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Current Exhibits Past Exhibits Upcoming Exhibits Events Classes and Workshops |
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Current Exhibitions
Boehm Porcelain Demonstration “This exhibit showcases a small sampling of Trenton manufacturers who have either survived the changing market and continue to grow and thrive – or who have identified their niche recently and produce products and services in the 21st century,” said Museum Director Brian O. Hill. “The slogan, ‘Trenton Makes, The World Takes’ is as true today as it was when S. Roy Heath (then owner of Heath Lumber) came up with the phrase and won a slogan contest sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce in 1910.” The following contributors provide a glimpse of what the city offers the world today:
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A Taste of Trenton This exhibit is in conjunction with Key Ingredients: America by Food presented by the New Jersey Council on the Humanities, a Smithsonian "Museum on Main Street" traveling exhibition running concurrently at the New Jersey State Museum.
Although primarily known for its pottery, wiire rope and rubber industries in the 19th and 20th centuries, Trenton was also significantly involved in food production and delivery during thisperiod. The city had major breweries, bottlers of carbonated beverages, pork and beef processors, bakeries, and manufacturers of oyster crackers and confections. Many dairies serviced the city of 128,000 residents (at its largest population), and farmers sold their products downtown through farmers’ markets, which is how Market Street got its name.
Some of the best known products made in Trenton are highlighted in this exhibit, including Champale malt liquor (Champale, Inc.), beer (Peoples Brewing Company), oyster crackers (Original Trenton Cracker Company and A. Exton & Company), and pork roll (Case Pork Roll Company and Taylor Provision Company). From the mid-19th to the mid-20th century, over 80 bottling companies operated in the city. The bottles, which contained beer, mineral water, or carbonated beverages, have the name of the bottler embossed on the outside. On display are bottles representing 36 of these bottling companies, with an emphasis on E. L. Kerns Company.
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This exhibit, a new disply of some of the finest porcelains ever made in Trenton, will open on April 4, 2009 in conjunction with The Potteries of Trenton Society (POTS) Symposium "Art Revealed by Industry: Painters, Sculptors and Designers Create Trenton's Ceramics." It will remain open to mid November 2009.
In addition to selections from its permanent collection, the exhibit includes many special items from five long-time collectors of American Belleek. Each brings to his/her collection special interests and together we have selected some of the most outstanding pieces from the “first flowering” of American Belleek. This exhibit also serves to remind the viewer that the Boehm and Cybis firms originated in Trenton. The examples chosen for this exhibit are a combination of technical mastery and creative artistry.
The creation of fine art ware such as Belleek was so costly that most firms in Trenton were only able to sustain production for a few years. Ott & Brewer failed in 1894 and Willets only produced American Belleek for a few years. In contrast to other Trenton firms, the Ceramic Art Company (CAC) and later Lenox worked on a different model, creating only fine wares and factory decorated art wares. Once established, Lenox remained successful for almost 100 years. Updated 06.17.09 |
In the decade following the Centennial Exhibition John Hart Brewer of Ott & Brewer aspired to create the equivalent level of quality in Trenton. Noted sculptor Isaac Broome, who had previously created the parian Baseball Vases for the Centennial Display and Cleopatra in 1877, was one of several fine modelers and designers who worked on the new fine art wares. Brewer eventually brought in English painter and pottery designer William Bromley, Jr. to create the Belleek style body. By 1883 Ott & Brewer had a line of belleek products available for sale.
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