Past Exhibits

“Interwoven: New Britain’s Textile Industry”
October 2019 - March 2020

When 19th and 20th-century consumers sought clasps, buttons, eyes and hooks, ball bearings, zippers, wrenches, needles, lathe chucks, sash fasteners, and the best Merino wool undergarments, they needed look no further than New Britain, Connecticut. The city’s skilled hands and minds drove New Britain to create a distinctive textile industry, capitalizing on what made them different from riverside mill towns.

The “Hardware City of the World” was not known for its contributions to the textile industry, especially when Silk City (Manchester, CT) and Thread City (Willimantic, CT) thrived on the other side of the Connecticut River. Companies producing knit goods were a profitable, productive part of New Britain’s manufacturing scene. More importantly, whatever was needed to make an industrial textile machine work was made in this city. Further, whatever was needed to make textiles useful to people (i.e. “personal hardware,” including clasps, buckles, and hooks and eyes) was made here.

“We Went to the Moon With Slide Rules”
February 2017 - June 2017

“We Went to the Moon With Slide Rules” featured the collection of Robert Klancko, a member of the international Oughtred Society, and explored how advanced calculations were performed prior to the invention of the electronic calculator and desktop computers. Mr. Klancko’s collection ranges from the simplest pocket type slide rule to the types of slide rules used by most engineers and includes a 6 ft long teaching model (that would hang on a classroom wall) and a cylindrical rule made in England.

“The Industrial Folk Art of Abraham Megerdichian”
September 2016 - January 2017

Abraham Megerdichian (1923-1983) was a trained machinist living and working in Massachusetts. In his 30’s Abraham began machining his interpretations of everyday objects from scrap blocks of aluminum, brass, copper and stainless steel. His earliest items were utilitarian, domestic, full size and included handles, knives, letter openers, candle snuffers, ashtrays, vases, pots, door knockers, salt and pepper shakers, a soap dish, a rolling pin of solid aluminum, a lawn sprinkler, and tools.

As his technical proficiency increased his pieces became more intricate, smaller, and often included many small parts. Among these items created to please and amuse were jewelry, doll house furniture, a cash register, a miniature vacuum cleaner, a tool box with individual tools, toy trucks, cars and a train set. During his work life Mr. Megerdichian created over 400 objects, a number of which will be exhibited for the first time in Connecticut at the New Britain Industrial Museum.

“Meet Us at the Fair”
January 2015 - May 2015

The New Britain Industrial Museum’s exhibit, Meet Us at the Fair, took a look back at New Britain’s prize winning participation at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair. As the 20th century ushered in the modern Progressive Era, a new global market was on the rise and New Britain was a powerful leader in this period of innovation and growth.

Out of 27 New Britain Manufacturers, only 4 made the trip to St. Louis to exhibit at the Fair, and all 4 won awards. New Britain was also represented by 2 men who submitted their apples as part of the UCONN Storrs exhibit and the New Britain Normal School and the High School had exhibits as well. Even though his company didn’t have an exhibit, Philip Corbin provided all the hardware used in the CT building at cost.

Meet Us at the Fair was curated by museum volunteer Andrea Kulak who worked with the Missouri Historical Society, the CT Historical Society, the CT State Library and the Local History Room at the New Britain Public Library to gather information and create this exhibit.

“Currently Made in New Britain”
October 2014 - January 2014

There are over 100 manufacturers and processors in New Britain, producing a wide range of items for a variety of industries. From ice cream cakes to book binding to tools and parts for aerospace and other industries; New Britain companies continue to make things that the world needs.

New Britain manufacturers Acme Monaco, Averys Beverages, Contorq, CT Shotgun, ERA Motorcars, Guidas, Okay Industries, Peter Paul Electronics, Skinner Valve, and Stanley Black & Decker are a few of the New Britain manufacturers currently represented in the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibit Currently Made in New Britain included expanded exhibits of the products these companies make and exhibits of items made by other New Britain companies as well.

