Holland Museum
From QuiltIndex
The Netherlands Collection: Begun in 1937 as a collection of 19th century Dutch immigration material, fueled by Holland's enduring ties to The Netherlands for 150 years, the collection forms the core of the museum's holdings and is the most extensive and unique such collection in the Midwest and perhaps in the U.S. Major gifts from The Netherlands government and museum purchases have enhanced the collection which includes the following: printed books such as a 1565 Bible published in Antwerp containing woodcuts by Hans Holbein the Younger; a collection of 17th and 18th century Delft; furniture including a ca. 1650 ebony linenkast from Castle Sterkenberg; an 1866 Amsterdam dollhouse with complete hand-made furnishings; a period room from a Dutch fisherman's cottage; and displays from The Netherlands Pavilion of the 1939 New York World's Fair.
The Indonesian Collection: This part of The Netherlands Collection and includes artifacts from The Netherlands East Indies Pavilion of the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition including two rare sixty-five foot long Balinese "ider-ider" temple paintings. Additional objects include batik textiles, silver, puppets, weapons, and carved figures, many of which were gifts of the government of the Dutch East Indies before Indonesian independence.
Local History Collection: The museum was formed in 1937 to document the early Dutch immigration story in Holland, Michigan. Important early artifacts from the "Holland Kolonie's" development include possessions of the family of Holland's founder Rev. Albertus Van Raalte; one of the earliest locally produced products, a bed manufactured ca. 1850 by an immigrant wood-turner; a Dutch 18th century chandelier originally used in the New York City Dutch Reformed Collegiate Church, and brought to Holland in 1859 by Rev. Philip Phelps, an early president of Hope College; and a walnut chest of drawers charred during the Holland fire of 1871 which destroyed most of the town. A collection of nearly 1500 textiles is broadly representative including clothing, quilts, linen and samplers.
Hundreds of recent additions to the collection build on the museum's 20th century local history collection that reflects social, religious, maritime and commercial history. Recent acquisitions include local paintings, machinery, locally produced furniture, and automotive and boat building components. Recent exhibits have spawned a rash of donations which include military artifacts, clothing, sports equipment, and political artifacts.
The Hispanic and Southeast Asian Collections: This is part of the local history collection and representative of Holland's diverse cultures, currently consist of ceramics and textiles (Hispanic) and artwork (Southeast Asian). Collections are being developed in conjunction with members of these cultural communities through gifts and purchases of representative objects and artifacts brought to the area by immigrants since 1940.
The Native American Collection: Consists of approximately 400 items, mostly arrowheads. There is one fine Great Lakes beaded bandolier bag that is being conserved, and a collection of baskets.
The Cappon House (1873-74): It is often described as our largest and finest artifact. The handsome Italianate Victorian structure boasts exceptional woodwork and grain painting as just two of its distinguishing features. The contents are extensive and largely intact, belonging to three generations of a prominent Dutch-American immigrant family. They include family archives, regionally produced furniture, clothing, books and textiles.
The 1867 Settlers House: This is an important addition to the collection providing a vivid contrast to the nearby Cappon House and greatly enhancing the interpretive potential of both. It has archaeological collections, and is furnished mainly with artifacts from Holland's early settlement that are in the Holland Museum's collection.
The Museum Archives: Thie archives consists of 1,585 linear feet of material: photographs, postcards, prints, glass-plate negatives, correspondence, diaries, journals, broadsides, 130 years of Holland newspapers in both Dutch and English, oral histories featuring local Hispanic and Asian residents, tax ledgers, trade catalogs and the paper collection of the Western Machine Tool Works and the West Michigan Furniture Co. Special archival collections include materials from the Dutch government agency, the Netherlands Information Service, which was located in Holland from 1940-1980. It includes a unique European World War II poster collection and hundreds of photos from World War II. The collection also contains over 300 Dutch Bibles dating from the 16th to the early 20th centuries and books brought by the early immigrants on religion, art, music, and Dutch history.
The Education Collection This consists mostly of everyday objects with which to teach children and permit hands-on opportunities. It is a small collection, having been started just a couple of years ago. Material includes Bibles, tiles, dolls and other objects that have been donated specifically or deaccessioned from the collection. Reproductions are also part of the collection.
source: Holland Historic Trust, http://www.hollandmuseum.org/scopecol.asp
