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A
c.1946 leather football helmet from the University of Pennsylvania.
Among those who played for the Quakers that season was future
NFL Hall-of-Famer Chuck Bednarik. After earning All-American
honors at Penn, the Bethlehem, Pa., native went on to play
14 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles.
©SMPA |
POPULAR CULTURE
The
popular culture collection at The State Museum of Pennsylvania includes
a wide variety of mainly late-nineteenth and twentieth-century objects
that illustrate the history of popular entertainment, sports, recreation
and travel/tourism in Pennsylvania. Among the objects represented
in this collection are a sizeable grouping of Pennsylvania-made
toys and games; sports equipment (from turn-of-the-century baseball
uniforms to jerseys worn by contemporary professional athletes);
film posters; radio scripts; television props and other objects
pertaining to mass entertainment; and artifacts – from Pocono's
souvenirs to travel trailers – related to the history of tourism.
Highlights from the collection include a set of golf clubs used
by Arnold Palmer; a 1910 cast-iron turnstile from Philadelphia’s
Shibe Park; the earliest known tin toy manufactured in the United
States; a college football jersey worn by Philadelphia Eagles great
Chuck Bednarik; an extensive collection of 1950s movie posters from
a defunct “B” movie theater in downtown Pittsburgh;
and the original hand puppets from “Perki Platypus and His
Friends,” a popular, locally produced children’s television
show from the 1950s and 1960s. Recent additions to the collection
include an early c. 1880 velocipede; a 1920s box office from a Harrisburg
movie palace; and a signed game-jersey worn by Philadelphia 76er
Aaron McKie during the 2000-2001 season.
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A
pro-union button from our Political History collection.
©SMPA |
POLITICAL HISTORY
The
political history collection consists primarily of three-dimensional
campaign materials from national and state (particularly gubernatorial)
elections. Objects from virtually every presidential and gubernatorial
campaign are represented in this collection and range from presidential
tokens distributed in the late 1700s to yard signs and t-shirts
used during the most recent Pennsylvania gubernatorial campaign
in 2002. Highlights include medallions and ornate ribbons from early
presidential elections; an early group of celluloid and mechanical
campaign buttons from the 1890s; and an extensive collection of
pin back buttons and bumpers stickers from presidential and gubernatorial
campaigns after World War II. Examples from this collection are
currently on long-term display in the atrium of the Keystone Building,
directly across the plaza from The State Museum. Parts of the collection
are also displayed from time to time in the “curator’s
choice” area on the ground floor of The State Museum.
Although buttons and badges comprise the bulk of the materials represented
in the collection, this section also includes a number of interesting
political novelties – an Eisenhower apron and pair of “I
like Ike” sunglasses; Nixon “disco” belts and
floppy hats—along with a wide variety of protest signs collected
from demonstrations held at the State Capitol over the past few
decades. The political history section also collects objects associated
with the careers of Pennsylvania’s governors and other important
political leaders. The Museum recently added a number of gifts given
to the late Governor Robert Casey while in office and a grouping
of hats worn by Judge Genevieve Blatt, the first woman elected to
statewide office in Pennsylvania. Other recent acquisitions include
souvenirs and other paraphernalia from the Republican National Convention
held in Philadelphia in 2000 – including the standard carried
by Pennsylvania delegates on the convention floor.
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Levittown:
Building the Suburban Dream. Produced in cooperation with
Franklin and Marshall College. |
LEVITTOWN: BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM
The brainchild of developer William
J. Levitt, Levittown, Pennsylvania was the largest planned community
constructed by a single builder in the United States. By the time it was completed
in 1958, the development occupied over 5500 acres in lower Bucks County and
included churches, schools, swimming pools, shopping centers and
17,311 single-family homes.
To
its 70,000-plus residents, Levittown represented the American Dream
of homeownership. To many others, Levittown epitomized postwar suburbia—a
place often criticized but widely copied.
In
honor of its 50th anniversary, this exhibit explores the early history
of Levittown from the perspective of those who built and lived the
suburban dream.
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