Object Histories

Tools used in a cupping kit, from left to right: scarificator, cup, syringe. Image courtesy of the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Outagamie County / Region 5 - Center East / Appleton / Cupping Kit / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / Science & Medicine / Object Histories

OBJECT HISTORY: Cupping Kit

Cupping therapy is a medical treatment in which local suction is created on the skin in an effort to increase blood flow to promote healing or restore humoral health balance. It was practiced as early as the Hippocratics and persisted in high medical popularity until the late nineteenth century. This particular kit belonged to Dr. James T. Reeve a physician…

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June 9, 2018

Sheboygan County / 2000-2020 / Region 5 - Center East / Random Lake / Jolly Good Soda / Food & Cooking / Manufacturing & Trade / Object Histories / 1960-1980 / 1980-2000 / Transportation & Tourism

OBJECT HISTORY: Jolly Good Soda

What would a Southeastern Wisconsinite grab on a hot summer day in the 1970s and 80s?  Jolly Good soda of course! Though you can’t find it on store shelves today, Jolly Good soda was once one of the most popular beverages in the region. This cola flavored can of Jolly Good soda features patriotic colors…

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May 9, 2018

Children in the La Crosse Normal School model kindergarten sitting before the fireplace. Image courtesy of Leslie Crocker, "We've Hung the Lanturn," (2013) pg. 33.

Region 3 - Center West / La Crosse County / La Crosse / La Crosse Normal School Fireplace / Home Furnishings / Art, Sport & Entertainment / 1900-1920 / Object Histories / Education

OBJECT HISTORY: La Crosse Normal School Fireplace

UW- La Crosse was once a smaller school that went by a different name. The original school, La Crosse Normal, was originally a training school for prospective teachers. It opened on September 7, 1909. Parts of the Normal School can still be seen on the UW-La Crosse campus, though they can be difficult to spot.…

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April 9, 2018

Lapham Peak Observation Tower. Photo credit: Cole Roecker.

Waukesha County / Delafield / Region 8 - South East / Lapham Peak Observation Tower / Politics, Society & Government / Science & Medicine / 1900-1920 / Object Histories / Nature & Environment

OBJECT HISTORY: Lapham Peak Observation Tower

At first glance, you might recognize this iconic Southeastern Wisconsin tower. Yet, under its wooden beams lies a rich foundation of Wisconsin’s history, including one of the state’s first scientists and a state agency responsible for construction works you probably use everyday.…

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February 9, 2018

Platteville / James D. Williams' Windlass / Region 6 - South West / Grant County / Manufacturing & Trade / 1860-1880 / 1880-1900 / Object Histories / 1900-1920 / Nature & Environment

OBJECT HISTORY: James D. Williams’ Windlass

This is a machine used to lower and raise miners and materials through mine shafts in the lead mining region around Platteville, Wisconsin. Made from wooden supports with a wooden barrel shaft and crank attached to a rope with a bucket, a…

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January 9, 2018

Image courtesy of WikiCommons

Art, Sport & Entertainment / Science & Medicine / 1880-1900 / Object Histories

OBJECT HISTORY: Graphophone

The graphophone was one of the first ways to record and play sound. And without this invention we would not have things like voicemail, iTunes, or Spotify.

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December 9, 2017