Historic House Museums Research Articles

Identity, Belonging, and “Dead Silence”: Towards a Prospectus for Change in the Representation of Black Residents in English Historic Houses, 1714–1837

ABSTRACT This article explores the relationship between Georgian historic house museums in England and their historic Black residents. The aim is not only to critically analyze representations of Black individuals in historic houses, but to lay the foundations for the development of a prospectus for change. By visiting three house museums with known Black historic residents, this article begins development of such a prospectus. I provide suggestions for the curation of permanent exhibits that inspire a sense of belonging in visitors, and challenge the traditionally uncritical narratives that have been presented in stately homes. It is hoped that this research will continue with a wider breadth of locations and time periods, eventually working towards change within the heritage sector, which will have impact outside of our discipline and on ideas of the past in the public imagination.

Did They Really Wear That? Authenticity and the Construction of Historical Dress-ups

An experimental archeology framework was used to examine the construction of historical dress-ups at a selection of historic house museums in the southwest of England. Of the twenty properties within the study area, thirteen were found to have dress-up installations with volunteers most commonly constructing the garments. Forty-eight dress-ups from six properties were then selected for further investigation. All of these garments were found to have made only limited reference to archeological and historical evidence in their construction. This then distorted their ability to authentically represent clothing from the past. Using these results, the challenges surrounding historical dress-ups will be explored and a new set of practical guidelines for their construction will be proposed.

Telling the Truth in Historic Houses: How Substitutes Can Be Authentic

Many historic house museums are a hotchpotch of architectural styles, furnishing, and fittings, reflecting the tastes and financial situations of generations of owners, and therefore rarely entirely “genuine” or complete. A few examples have been “frozen” at a point in time and remain an unchanging representation of the lives of the last owners, while others are carefully constructed art installations or pieces of theater. And yet, over centuries, museums have cultivated an aura of authenticity which leads visitors to assume that what we show them is “the real thing,” even if the evidence in front of them suggests the opposite. This case study explores two questions: by allowing historic house visitors to believe that what they are seeing is original (when it is not), are we jeopardizing a relationship based on trust? And conversely, will revealing the truth destroy the aura of realism that attracts our audiences in the first place?

Constructions of Authenticity at Scottish Historic House Museums

This study investigates how authenticity is perceived and negotiated by curators at a selection of Scottish historic house museums (HHMs). Many HHMs are preserved so as to recreate the dwellings of remarkable historical personalities, thus showcasing a unique blend of period artifacts, replicas, and original objects once in the possession of their inhabitants. Focusing on three different case studies, this research investigates how these authentic museum objects are displayed to and interpreted for the public; how relevant their authenticity is from a curatorial perspective; what are the factors influencing curatorial perceptions of authenticity; and how (or, if) HHMs help visitors negotiating the inauthenticity of replicas and period objects displayed onsite. While most studies have examined constructions of authenticity at tourism sites and in terms of their impact on consumers’ behavior, this work aims to shed light on how museum professionals conceive of authenticity within the under-researched context of HHMs, by discussing the outcomes of interviews with curators at the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum and Cottage (Alloway), Broughton House (Kirkcudbright), and Ellisland Farm (Auldgirth).

Indoor air fungal pollution of a historical museum, Egypt: a case study

Fungi can cause serious damages to historical works of art. This study aims to evaluate fungal pollution in the indoor air environment, deposited dust and surfaces of works of art in a historic house museum “Prince’s Mohamed Ali museum”, Giza, Egypt. Fungal pollution was evaluated at six museum’s buildings differed in size, design, location and content, for 2 years of campaign. The deposited dust was collected once every 3 months, while surface swabs were collected twice, after 1 year and 2 years of exposure. Airborne fungal concentrations were evaluated using volumetric (Andersen 2 stage impactor) and gravimetric (index microbial air contamination) air samplers. Airborne fungal concentrations ranged within 47–784 CFU/m3 and 175–40,250 CFU/m2/h using volumetric and gravimetric samplers, respectively. Indoor/outdoor ratio confirmed that outdoor environment was the main source of indoor fungal pollution. The rate of deposited dust was ~ 90-folds lower indoor than outdoor. Fungal concentrations associated deposited dust ranged between 102 and 104 CFU/g, representing a cause of concern. In respect to medium type, fungal diversity profile was in order of deposited dust ≥ airborne ≥ surfaces. Alternaria, Aspergillus and Cladosporium were the common fungal taxa. Secondary and tertiary fungal colonizers were detected after 2 years of exposure, indicating the presence of adequate moisture content inside the museum. No clear relationship patterns were found between microclimatic conditions and fungal culturability. The measured indoor fungal pollution and microclimatic conditions represented a problem for works of art and early indicator for fungal accumulation and biodegradation.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of a Novel Display Case Design: Case Study of the Renovated Anne Frank House