“Signs of New Britain”
July 2014 - September 2014

New Britain has been described as a city of “church steeples and smokestacks”, but it has also been a city of signs. Signs that identified the places we shopped and were entertained and the signs that identified the places we worked.

A number of factory signs are part of the museum’s permanent collection and for this exhibit we have brought out, and borrowed, other signs from New Britain businesses and manufacturers. Signs that will be on exhibit only until the end of September are: C. Menditto House Wrecking (on loan), Tuttle & Bailey, J. Parker & Son (from the Parker Shirt company, a recent donation), Gilberts Flowers (on loan), Cookie Arrangement (on loan), Signs made by Reflexite, and the sign from Paul’s Deli & Variety (hung on the corner of Lincoln & W. Main Street for 50 years and recently donated by the family).

“Nuts and Bolts: Stories from New Britain Manufacturing”
March 2014 - September 2014

For most of the 20th century the American Dream was outfitted by items that were either made in New Britain, contained New Britain components or made on a New Britain machine. The Nuts & Bolts exhibit honors this legacy by combining images of items manufactured in New Britain with the words of people who worked for New Britain manufacturers. CCSU writing students conducted and transcribed the interviews (which will become part of the museum’s archive), CCSU design students photographed items from the museum’s collection and will be designing the exhibit where words and images will be combined to communicate what it was like to work in New Britain.

The Nuts & Bolts exhibit is supported by Connecticut Humanities and is part of Connecticut at Work, a year-long conversation on the past, present and future of work life in Connecticut created by Connecticut Humanities, a non-profit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. In the Hartford Region, Connecticut at Work is a partnership with the Hartford Public Library and the Greater Hartford Arts Council. The Connecticut tour of The Way We Worked is made possible by Connecticut Humanities and Historic New England. For a calendar of events and more information on Connecticut at Work, visit cthumanities.org/ctatwork.

“Stanley Helps You Do Things Right”
April 2014 - June 2014

Stanley has been helping people “do things right” for over 150 years. But it is not enough to make the best tools in the world, you need to sell them and teach people how to use them. Unique markets call for unique advertisements and for this exhibit Stanley Black & Decker lent 4 examples of ads targeted to specific markets.

Stanley tools and hardware are permanently on view, but this exhibit gave us an opportunity to focus on Stanley advertising and promotional items. In addition to the advertisements on loan from Stanley Black & Decker we had reproductions of advertisements that ran in trade publications, a binder of original ads representing 70 years of marketing and a case full of promotional items ranging from tee-shirts to a phone shaped like the Powerlock tape rule.

“Universal Kitchen”
January 2014 - March 2014

Landers, Frary & Clark made products to make kitchen life easier. Starting with kitchen scales in the 1850s their offerings expanded to include a whole line of gadgets and gizmos; food choppers of all sizes, corn mills for their South American customers, raisin seeders, coffee grinders, fruit and vegetable peelers, butter churns that clamped to the counter, cake mixers and through the Aetna Works all manner of cutlery and tableware (to name just a few). In the beginning these items were sold under a number of brand names, but it wasn’t long before Landers, Frary & Clark started using the name “Universal” on the majority of their products.

In the early 1900’s, as electricity became more available,  Landers embraced this new technology and started creating electric appliances for the kitchen and home. Stove top percolators continued to be sold alongside electric percolators as Landers, Frary & Clark developed and sold electric Irons, Toasters, Curling Irons and expanded into refrigerators, stoves, washing machines, waffle irons and vacuums. They even developed an electric food chopper for home use.  Landers, Frary & Clark grew to become the largest producer of housewares and cutlery in the country – by the mid 1940’s there were over 50,000,000 Universal products in use around the world. This exhibited highlighted some of the many Universal products manufactured in New Britain CT. The museum’s permanent collection shows the range products invented, innovated and produced by Landers, Frary & Clark over the better part of a century.