2023 Mackinac State Historic Parks Collections Acquisitions Posted March 1, 2024 In 2023, the collections committee accessioned 643 objects into the Mackinac Island State Park Commission collection and archives. In addition to 83 purchases, 560 items were donated to the collection. The summer collections internship program saw the hiring of Kaitlyn Cary from Central Michigan University and Sara Handerhan from Cornell University. They assisted Curator of Collections Brian Jaeschke with the inventory of The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum, several historic downtown Mackinac Island buildings and General Storage inside the Heritage Center.Colonel Arent DePeysterRebecca Blair DePeyster In the fall of 2022, Mackinac State Historic Parks was able to acquire two rare portraits of Lieutenant Colonel Arent DePeyster and his wife Rebecca. DePeyster was commandant of the King’s 8th Regiment of Foot at Fort Michilimackinac from 1774-1779. Francis Alleyne painted the images around 1790. The portraits were discovered in a London home and put up for auction. Money from the Jahn Collections Fund was used to purchase and conserve the portraits and their frames. They are currently on display in the Mackinac Art Museum.Donated portrait of Colonel Thomas Hunt The commission received a donation of a framed portrait from a descendant of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Hunt. Hunt was commander of the 1st Infantry at Fort Mackinac from 1802 – 1804. During this time, Fort Mackinac became the sixth largest U.S. military post with 120 soldiers. Hunt had a distinguished military career starting in 1775 at Lexington-Concord. He served in several battles including Bunker Hill and Yorktown where he was wounded. After the war, he was a major in the 2nd Sub Legion and served during Wayne’s Indian Campaign of 1794, fighting at Fallen Timbers. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in 1802. The portrait was painted on tin circa 1808 and the artist is currently unknown. The painting is undergoing conservation treatment and will be placed on display in the near future.Two of the donated photo albums Over the years, Mackinac State Historic Parks has purchased or had donated photograph albums containing snapshots taken by visitors to the straits region. This year the commission accessioned three albums containing several black and white images of Mackinac Island, Mackinaw City and other local attractions. Besides scenes such as Arch Rock, Fort Mackinac and Grand Hotel, the albums contain perspectives that commercial photographers would not normally shoot providing important historical information. Another aspect is images of everyday people enjoying the sites much like visitors continue to today.Donated items from the MRA and Mackinac College. Besides Grand Hotel, Mission Point Resort is another Mackinac Island icon. Many of the resort buildings were originally constructed for the group Moral Re-Armament which was an international moral and spiritual movement that started before World War II. In 1942, the group began holding conferences on Mackinac Island and by the mid-1950s had purchased the property known as Cedar Point on the east end of the island. They began constructing buildings using workers from around the world. One of those workers donated several photographs, slides, blueprints and other material related to the construction. In addition, various objects from Mackinac College, which operated at Mission Point from 1966 – 1970, were donated. This is only a small sample of the type of objects Mackinac State Historic Parks collects during any given year. We are always looking for donations and items to purchase which will help the commission to continue its mission of educating the public about the history of the region.Mackinac State Historic Parks2023 Accession Gift DonorsAmy SackaLarge color photograph of Mackinac Bridge in wintertime by Artist-in-ResidenceRaymond GaynorFramed black and white photograph of sailboats in Mackinac Island harbor by Artist-in-ResidenceBecki BarnwellBlack and white portrait photograph of Samuel Bayard and Martha PooleCopies of Mackinac Islander, The Island News and Mackinac Island News newspapersJames NewtonSouvenir letter wallet and change purse from Mackinac IslandJeri GustafssonBlack and white photographs of Fort Michilimackinac, Fort Mackinac and Mackinac BridgeJoan VannormanBlack and white photographs of Mackinac Island, Fort Mackinac, Niagara Falls and Parry Sound, OntarioPatricia JahnWoven flax cloth night shirtJoan SlaterOffice paper spike and papers from John Doud store on Mackinac IslandJohn PolacsekGeorgian Bay Line travel brochures for S.S. South & North AmericanDavid CallaghanNew Testament Bible of Jacob Wendell and Old and New Mackinac by Rev J.A. Van FleetKathy VerhagenColor and black & white postcards from the Straits of Mackinac regionMichael McGarrMetal artwork of Old Mackinac Point Lighthouse entitled Midnight LightKathy AmesBlack and white photographs of the Tootle family, sailboats and Gardiner photographic printsDavid DossMichigan State Highway Ferry schedule for Fall and Early Winter 1944Cheboygan History CenterColor postcards of Mackinac Island and black and white photographs of a truck being pulled by horses on Mackinac IslandDustin HuntPencil sketch entitled Sue by Artist-in-ResidenceKateri KaminskiCross, pendants, brooch and earrings