Cell phone covers – necessity, design, and history in one product. C’est merveilleux!

cell phone covers CHS16It all started when one of our many amazing CHS volunteers (Samantha Ozzone) offered a great idea for a new store product: cell phone covers featuring fabrics from the Textile Collection. Initially we planned individually packaged hard covers, each featuring a piece from the CHS needlework or fabric collection. Some of you might have purchased the first in the series that shows a detail of a pocketbook (1771) originally owned by Ebenezer Punderson and attributed to Prudence Geer.  Continue reading

Shop Here, Away From Traffic

Connecticut Road O'Foto HolderAs my co-worker Ben Gammell pointed out in his recent blog about the CHS exhibit, Behind the Wheel: Vintage Automobile Safety Posters, “Automobile safety is no joke” – and neither is shopping! Continue reading

Shop the CHS Store: It Won’t Hurt a Bit (Either)!

tradecards013The current exhibit, This Won’t Hurt a Bit: A History of Pain Relief provided some unusual inspiration for new store products. The CHS ephemera collection was a great source for trade cards, once used to advertise remedies to soothe or eliminate pain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. An assortment of images for plasters, witch hazel, toothache drops, and ginger tonic proved perfectly suited for custom magnets, notepads, and puzzles.

They say laughter is the best medicine, so tickle the funny bone of your favorite nurse, doctor, or dentist, with one (or more!) of our medically themed pewter lapel pins, signed by the artist, Jim Clift. Laugh them into stitches with our Ouch! silk neck and bow ties by Allyn Neckwear, in a navy blue background with colorful bandages covering the entirety of the tie.

navy-blue-silk-ouch!-tie-235905-205-363-0For the History Nut who prefers authentic home accents, the pharmacy bottles in our store actually lined the shelves of apothecaries in the 19th century. Once filled with tinctures, remedies, or concoctions each is unique in shape and size.  Give them new purpose in the bath filled with soaps, salts, and cotton or in other areas of your home.

Stop suffering through ho-hum shopping experiences! Find relief at the CHS store! Since all proceeds go to support our programs, exhibits, and collections your purchases will be practically pain free!

tooth-drops-trade-cardKathy Whitney is the Customer Service and Store Manager at the Connecticut Historical Society.