Category: news

Happy Valentine’s Day

Advertising for the New England Valentine Company started by Esther Howland in 1848.

In our archives we’re delighted to have several beautiful cards and love letters that Sarah Smith Avery and Christopher “Kitty” Avery gave each other. Most of these date from the late 1840s, before they were married in 1850. Valentines were a way for young people to show their affection while still following society’s rigid expectations. In […]

Steam radiators

When the Avery-Copp House was first built circa 1800 fireplaces were once the main heat source of each room. By the early 1900s when they were no longer needed for heat they were blocked to prevent heat loss. This fireplace is in the parlor which is the fanciest room of the house and it was blocked to match the rest of the elaborate décor of the room.

Steam radiators were added to the Avery-Copp house in the early 1900s. A hundred years ago they were considered modern, efficient, and a wonderful place to hang your scarves and mittens while they dried. Before the radiator, the main sources of heat were wood and coal stoves, as well as fireplaces. Most of the fireplaces […]

Avery-Copp House was a popular sledding spot

Picture taken of the Avery-Copp House Museum on the morning of March 1st, 2023

We hope everyone enjoyed the snowy weather we had this week. In the early 1900s the steep hillside at the Avery-Copp House was a popular sledding spot for people of all ages. Sledding and tobogganing was a favorite winter activity, not only did it add some excitement to cold winter days but it gave young […]

A stereoscope card from 1888

This stereoscope card was photographed by George Barker, in, Niagara Falls, New York circa 1888. This image and many pieces of history can be found on Library of Congress’s digital archive. https://www.loc.gov/item/90709349/

Snow doesn’t last forever but a picture can save a memory for 100 years, and two pictures can save the memory in 3D! This stereoscope card from 1888 of children playing in the snow uses two pictures to make the illusion of a three dimensional image. Stereoscope cards use two photographs from slightly different perspective […]

Restored art returns to the Avery-Copp House Museum

Pictures could be hung on the molding where the wall meets the ceiling. This way art can be hung without putting holes in the fragile plaster wall.

We’re excited to see some freshly restored art return to the Avery-Copp House Museum. We’d like to thank Howard Park and Lisa Miceli for doing such a wonderful job cleaning and restoring this beautiful lithograph. Prints like these showing pastoral villages were popular in the Victorian times, this particular print was made in 1878. The […]