Objects - Recreation
Our collection of recreational objects includes recreational materials, from skis and sports equipment to toys.
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Doll
Interpretative Labels
Label
Doll, ca. 1840
Papier-mache, silk, cotton
Gift of Alice H. Swingle
This doll belonged to Helen Crane, who grew up in Grafton. She married John Haskins in 1864, and many years later her granddaughter, Alice Swingle, used pieces of fabric from her wedding dress to create a new dress for the doll.
Name/Title
Doll
Entry/Object ID
1959.38.1a-g
Description
Doll with molded and painted face and hair wearing a green striped dress, black bonnet, and black lace shawl. Her dress buttons up the center front bodice and has flaring sleeved and a very full skirt. It is trimmed at the neckline, sleeves, and waist with black seed beads. White undersleeves extend to her wrists. In total, she is a wearing the dress, the bonnet, the shawl, a white petticoat with tatted trim, a white petticoat with a ruffle, and bloomers with tatted trim.
Context
Owned by Helen Crane in Grafton. Many years later, her granddaughter, Alice Swingle, had fabric from Helen's wedding dress (1864) made into a dress for the doll.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
1959.38
Source or Donor
Swingle, Alice H.
Made or Created
Date made
1840
Clothing
Clothing Type
Redressed
Clothing Description
Clothing made from wedding dress of original owner
Materials
Material
Papier-mâché, Silk, Cotton
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Haskins, Helen Crane (1839-1905)
Related Places
Grafton
Doll
Name/Title
Doll
Entry/Object ID
1964.63.17a-c
Description
Male chimney sweep doll, painted to appear covered in soot. He is wearing a cloth around his head, a blue-and-white checkered shirt, red tie or cravat, pants with buttons representing knee pads, and black shoes. He has a ladder strapped onto his back. He is accompanied by a box impressed and painted to look like a chimney, a scale, and a pot. A small square piece of paper is attached to the front that reads, "A ceux qui me possédent j'apporte le bonheur".
Context
Given to the State of Vermont by the people of France as part of the Merci Train after World War II.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
1964.63
Source or Donor
France
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Place
France
Clothing
Clothing Type
Original
Clothing Description
White cap, black/white checkered shirt, tweed pants, black shoes
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Merci Train
Related Events
World War II
Doll
Name/Title
Doll
Entry/Object ID
1960.188
Description
Soft-bodied doll with blond hair and a long white dress. Her hair is worn loose and trimmed into bangs at the front. Much of the hair in the back is missing. She is dressed in a long white dress with a lace bodice and sleeves, lace socks, and white shoes with buckles. Her facial features, included eyebrows and lashes, are painted on, and she has molded nose and mouth. Her brown eyes are glass and are set into the sockets behind stationary lids.
Context
Owned by Ruth Wheeler Austin in Barre City, VT.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
1960.188
Source or Donor
Austin, Ruth Wheeler
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Date made
1890
Clothing
Clothing Type
Redressed
Clothing Description
Dressed for owner's (Ruth Austin) twentieth birthday by a friend.
Materials
Material
Ceramic, Cotton, Glass
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Austin, Ruth Wheeler
Related Places
Barre City
Doll
Name/Title
Doll
Entry/Object ID
1991.28.5
Description
Resin doll wearing a floral dress, red apron, and white poke bonnet. She has long eyelashes, and closing eyelids. Her synthetic blonde hair is parted in the middle and pulled back into a ponytail of curls. Beneath the dress is wearing lace-trimmed white bloomers, a lace-edged white petticoat, white stocking, and black shoes with gold buckles. Both the dress and the apron are trimmed in red rickrack. Undersleeves extend from beneath the short dress sleeves. There is a tag on the outside of the doll reading, "Made exclusively for the Enchanted Doll House, 'Vermont Maiden', By Madame Alexander, Made in U.S.A."
Attached to left wrist was a cardboard tag explaining that this is a Madame Alexander doll made exclusively for the Enchanted Doll House, information about Madame Alexander, a picture of Madame Alexander, and the address of the doll company. The tag has been removed and placed with the work sheet.
The doll is in the original blue cardboard box and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity stating it is number 3251 of 3600.
