The Neville Blog

  Fur Trade: The Beaver Pelt During the fur trade, the beaver pelt was the most desired commodity—especially in the Midwest. Not only are they incredibly soft, but they are also warm and waterproof. Fur traders often travelled by water, so to survive brutal Wisconsin winters during their voyages, they looked to the beaver.                 Beavers were such a central point to the fur trade that, when they began to be overhunted, the fur trade began to collapse. Other animals were just as accessible as the beaver, but they were not as desirable. Deer and muskrat pelts were just as abundant as beavers once were; however, they did not have the same insulation or waterproof quality. Thus, the demand was much lower for these furs, causing the fur trade to collapse.                 At this time, Green Bay heavily relied on the fur trad...

Why is there a ledge on the inside of this cup? It's a mustache guard! Mustaches became trendy in the 19th century, which lead to extensive grooming and mustache care. Men used mustache wax, mustache brushes, mustache combs, and mustache scissors to shape and maintain their preferred style. Some even dyed their mustaches. All of these products did not fare well when mixed with the heat and steam from tea, coffee, or other hot beverages. Mustache wax would melt. Dye would drip. Tea and coffee could stain facial hair. Mustaches would be complete disasters. Mustache guards like this one protected a man's mustache, while allowing him to still enjoy tea time. This earthenware mustache cup was donated in 1937 by Mrs. Sophia Thelen. It is one of several mustache cups in the Neville's collection. The mustache cup was invented in the mid 19th century by English potter Harvey Adams. It soon spread across Europe and over to North America. Mustache cups were originally sold individuall...

Henry Sink was born into slavery in 1830 in Batesville, Alabama. He escaped slavery through unknown means, and by 1864 he and his young family had made their way to Northeast Wisconsin. Sink served in the Union Army during the Civil War. It was the only time he spent away from Wisconsin, with the exception of some time spent in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Image Courtesy of the De Pere Historical Society Though African Americans in nineteenth century Wisconsin faced racism, they persevered and made lives for themselves here. Henry worked in Fond du Lac, Green Bay, and De Pere as a factory fireman, day laborer, and sailor. He learned to read and write here. Henry and his wife were recognized by the Brown County Democrat as “leaders of De Pere’s colored population.” He was a member of the De Pere post of the Grand Army of the Republic, a fraternal organization for Union veterans. The Civil War abolished slavery, but discrimination and racism continued. In 1900, Henry Sink purchased a ho...

Last year the museum debuted its exhibit “Guns and Gowns: 200 Years of Fashion and Firearms.” Our women’s fashion collection is expansive dating back to the late 1700s (you can see these dresses in the exhibit too).   While we have a lot of pieces representing fashion in the late 19th century and 20th century, pieces representing the rest of the 19th century are selective.   We do not have many dresses in this mid-19th century style with the hoop skirt.  When we came across the dress with the signature silhouette, plaid silk, and puffy sleeve design, we knew we wanted to find a way to exhibit it.  The dress was donated by Josephine Buchanan Lenfestey in the 1990s. Because of its condition it has not been exhibited since its donation.  The decision was made to send this dress off for conservation to the Midwest Arts Conservation Center in Minneapolis.  Due to the amount of work the dress needed we were aware the dress wouldn’t be ready for the open...