Curator Galleries

Enjoy this ever-changing selection of highlights from the Grand Rapids Public Museum's collection of over 250,000 artifacts and specimens.  The collections spans dozens of categories from automobiles to zoology and contain objects of local and inter-galactic significance which the museum uses to inspire curiousity and create a deeper understanding of our world. 

In 1876, Grand Rapids entrepreneur Melville Bissell designed and patented America’s first fully functional carpet sweeper - first to clean in his own shop. The invention was such a great success that Bissell opened up a factory in downtown Grand Rapids (currently where Devos Place stands). Not long after, tragically in 1889, Melville Bissell died leaving his wife Anna Bissell with the young company as well as her 3 young sons. Anna continued to maintain and grow the business as one of America’s first female CEO’s of an international company. Bissell continues to be the number one seller of floor care products in North America.  The Grand Rapids Public Museum collection contains over 1,500 carpet sweepers as well as the Bissell historic archives, documenting the company's history and inventions dating back to the 1890s.

The Furniture Industry Archives Collection documents the history of Grand Rapids as "Furniture City" through photographs, catalogs, design drawings, industry publications, and other ephemera.  This nationally significant collection provides a unique opportunity to study the people, places and products that made Grand Rapids furniture famous.

Propaganda Posters From the First World War

The years 1914-1918 mark the centenary of World War I, the most devastating global war in history. In the United States alone, over 4,000,000 military personnel were mobilized and more than 100,000 were killed. Virtually everyone was affected by the war in some way. In recognition of this important event in history, GRPM has selected posters from its permanent collection that demonstrate important issues at the heart of the war efforts.

Posters were a central way for the government to communicate with the public during World War I. The major themes of the posters were: patriotism and justifying the war, the recruitment of men and women for military and labor forces, raising money and resources as well as managing standards of behavior during a time when life was highly unpredictable. Through creative and symbolic graphics with bold messages, posters were considered a force in gaining support and uniting the public in the wartime efforts.

As you view these posters, reflect on the methods employed in creating them. How do the fonts, the word choice and images reinforce the intended message? Do these posters evoke a mood or emotion? Do any of the ideas in these posters conflict with the social and cultural norms of the time?

The Grand Rapids Public Museum has thousands of rocks and minerals that have been collected over the last 160 years. These gorgeous gems come in all shapes, sizes and were collected from all over the world. The following group is a sampling as we work to inventory, catalog and photograph this exquisite collection.

A fossil is the remains of an organism (plant or animal) that is preserved in rock.  The entire organism or only a small part of the organism can be preserved as a fossil.  Fossil remains can also be skin or body impressions of an organism or a trace left by an organism while preforming some activity, like walking, running, burrowing, or feeding.   Body fossils represent part or all of the body of an organism.  The hardest parts of an organism are usually preserved as a fossil, such as bones, teeth, shells, or the exoskeletons of insects or crabs.  The hard parts of an organism are most commonly fossilized, because they are the most heavily mineralized, making them resistant to weathering and destruction.  Think about how strong bones and teeth are compared to the soft, fleshy parts of a body, such as skin, muscles, or organs.  If the conditions are just right, the soft parts of an organism can be preserved in the fossil record, but this is very rare.  Hair, feathers, fingernails, and claws are not commonly found in the fossil record, because they are composed of a material called keratin, which isn’t as strong as bone, teeth, or shell.  Trace fossils are left behind while an organism is preforming some activity, such as tracks/trackways, burrows/borings, bite marks, or coprolites (fossil poop).  Trace fossils are important, because they provide information about the habits or behavior of an organism (how it moved, what it ate, or where it made its home).  Over 90% of all organisms never become a fossil.  An organism has a better chance of being fossilized if it is composed of a lot of hard parts, is very abundant, and lives in a lot of different habitats all over the world.  An organism is also more likely to become a fossil, if it gets buried under a lot of sediment quickly after it dies and it stays buried.  Even the hardest parts of an organisms will get quickly destroyed if they are left exposed to the weather or are allowed to be chewed on by other organisms.  The process of an organisms becoming fossilized typically happens very, very, slowly and will take 10,000s to 100,000s of years.

The Grand Rapids Public Museum's collection of cased photographs consists of daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, and tintypes, some of the first photographic processes ever invented.  Most of the almost 200 photographs in this collection are portraits of the early residents of Grand Rapids, but many are unidentified.

Furniture from the Grand Rapids Public Museum's extensive Furniture Collection.

This collection of photographs, largely 8" x 10" and approximately 4 " x 5 "silver gelatin prints, documents the activities of the crews of two U.S. Navy aircraft carriers serving in the South Pacific during World War II. Aurey Strohpaul the U.S. Naval photographer who took the photos served aboard both the U.S.S. Casablanca and the U.S.S. Rudyerd Bay capturing images of the vessels and crews while serving in support of the many amphibious landings made by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Army on various islands in the Pacific including Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The photos reflect the actions of naval fighter and bomber aircraft taking off and landing after completing combat sorties in the vicinity of the carriers. They also document seamen and officers performing their daily duties in support of the aircraft as well as taking part in recreational activities aboard ship.

The Furniture Collection is one of the most historically significant of Grand Rapids Public Museum’s Collections. Composed of approximately 2,000 pieces of furniture, mostly manufactured in Grand Rapids in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, this collection is internationally recognized for its scope and completeness.

