made from slate stone. They had two sides and the edges were wrapped in leather or wood to protect students’ hands. In the…

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February 10, 2020

Milwaukee County / Settlement Cook Book / Milwaukee / Region 8 - South East / Food & Cooking / Object Histories / 1900-1920 / Ethnicity & Identity

OBJECT HISTORY: Settlement Cook Book

The first edition of The Settlement Cook Book was published on April 1, 1901 with an original printing of 1,000 copies. Copies not distributed to the settlement’s cooking school students were sold at the Boston Store in Milwaukee for 50 cents each and sold out within the first year. Kander made notes on the recipe for Mocha…

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February 10, 2020

Beloit / Rock County / Region 7 - South Center / Clair Mathews' Feed Grinder / Related Stories / Food & Cooking / Science & Medicine / 1920-1940 / Nature & Environment / 1940-1960

From Cow Feed to Korn Kurl

By the mid-1930s, the Flakall Corporation was trying to build up a customer base for its machine, a version of the feed grinder initially designed and built by Clair Mathews. But, as it turned out, the machine would end up being more useful for snack food manufacturers than farmers.

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September 23, 2019

Door County / Sturgeon Bay / X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine / Clothing & Fashion / Science & Medicine / Object Histories / 1940-1960

OBJECT HISTORY: X-Ray Shoe Fitting Machine

Intended to help customers get the perfect pair of shoes, X-Ray shoe fitting machines like this one from Sturgeon Bay were popular in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s.

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September 10, 2019

Dunn County / Region 1 - North West / Menomonie / Wilson Place Door / Home Furnishings / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1880-1900 / 1900-1920 / Object Histories

OBJECT HISTORY: Wilson Place Door

The Wilson Place Mansion front door was crafted at the turn of the twentieth century, likely by a well-known Arts and Crafts Movement blacksmith named Thomas F. Googerty. Wilson Place Mansion was the home of James Huff Stout, a lumber baron, longtime state senator, and philanthropist. Area tradition has it that the door was fashioned to honor Stout,…

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September 10, 2019