ABSTRACT Many museums are housed in historic buildings, sometimes the building itself is part of the museum collection. Creating a stable environment by providing a nearly constant temperature and relative humidity at correct levels decreases the risk of object degradation. Maintaining this steady indoor environment, however, increases energy consumption and risks to the historic building. Museum display cases offer a solution to the mitigation of risks to which valuable objects may be subjected by providing an extra layer of protection to indoor climate fluctuations. The Anne Frank House is a historic house museum located in Amsterdam. The museum has undergone several renovations in the last years to deal with an increase in the number of visitors to over 1.2 million a year. The original diaries and other documents of Anne Frank are permanently on display in the Anne Frank House. With the recent refurbishment the possibility arose to design a new state-of-the-art display case. This study presents the results of the experimental research related to the design, performed in-situ. The temperature and relative humidity in the new exhibition space and inside the new display cases were monitored to gain insight into the hygrothermal behavior of these controlled environments. A complementary numerical study was performed to investigate effects of dynamic climate control of the exhibition gallery and climate conditions in the display case under various circumstances. Four main conclusions are presented in this paper. The investigated display case design is able to provide a stable relative humidity environment by means of silica gel, while using an active box-in-box climate control system to create stable temperature conditions. The inner case temperature depends on the temperature supplied by the display case air handling unit. Protocols must be in place in case of malfunction or failure of the climate control system of the display case. The air handling unit of the case needs to be shut off to create a passive environment for the objects on display until necessary actions are taken. Exhibition gallery set points can be less stringent when susceptible museum objects are on display in the display case. The environments are separated and provide an opportunity for energy saving set point strategies. The last conclusion drawn is that the numerical study provides valuable insight into imposing dynamic control of set points for temperature and relative humidity in the exhibition gallery and the effect on the display case environment.

The Missing Window: Caroline Emmerton, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and The House of the Seven Gables

ABSTRACT This article examines the architectural history of the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, the seventeenth-century Salem home long believed to have inspired the setting for Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables (1851). I focus in particular on the extensive renovations undertaken in the early 1900s by Salem philanthropist Caroline O. Emmerton, who, with the help of influential Colonial Revival architect Joseph Edward Chandler, sought to restore the mansion both as an historic house museum that would bring Hawthorne's novel to life and as headquarters for the charitable work of Salem's new immigrant-focused Settlement Association. Central to the novel, but notably missing from the restored house, is the large arched window through which Clifford peers out at the street. My article considers the significance of this missing window for a more thorough understanding, not only of Emmerton's renovations, but also of the architectural imagination of Hawthorne himself. Through this comparison, I argue that Hawthorne's novel, often considered racially conservative, shows itself surprisingly open to a polyglot future, a far more progressive take, in the end, than Emmerton's own.

A metodologia de pesquisa e catalogação dos cômodos do Museu Casa de Rui Barbosa

RESUMO Este artigo apresenta os resultados da pesquisa “Desenvolvimento de metodologia para catalogação dos ambientes de um museu-casa, compreendidos como objetos museológicos”, desenvolvida no âmbito do Programa de Incentivo à Produção do Conhecimento Técnico e Científico na Área da Cultura da Fundação Casa de Rui Barbosa. A metodologia da pesquisa incluiu revisão bibliográfica e aplicação de questionários. Primeiramente discutimos a categoria museu-casa e a relevância do estudo dos interiores domésticos. Posteriormente, discutimos a concepção do cômodo enquanto museália e a importância do registro da trajetória social dos artefatos museológicos. Na quarta seção do artigo, apresentamos e refletimos sobre a coleção de cômodos-objetos do Museu Casa de Rui Barbosa, localizado em uma construção de 1850, que serviu de residência a Rui Barbosa e sua família entre 1895 e 1923. Os questionários foram respondidos por profissionais de museus-casas e pelo público do Museu Casa de Rui Barbosa. No primeiro caso, o objetivo foi investigar as metodologias de documentação museológica; já com a pesquisa de público, buscamos incluir as demandas e percepções dos visitantes sobre o museu-casa. Após essas reflexões e investigações, foi possível elaborar a metodologia de catalogação dos cômodos, que inclui as etapas de observação e leitura dos compartimentos da casa, análise de suas propriedades e preenchimento da ficha catalográfica. Até o presente momento, a pesquisa demonstrou o possível ineditismo desta metodologia, que tem potencial para ser adaptada à realidade de outros museus-casas.