Over 400 companies are represented within the collection, including early cabinetmakers like William “Deacon” Haldane, large Victorian-era firms like Berkey & Gay and Nelson & Matter, huge producers like the Michigan Chair Company and Imperial Furniture Company, well known residential companies like Kindel and Baker Furniture, as well as the office furniture and fixed seating concerns that changed the industry during the twentieth century like Steelcase, Herman Miller, and the Irwin Seating Company.

The furniture collection features pieces by some of America’s most notable furniture designers and artists such as Frank Lloyd Wright, George Nelson, Charles and Ray Eames, David Wolcott Kendall, T. H. Robsjohn-Gibbings, George Nakashima, and Alois Lang.The furniture represents a wide variety of pieces from hand carved, one-of-a-kind pieces to mass produced, plastic and metal stadium seating.  Taken as a whole, these objects offer a striking material history of the furniture industry and by extension the history and culture of Grand Rapids and its surrounding communities.

Chairmania is a collection of miniature chairs collected and curated by George M. Beylerian. Each piece was carefully selected by Beylerian to represent important design concepts such as marketing, fantasy, transformation, ethnicity and culture, comfort, and Americana. Some pieces are actual salesman samples while others were created by famous artists, architects, jewelers, and designers. 

Recently, the GRPM's Board of Trustees, along with members of the Art & Museum Commission, participated in an annual retreat. This year, the retreat was held at the Museum's archives or CARC. Members of the Board participated in the inquiry-based "Investigate" guided education program, utilizing [primary source] artifacts & specimens from our Collection of over 250,000 artifacts. They also learned from Public Museum School students about how they use Museum artifacts in their learning, and each board member had the opportunity to choose an artifact to learn more about. To explore the GRPM's Collections, visit: grpmcollections.org. To learn more about the GRPM's education programs for schools, visit: grpm.org/schools To learn more about the GRPM's Board, visit grpm.org/board-members/

Many early Grand Rapids furniture company catalogs have tremendous research value for collectors, academics, antique vendors, artists, and other interested researchers. The Museum's collection of catalogs, photographs, and other ephemera document the rich history of Grand Rapids handcrafted furniture and its significant influence in the nation's furniture industry. The furniture catalogs featured in this gallery have been scanned cover-to-cover and are provided to researchers for educational projects. 

This digitization project was made possible through funding from the Furniture Manufacturers' Heritage Advised Fund Grant of the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. You must obtain permission from the Grand Rapids Public Museum for use of images or other content for publication purposes.

In March of 1904 the Grand River overflowed its banks and water covered much of the west side of town.  These photographs were taken during the flood and show the various innundated areas of the city.

Archival Collection #017 - Seymour F. Beiboer Urban Renewal Slides contains 35mm slides depicting downtown Grand Rapids during the period of urban renewal in the early 1960s and early 1970s. The collection also contains photographs (81 color and black and white) of the same theme. All photos and slides were taken by photographer Mr. Seymour Beibour. 

The Roaring Twenties, as the 1920s decade was nicknamed, was the era of the flapper. The flapper was a young and rebellious woman whose favorite past time was dancing the Charleston and the Shimmy to popular jazz music. She smoked cigarettes and drank alcohol and wore a short haircut called the “bob”. This collection of dresses from the 1920s demonstrate a major change in women's fashion and lifestyle. By 1925 hems were the shortest they had ever been sitting just below the knee. Dresses during this era were also sleeveless and shaped like a tube. This style was a stark contrast from the long, frilly and feminine hourglass shaped dresses worn by previous generations of women. The most striking element of the 1920s evening dress is the dazzling beadwork that would have sparked while in motion on the dance floor.

This gallery features a selection of wedding dresses from the Grand Rapids Public Museum's permanent collection. GRPM has over 200 wedding dresses dating back to the early 19th century. This collection of dresses was cataloged and photographed as part of a two-year collections stewardship grant awarded by the Institute for Library and Museum Services to enhance preservation and access to GRPM's collection of 10,000 clothing and accessories. 

Among the Museum’s collection there are over 200 quilts dating back to the early 19th century. Quilts and their stories are usually passed down in a family for generations before they arrive at the Museum. They stay in homes because they are such deeply personal artifacts that are often made of old clothing or scrap material that has been intricately pieced together artfully by their maker. In their construction they require skill, attention to detail and a passion for quilting traditions. The job of a quilt is to literally keep a person warm so when a quilt is gifted it is usually the most intimate of mementos. With the help of the West Michigan Quilter’s Guild, staff and volunteers, the quilt collection is one of the most thoroughly cataloged, photographed and documented of the Museum’s collections.

Opening on January 17 2015, Through the Eyes of Weidenaar, will commemorate the works of local artist and internationally renowned print maker, Reynold Weidenaar.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rey Weidenaar, the exhibition will showcase a large portion of the GRPM’s unparalleled collection of Weidenaar’s prints, plates, tools and personal effects. The collection, a majority of which was donated by Jay and Betty Van Andel, speaks to the history of Grand Rapids from the artists’ point of view. Over 100 works by Weidenaar will be on display, including 75 prints and 25 digital images. The exhibition will focus specifically on how Weidenaar incorporated local scenes, humor, and his own personal worldview and politics into his art.