made in silver by Artist-in-ResidenceJeri Baron FeltnerNikonos III underwater camera used to photograph shipwrecks in the Straits of MackinacHigh pressure scuba tank used by Charles Feltner for diving on Great Lakes shipwrecksSid BrowneWooden walking stick crafted by Donald AndressPhil PorterMackinac State Historic Parks employee coffee mug from 1994Jean GumpperFramed woodcut print by Artist-in-ResidenceJames SwansonOil on linen of Round Island Lighthouse and seagulls by Artist in ResidenceMarilyn BachelorFramed painting by Robert E. Wood entitled From Mackinac IslandDorothy and Dan ElliottFramed oil on tin painting of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas HuntAnonymousReal color postcard of Fort Michilimackinac land gateHarold KriescheClear glass ashtray with letter “L” engraved by Frank KriescheDan FriedhoffFire axes recovered from the SS Cedarville shipwreckBrian Scott JaeschkeCopy of A Lake Tour to Picturesque MackinacDebra OrrPhotographs of Christopher Reeve, Mary’s Pantry, stockade spike, ferry pass, movie ticket and Truscott documentsDouglas McGregorMoral Re-Armament and Mackinac College photographs, slides, booklets, blueprints, newsletters, records, postcards, Mackinac College letterman patch and stationeryKyle BagnallThree color panoramic postcards of Mackinac Island
2022 Mackinac State Historic Parks Collections Acquisitions Posted January 16, 2023 In 2022, the collections committee accessioned 176 objects into the Mackinac Island State Park Commission collection and archives. In addition to several purchases, over 90 items were donated to the collection. The summer collections internship program was restarted and Kendra Ellis, from the Maritime Studies Program at East Carolina University, was hired. She assisted Curator of Collections Brian Jaeschke with the inventory of Fort Mackinac buildings and Special Storage inside the Heritage Center. In 2010, five pen and ink drawings of Mackinac Island were loaned to the park for exhibit in The Richard & Jane Manoogian Mackinac Art Museum. The loan was changed to a donation early in the year. The five drawings were done in the early 1840s by Francis Melick Cayley who moved to Canada in 1836. The views are some of the most precise pre-photographic images of the island known to exist. They are so well proportioned that it is believed he may have employed artificial means to prepare the sketches, such as a “camera obscura,” which permitted projection of a scene onto paper for tracing. The drawings continue to be displayed in the main gallery of the art museum. During the course of procuring images for the new Dr. William Beaumont Museum exhibit this winter, the park purchased four paintings of the doctor and his wife from the Wayne County Medical Society of Southeast Michigan. Two of the paintings are miniature portraits of Dr. Beaumont and his wife Deborah. It is believed they were done around the time of their marriage in 1821. The other two paintings are reproductions of images showing Beaumont later in life. The portraits need conservation work and will eventually be placed on display. The park purchased two black and white panoramic photographs showing Mackinac Island scenes. The first image, by island photographer William Gardiner, was taken from a naval vessel, quite possibly the USS Michigan. The ship is entering the harbor with downtown, Fort Mackinac and Grand Hotel visible. The second image was taken by H.J. Rossiter from the fort pasture and shows the officers’ and commanding officer’s quarters, Fort Mackinac and Trinity Episcopal Church. The images were taken around 1900 and give us a unique historic glimpse of the island. Donated to the park collection this summer was a painting with a unique perspective from a path behind Trinity Episcopal Church looking toward Fort Mackinac. The oil on canvas by German-born Curt Bielefeldt was done sometime between 1940 and 1960. He lived in Buffalo before moving to Detroit in the early 1930s. He worked in oils and watercolors and was also known for murals. He was a cousin of German boxer Max Schmeling. Bielefeldt won the grand prize in the 1930 Buffalo Society of Artists in the Albright Gallery. His work was displayed in many locations including the Detroit Institute of Art and the J.L. Hudson Company Gallery. This is only a small sample of the type of objects Mackinac State Historic Parks collects during a given year. We are always looking for donations and items to purchase which will help the commission to continue its mission of educating the public about the history of the region.
2019 Collections Acquisitions Posted January 24, 2020 German made souvenir porcelain china. In 2019, the Mackinac Island State Park Commission accessioned 188 gifts and 107 purchases to the historic object and archival collection. The park purchased or was gifted several large collections of souvenirs, paintings, glassware and postcards. Some of the interesting items were a large collection of souvenirs, paintings and other items related to Mackinac Island purchased from a long-time collector. Several black and white press photographs and an invoice from the business of an islander was acquired. Donations included the engine room plate from a Straits of Mackinac shipwreck, several pieces of Kriesche glassware and photographs and archival material belonging to a former Mackinac Island State Park Commissioner. (more…)