The Cost-effectiveness of Preventive Conservation Actions

ABSTRACT Two historic house museums, a municipal art gallery, and a provincial archive have had comprehensive risk and option assessments done by the Canadian Conservation Institute. For each institution, an average of 60 options addressing 40 risks was analyzed in terms of risk reduction, cost, and cost-effectiveness. A meta-analysis found that cost-effectiveness follows a strong economy of scale within each institution. By estimating valuation of each collection, cost-effectiveness was converted into benefit–cost ratio of dollar spent per dollar value saved and was found not to follow an economy of scale between small and large institutions. Optimization software was applied to see if precise maximization of risk reduction gave significantly different recommendations than those in the original reports which relied on the Pareto rule of addressing the largest risks first.

Let Them Eat Macarons? Dissonant heritage of Marie Antoinette at Petit Trianon

ABSTRACTThrough an analysis of the Petit Trianon, the historic house museum at the Château de Versailles associated with Marie Antoinette, the present article invites reflection over the topic of dissonant heritage (Tunbridge and Ashworth 1996) in connection with heritage commodification. The aim of this study is to heighten awareness of the difficulties which historic house legacies face in postmodern society through heritage analyses placed in the context of museology, art history and popular culture. This is achieved by building upon curatorial approaches and their reception by visitors, within an assessment of the 2008 restoration ethos of the Estate of Marie-Antoinette, and in parallel with a process of heritage commodification indirectly related to a twenty-first century Hollywood biopic of the last Queen of France - Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette (2006). Competition surges between official and popular discourses of heritage (Groote and Haartsen 2008), all dealing, however, with the power of the same clichés engraved onto the French ‘collective memory’ (Halbwachs [1950]1980). This article highlights issues that arise when curatorial interpretation and visitor perceptions find themselves under the auspices of postmodern visual culture, thereby setting traps for heritage authenticity (Ashworth and Howard 1999).

The meaning of doing

Governments write us into being by compelling the public to fill in tiny boxes on forms revealing our most private information. These personal details become matters of public record. What if students thought about how writing in public administration shapes us? In the spring of 2015, my Public Administration class joined with New York City Historic Houses Trust and its LatimerNOW project a not-for-profit organization affiliated with the New York City Parks department whose goal is to reimagine the use of historic house museums, Louis Latimer House and Writing On It All (a participatory art not-for-profit exploring space and identity through writing) to learn public administration through participation in a public participatory art project. The immediate goal was for the students to use public administration theory to design, implement, participate and evaluate a one-day project. The hope was to offer a chance to practice on a real project in a safe space so that they could later use the skills once they were employed in public administration (and the stakes were higher). I engaged reflective practice to get them to move from theory to practical application, forcing them to defend and make explicit their administrative choices, thus offering a common vocabulary for critical conversations about the process and the results. In this article, I describe the experience and critically evaluate how reflective practice can add to the teaching and learning of public administration.

Review: Historic House Museums in the United States and the United Kingdom: A History by Linda Young

Review: Historic House Museums in the United States and the United Kingdom: A History by Linda Young

Digging into Downstairs: Exhibiting Domestic Service

This article is a case study of a newly opened exhibition at one of the most significant lieux de mémoire in Norway, the historic house museum Eidsvoll House. Eidsvoll House has, since 1814, played a key role in Norwegian stateand nation-building narratives and continues to do so today. The article explores the tenacity of national narratives by investigating the role museums play in contemporary nation-building processes. It particularly looks at attempts to integrate domestic servants into this dominant and controlling narrative, and investigates the complex relationship between social history, national narratives and museum communication strategies. It problematizes the exhibition strategy, popular at historic houses, of recreating the past at a specific juncture of time and argues that such an approach might help to reaffirm social hierarchies. On a more general level, the article aims to contribute to a productive exchange between academic and museum approaches to history.

Field Trip to a Historic House Museum with Preschoolers: Stories and Crafts as Tools for Cultural Heritage Education

ABSTRACTCultural heritage education promotes children's interest in society, especially their immediate surroundings and history. Traditionally in Finland, history is learned through visits to local historic house and city museums, where the learners' role might be quite passive and their only activity a worksheet. However, evidence indicates that visits and educational information are better enjoyed and remembered when they involve activities and children can analyze the experience through interactions and continued learning at school. We examined a preschool field trip to a local historic house museum with arts-based activities continued at school. We evaluated 14 students' follow-up stories and craft products as cultural heritage education and museum pedagogical tools. A detailed qualitative analysis showed that follow-up stories function similarly to worksheets; they were easy to implement and effectively collected information on children's experiences during museum visits. However, writing stories allowed children to freely express their thoughts and experiences. Craft products provided a cognitive strategy for reflecting on field trips. It seems that the field trip to the historic museum acquired meaning through active interpretation by children and through combining the experiences and the information, which became real in the follow-up stories and craft products.