Attached to left wrist was a cardboard tag explaining that this is a Madame Alexander doll made exclusively for the Enchanted Doll House, information about Madame Alexander, a picture of Madame Alexander, and the address of the doll company. The tag has been removed and placed with the work sheet.
The doll is in the original blue cardboard box and is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity stating it is number 3251 of 3600.
Context
The Vermont Maiden was the official 1991 Vermont Bicentennial doll.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
1991.28
Source or Donor
Vermont Statehood Bicentennial Commission
Acquisition Method
Gift
Credit Line
Carolyn Crowley Meub, Director
Made or Created
Manufacturer
Madame Alexander
Date made
1990-1991
Place
New York City
Clothing
Clothing Type
Original
Clothing Description
Poke bonnet, red apron, flowered dress, petticoat, bloomers, stockings, shoes
Materials
Material
Plastic, Cotton, Lace, Synthetic
Relationships
Related Person or Business
The Enchanted Doll House
Related Places
Manchester Center
Related Events
Vermont Bicentennial
Doll
Name/Title
Doll
Entry/Object ID
1964.63.17d
Description
Female doll with brown hair, a soft body, and painted facial features. She is wearing a cap that extends to three point around her face, a black dress with a white bodice insert, and matching apron and fichu in red calico sprigged with white. A gold cross hangs around her neck. She has black shoes.
Context
Given to the State of Vermont by the people of France as part of the Merci Train after World War II.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
1964.63
Source or Donor
France
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Place
France
Clothing
Clothing Type
Original
Clothing Description
Black dress, red apron, red fichu, black shoes, gold cross necklace, black and gold headpiece
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Merci Train
Related Events
World War II
Mack Truck
Name/Title
Mack Truck
Entry/Object ID
2020.22.16
Description
Toy dump truck with the label "Mack" on either side of the dump bed. The truck is simply constructed out of wood, with a block representing the engine , and a box for the dump bed. The bed lifts up from hinges at the back of the frame to allow contents to spill out.
Context
Made by Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company in Brandon, VT
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2020.22
Source or Donor
Herrmann, Charles
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Manufacturer
Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company
Date made
1930-1940
Place
Brandon
Materials
Material
Wood
Noisemaker
Name/Title
Noisemaker
Entry/Object ID
2020.22.8
Description
Wooden noise maker, or wooden cricket, toy. The toy consists of a mechanism loosely fitted onto a red-stained turned wooden handle. A zig-zag-shaped cylinder is placed around the handle in between to red-stained wooden slats. Two blocks connect the slats at the far end and hold in place a thin piece of wood that overlaps with the cylinder to create a clacking noise.
Use
Used to create noise as celebrations, holidays, and sporting events.
Context
Made by Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company in Brandon, VT
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2020.22
Source or Donor
Herrmann, Charles
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Manufacturer
Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company
Date made
1930-1940
Place
Brandon
Materials
Material
Wood
Playtime Beads
Name/Title
Playtime Beads
Entry/Object ID
2020.22.134a-xxx
Description
Wooden box containing several wooden beads and string. The sliding lid of the box has a sticker with an illustrations of three children playing with a set of beads: two girls dressed as flappers, and a boy in a brown sailor suit. The set contains black and brown lengths of twine and a brown length that has been beaded and tied. It contains round, oval, and cylindrical beads in red, orange, blue, purple, green, and yellow.
Not including the beads already strung, there are:
4 yellow oval
6 purple oval
7 green oval
2 blue oval
1 orange oval
3 red oval
3 purple round
8 green round
7 blue round
4 red round
4 yellow round
5 orange round
6 red cylindrical
3 purple cylindrical
6 green cylindrical
2 blue cylindrical
Not including the beads already strung, there are:
4 yellow oval
6 purple oval
7 green oval
2 blue oval
1 orange oval
3 red oval
3 purple round
8 green round
7 blue round
4 red round
4 yellow round
5 orange round
6 red cylindrical
3 purple cylindrical
6 green cylindrical
2 blue cylindrical
Context
Made by Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company in Brandon, VT
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2020.22
Source or Donor
Herrmann, Charles
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Manufacturer
Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company
Date made
1920-1930
Place
Brandon
Materials
Material
Wood
Prize Medal
Interpretative Labels
Label
Prize Medal, 1886
Metal, silk
In memory of J. Brooks Buxton, 2018.18.2ab
In 1886, the Vermont Coasting Club hosted a Winter Carnival in Burlington that boasted an attendance of 40,000. One of the highlights of the weekend--which also featured tobogganing, parades, concerts, ice yachting, and trotting races--was an exhibition hockey game between two clubs. The visiting team was the Montreal Crystals, a club team, and they faced a group of local Vermonters sponsored by a hotel called the Van Ness House. They played two ten-minute games and the Vermont team lost badly both times, but it was enough to go down in history as the first international hockey game played in America. It was also the beginning of a long tradition of hockey in Vermont.
