The Ohio Historical Society is seeking materials from the late 1940s and 1950s for an upcoming exhibition.
Duz laundry soup, c. 1950. From the Collections of the Ohio Historical Society.
Bingo set, c. 1950. From the collections of the Ohio Historical Society.
If you have any 1940s or 1950s household goods, furniture, clothing, decorative arts, games, toys, records, radios, television sets, or other interesting items, please contact our history curators at collections@ohiohistory.org or call us at 614) 297-2535
Tube of Colgate toothpaste, c. 1950. From the Collections of the Ohio Historical Society.
Our Curators are excited to see what our fabulous patrons have in their own collections and might be willing to donate. We do have a broad list of categories we are looking for but we are staying away from specifies to keep the details of the exhibit under wraps while we continue to plan. Donations to either the permanent or education collections are preferred but we are happy to discuss long term loans for the exhibition.
I know of a helpful MA thesis in history that is about the design of single family suburban houses in the late 1940s to mid-1950s. In it is cited many books about house design and the material culture of the 1940s and 1950s. Andy Verhoff.
Check out Pamela Dorazio Dean’s Kent State University Master’s thesis on the post-World War II recreation room in the United States. You may also wish to look at the Kent State University Museum exhibition, “Designing Domesticity: Decorating the American Home Since 1876,” that Terence L. Uber and I co-curated back in 1999. We dedicated a portion of the exhibit to the 1950s and built from a Popular Mechanics article a basement rec room and bomb shelter. The script and artifact list is available at http://www.shirleywajda.com
My father sold Youngstown Kitchens in the 1950s and I have a collection of salesman’s samples, mini working dishwasher, and other artifacts. I’ll be in touch.
I am helping a friend (age 81) clean out her house. We have lots of items from 1950′s that she would love to donate. She also has many items from 20′s, 30′s, and 40′s that she wants to get rid of! She has clothing, smaller items, magazines, books, personal items and photos. There is no furniture. Please contact me as soon as possible.
Thank you so much for your interest! If you could shoot us a quick email at collections@ohiohistory.org and let us know what you might be interested in donating (photographs are helpful if possible) and one of our curators will be in touch.
I have a substantial amount of furniture from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. We are still using much of it, however , of the earlier 1950s pieces we may donate them. Some items may need some restoration, for example the seat cushions in the sectional couches have internal foam rubber that is granulizing. Chair colors may need brightening etc. I would need someone to tell me what is of interest .
Hello,
I will pass your message along to the lead curator for the 1950s exhibit.
Lisa Wood