Ireland Good, Collections Assistant, Point Ellice House Museum & GardensSeptember 15, 2022 Imagine a Sunday morning at your grandparents’ house: the sun is shining through the lace curtains and the smell of pancakes wafts through the air. You have nothing to do while you wait for your breakfast, so you go exploring. You begin to […]
A Treasure Trove of Photographs Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Assistant Curator, Point Ellice House Museum & GardensApril, 8 2022 When the phone at Point Ellice House rings, it is usually someone calling to inquire about ourevents, hours, or sometimes they call asking for the meat department at Thrifty Foods (whichhappens to be one digit off from our telephone number). However there is
O’Reilly Heirlooms Return to Point Ellice House Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Curatorial Assistant & Jeannine Worthing, Visitor Services Coordinator Volunteers are a central part of the Point Ellice House Museum and Gardens team; they help maintain the gardens, act as interpreters for visitors, and assist with conservation of the house and its collection. With our temporary closure this past spring due to the COVID-19
Volunteering from Home: Transcription & Description of the Collection Read More »
Kelly Black, PhD, Executive Director With a collection of over 12,000 artifacts, we frequently come across items that spark our curiosity. Sometimes details about artifacts in the collection are readily available, other times we reach out to experts who can help us understand what the object was used for or how it came to be
The Other Side of a Medal Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens For this week’s artifact spotlight we are highlighting a straw hat known as a “Boater” or “Panama Hat” (PEH1975.001.4294; “Boater” with black grosgrain ribbon). This particular hat dates from the early twentieth century and belonged to either Frank or Jack O’Reilly. Being woven from straw, the Boater
Artifact Spotlight: Straw Hats for Summer Comfort Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Curatorial Assistant Content Warning – Racism In our new exhibit, Springs and Scavengers: Waste and Water in Victoria, 1842-1915, the politics of cleanliness is on display. One artifact visitors might recognize is a bar of Pears soap. This particular bar of soap probably became part of the Point Ellice House collection in the
Wash Your Hands: Interpreting a Bar of Soap Read More »
Jeannine Worthing, Visitor Services Coordinator Among the many projects we have on the go at Point Ellice House, we are working on developing educational programming based on the BC Social Studies curriculum. One program we are excited about aims to teach classes about the history of food production and preparation by the O’Reilly family at
What in the World is a Celery Vase? Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens In the earliest days at Point Ellice House there were no flushing toilets or showers. Before the 1880s, a set of jugs, basins, bowls, and pots were an essential part of personal hygiene. These toilet sets, of which there are several at Point Ellice House, included a
Chamber Pots and Slop Buckets Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens Peter Coddle’s Trip to New York (PEH 975.1.7768a-b) is a game from the 1880s; it was one of the first mass produced games, resulting in its spread to Canada. The game is a structured narrative in which Peter Coddle (a ‘country bumpkin’) makes his way to New
Artifact Spotlight: Peter Coddle’s Trip to New York Read More »
Christeah Dupont, Point Ellice House Museum & Gardens Violets were fashionable during the Victorian era for their delicate aroma, further popularized by Queen Victoria whose journals frequently repeat her adoration of the tiny blossoms. At the time, different meanings became associated with different flowers; violets signified faithfulness and modesty. Due to its popularity, the violet
Artifact Spotlight: Violets! (Perfume, Soap, Toilet Powder) Read More »