Name/Title
Prize Medal
Entry/Object ID
2018.18.2a-b
Description
Ornate gold and silver metal hanging from a red and blue blue ribbon secured by a metal pin. The pin at the top is rectangular with decorative leaves and scrollwork at the top. It is engraved with the letters BCC. The ribbon hangs from the pin by looping around a narrow bar at the bottom. The center of the ribbon is decorated with a bar pin with the inscription, "1886", at the center. A pair of crossed hockey sticks is at the bottom of the ribbon and small square puck, holding the medal. The medal is engraved at the center with a scene of two men playing hockey indoors. Each man is wearing a plaid, knee-length suit and a short bowler hat. The engraving is encircled with a gold laurel wreath and sits above an iron cross. Between each point of the cross are carved thistles, shamrocks, maple leaves, and oak leaves.
Context
Medal presented to the winning team of the 1886 Vermont Winter Carnival Hockey Tournament. The initials at the top, BCC, stand for Burlington Coasting Club, and the medal was won by the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2018.18
Source or Donor
Buxton, J. Brooks
Acquisition Method
Bequest
Credit Line
In memory of J. Brooks Buxton
Made or Created
Date made
1886
Materials
Material
Silver, Gold, Fabric, Metal
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Burlington Coasting Club
Related Places
Burlington, Montreal
Web Bookmarks, Links and URLs


Rowing Machine
Interpretative Labels
Label
Rowing Machine, 1980-1985
Concept2
Morrisville, Vermont
Metal, wood, plastic
Gift of Concept2, 2012
Many of Vermont's inventions and innovations have come about during the cold and dark of winter. When the Dreissigacker brothers, Dick and Pete, found themselves without access to their beloved sport of rowing while ponds were frozen over, they put their creativity to developing a new and improved indoor rowing machine. In 1981, they began manufacturing and selling their first model, called the Concept2 Model A. Over the next few years, they leveraged their connections to the rowing community as well as their keen interest in iterating and improving to take the exercise market by storm. Though the idea of an indoor rowing machine was over a century old by that point, the Concept2 "ergometer" rowing machine quickly became the industry standard. Today, Concept2 is a multi-national, multi-million dollar company that is still based out of Vermont.
Name/Title
Rowing Machine
Entry/Object ID
2012.8
Description
Chromed metal rowing machine consisting of a leather seat on a long metal pole and a bicycle wheel with plastic sheets to create air resistance. The machine rests on the ground in two places: at the end of the horizontal pole, and at the joint between the horizontal and diagonal poles. The base at the far end has holes for bolting the machine down, while the base at the join has rubber caps. There are two wooden footrests attached at a forty-five degree angle at the join. The butterfly-shaped seat is oriented toward the wheel and moves relatively freely along the base pole. At the midpoint of the diagonal pole is a wooden stand with turned handle, a maker's label, and a speed gauge. At the end of the pole is a bicycle wheel with black plastic rectangles attached within the spokes.
Context
Developed and manufactured by Concept2 in Morrisville, Vermont.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2012.8
Source or Donor
Concept2, Inc.
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Manufacturer
Concept2, Inc.
Date made
1980-1985
Place
Morrisville
Materials
Material
Metal, Wood, Plastic
Rubberneck Bunnie
Name/Title
Rubberneck Bunnie
Entry/Object ID
2020.22.17
Description
Toy car with yellow bunny. The car is constructed roughly out of wood, and has two openings in the top. In the back position is a yellow character with peg arms and ears and painted-on whiskers. The car has the inscription, "Rubberneck Bunnie Farm Products Newton & Thomson Toys Co. Brandon, VT."