The Role of Emotions in a Model of Behavioral Intentions of Visitors to the Gaudí Historic House Museums in Barcelona, Spain

ABSTRACTThis study examined an integrated model of behavioral intentions toward historic house museums, through the simultaneous relationships among visitors' perceptions of the historic house museum, crowding, interactions with employees, emotions about their visit, intention to revisit the museum and recommend it to others, and the moderator effect of price fairness. Seven hundred thirty-six visitors were surveyed after visiting La Pedrera and Casa Batlló, the historic house museums of the architect Antoni Gaudí in Barcelona. The results from a structural equation model indicate that visitors' perception of the historic house museum (i.e., their appreciation of the houses' architecture, aesthetic quality, artistic work, and accessibility), visitors' positive interactions with employees, and low levels of crowding are antecedents of positive emotions, and visitors' positive emotions about their visit are a predictor of intentions to revisit and recommend the museum to others. In addition, price fairness was tested as a moderator effect using multigroup analysis. This analysis consists of comparing two subsamples of visitors, which were selected according to whether they believe the admission price is fair or unfair. The effect between perceptions of the historic house museum and positive emotions, and the effect of positive emotions on behavioral intentions is greater for visitors who found the price fair than for those who found the price unfair. The results lead to recommendations for cultural heritage managers.

Engaging Children with Autism at Historic Sites: Developing an Audience-appropriate Curriculum

ABSTRACTWhile historic house museums have traditionally employed verbal-based programming, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often feel most comfortable engaged in sensory learning. Historic house museums, due to their tangibility, have the potential to tap into sensory experiences that can teach history to this audience. Despite this advantage, few house museums offer such programming. With an estimated one in 68 students in America diagnosed with ASD [Autism Speaks. 2012. “What is Autism?” Autism Speaks. May 31. Accessed February 4, 2016. https://www.autismspeaks.org/what-autism] and the need to welcome new audiences to historic houses, this is a key area of work to be explored. The Historic House Trust of New York City is working to become more accessible to children, ages 2–18, with ASD. The author describes the evidence-based curriculum that the Trust is formulating, which can be used as a model of best practices for historic houses to engage such students.

Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House

Journal Article Beauport, the Sleeper-McCann House Get access Gloucester, Mass.http://www.historicnewengland.org/historic-properties/homes/Beauport.Permanent exhibition, guided tour of historic house museum. Journal of American History, Volume 103, Issue 1, June 2016, Pages 137–141, https://doi.org/10.1093/jahist/jaw013 Published: 01 June 2016

Review: Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums by Franklin D. Vagnone and Deborah E. Ryan

Review: Anarchist’s Guide to Historic House Museums by Franklin D. Vagnone and Deborah E. Ryan

Creative Inspiration for Preschoolers from Museums

This research explores the learning outcomes of preschool children produced through visits to an historic house museum environment. The new Finnish preschool curriculum identifies the importance of arts-based approaches for children and that these approaches should be closely aligned to experiential and holistic education. The aim of the research was to explore the significance of the museum environment to preschoolers and their creative activities as a result of experiences at the museum. The research data were collected across 4 days with 16 preschool children. The empirical data stemmed from tasks which included follow-up stories, drawings based on the stories, craft designs, craft products, and video recordings of the activities in the historic house museum environment and at school. The research data were supported by semi-structured interviews that illuminated children’s perspectives on the project. The qualitative data were analyzed using a framework that took account of the compulsory, optional, and free properties of the follow-up stories and craft products. The historic house museum environment was connected to children’s creative actions to give them ideas for their stories and craft products. The holistic learning process described in this study appeared to benefit the construction of learning in a child-centered way that grounded children’s understanding. The research contributes to greater understanding about how arts-based and creative learning activities can be implemented with preschool children in different environments.

Museus-casas: um olhar fenomenológico.

The goal of this paper is to prepare a phenomenological research, with a view to the spatiality of “historic house museums”. This character is revealed through the consideration that any object has a multitude of meanings that only if limited at the moment that it enters into this relationship. Our starting point is the duplication of the object "historic house museums”: as an object to the inhabitant of the house and its constructions of meaning; and as an object facing the look and visitor expectation of the house, one who scrutinizes the shifting and intangible border that separates and unites time, space and significances woven by home-resident-visitor relationship. It is known that it is impossible to reconstruct with absolute and unquestioned loyalty the "aura" of the house of former times. The absence of residents and the spatio-temporal displacement are some of the factors that prevent a direct look at the house per se. What differentiates the "historic house museums”of other museums and stimulates the visitor, a peculiar receptivity, namely the curiosity to know, although displaced from their space-time and move themselves, the secret spaces of a historical character. Unlike the elements revealed by the inhabitant of the house, which belong to the scope of the public and exposed, we have with the "historic house museums”, the opportunity to access the intimate universe of the inhabitant, recreating the data, re-coloring environments. In this regard, the house open to visitors is revealed as favorable platform to a aestheticize that makes objects expressions, as does the visitor active artist intimate space. Keywords: Phenomenology, intimate space, "historic house museums”, Aesthetics