Transportation Collection

From the tools and lanterns used by train crew members to the exquisitely detailed ceramic dining china used in the impressive dining cars, the museum's Railroad Collection allows visitors the opportunity to get a firsthand look at what it was like to work, travel, and eat on these impressive industrial inventions. 

Ranging in date from the late 1830s to today, the artifacts in the museum's Ocean and Great Lakes Steamship Collection paint a vivid picture of steamship travel as it moved into the 20th century. The collection features items from over 70 steamship companies from around the globe, including Cunard, White Star Line, and United States Lines. 

The museum's Zeppelin Collection preserves the historical significance of the Zeppelin Company as it wove through the military conflicts of World War I and World War II. Featuring numerous items from the Graf Zeppelin and Hindenburg, including two items that survived the Hindenburg disaster, the collection showcases Zeppelins as the pinnacle of luxury in the golden age of flight. 

The passenger experience during the 1920s and 30s was one of opulence compared to the plastic utensils and cardboard plates you see today. In an effort to preserve this period of travel, the museum's Airline Collection highlights the splendor of flight through uniquely patterned dining china, ashtrays, silverware, glassware, advertisements, and photographs from both well-known and the more obscure airlines found around the globe. 

Often carved ornately out of wood, a newel post stands as the central supporting pillar of a staircase and is often topped with a finial. The museum's Architectural Collection contains more than 120 newel posts and over 50 finials dating from the late 19th to the early 20th century. The artifacts housed in this collection are shown as a piece of art and sculpture, where each piece offers an excellent example of differing architectural style periods in the United States. 

Before mail order catalogs, china manufacturers such as Buffalo, Shenango, and Syracuse, relied upon the traveling salesman to show off their wares to clients across the country. The museum's Salesman Sample Collection features a large display of salesman sample plates that are covered with patterns and logos in a kaleidoscope of available colors. Based on the sample options provided, clients would then place a stock pattern or custom order with the company. 

As one of the museum's most colorful areas, the Circus Collection houses various artifacts that tend to evoke countless memories of visiting the circus as a child. The collection includes items such as original posters and lithographs, programs, dining china from Ringling's Jomar business car and the John Ringling Hotel, and a fascinating assortment of photographs.