Context
Made by Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company in Brandon, VT
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2020.22
Source or Donor
Herrmann, Charles
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Manufacturer
Newton & Thompson Manufacturing Company
Date made
1930-1940
Place
Brandon
Materials
Material
Wood
Sign
Name/Title
Sign
Entry/Object ID
1989.1.2
Description
Yellow sign framed in black and printed with an elevation map of Mt. Mansfield with the Long Trail and other trails marked. Taft Lodge and other lodges are also marked. The Green Mountain Club logo--a pine tree in a circle with GMC--is shown twice. A small title under the map reads "MT. Mansfield and Vicinity" The scale for this map is 1/2mile = 1 1/2". Written on the back is the inscription, "This map painted c. 1940 by Elton Ray Beal (1897-1971) of 77 Pomeroy St.., Burlington, VT. He was employed by the Engineering Dept. of the University of Vermont, and was an active member of the GMC."
Context
Made by the Green Mountain Club to show trails and lodges in Mount Mansfield, including the Long Trail.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
1989.1
Source or Donor
Acomb, Merlin Lloyd
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Date made
1940-1950
Place
Vermont
Materials
Material
Wood, Paint
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Green Mountain Club
Related Places
Mount Mansfield, Long Trail
Snow Skis
Name/Title
Snow Skis
Entry/Object ID
1954.2a-b
Description
Long wooden skis. The skis are heavily varnished, and have metal attachments at the center for shoes. The attachments have adjustable lengths, and leather straps across the top.
Context
Owned by James P. Taylor, who started organized skiing in 1909 at Saxton's River, VT.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
1954.2
Source or Donor
Cowles, Clarence P.
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Date made
1910
Materials
Material
Wood
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Taylor, James P.
Related Places
Saxtons River
Snowshoe
Name/Title
Snowshoe
Entry/Object ID
2014.2a-b
Description
Pair of wooden snowshoes with up-turned toe and rawhide webbing. The framed are formed of a single piece of wood bent into shape and secured with two bars across the middle. The webbing is woven in an open pattern, and the frames are highly varnished. One shoe is marked with the word "Right" in black across from the front crossbar. There are no bindings.
Context
Used by Theron Skidmore Dean during work on the Long Trail.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2014.2
Source or Donor
Dean, Adrian W.
Acquisition Method
Gift
Credit Line
In memory of Theron Skidmore Dean & the Dean family
Made or Created
Date made
1918
Materials
Material
Wood, Rawhide
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Dean, Theron Skidmore (1877-1946)
Related Places
Long Trail
Snowshoes
Name/Title
Snowshoes
Entry/Object ID
2017.3.6a-b
Description
Caned snowshoes sized for a child. The frame of each shoe is made of a single piece of wood bent into shape and held with two reinforcement bars across the middle. The inside of the shoe is webbed with sinew, woven into an open pattern. The attachment points of the webbing at the front and back are decorated with tufting. Leather straps woven through the center of the shoe hold the users feet in place.
Context
Made by Abenaki artisans in Vermont for the tourist trade.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2017.3
Source or Donor
Wiseman, Frederick M.
Acquisition Method
Gift
Credit Line
Gift of Frederick M. Wiseman
Made or Created
Place
Fonda
Ethnography
Culture/Tribe
Abenaki
Materials
Material
Wood, Leather


Trophy
Name/Title
Trophy
Entry/Object ID
2001.50.4a
Description
Gold plastic trophy in the shape of a baseball mitt. The mitt is formed to hold a baseball. The stem of the trophy formed from two crossed baseball bats with a ball in the center. The trophy sits on a wooden pedestal with a small plaque on the front reading, "VERMONT EXPOS/COMMUNITY FIRST PITCH/2000".
Context
In celebration of the new millennium, the trophy and its accompanying ball were sent around the state of Vermont, stopping at one town in each county to be signed by a town official and Governor Howard Dean.
Acquisition
Accession
Accession Number
2001.50
Source or Donor
Vermont Expos
Acquisition Method
Gift
Made or Created
Manufacturer
The Engraving Bench & Fine Gifts, Inc.
Date made
2000-2001
Place
Essex Junction
Materials
Material
Leather, Plastic, Wood
Relationships
Related Person or Business
Dean, Howard Brush, M.D. (1948- )