Works Progress Administration Pennsylvania Museum Extension Project puppet and furniture collection, 1935/1943

Access and use

Location of collection:
George Mason University
2400 Fenwick Library
Special Collections Research Center
Fenwick Library MS2FL
George Mason University
Fairfax, VA 22030
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Mieko Palazzo
Phone: (703) 993-2220
Fax: (703) 993-2669
Restrictions:

There are no access restrictions.

Terms of access:

The copyright and related rights status of this collection have not been evaluated (See http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/CNE/1.0/)

Preferred citation:

Works Progress Administration Pennsylvania Museum Extension Project puppet and furniture collection, C0512, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Summary

Extent:
2.5 Linear Feet 2 boxes
Creator:
O'Rourke, Nancy and Pennsylvania Museum Extension Project
Abstract:
Works Progress Administration Pennsylvania Museum Extension Project Benjamin Franklin puppet and wooden furniture.
Language:
English .
Preferred citation:

Works Progress Administration Pennsylvania Museum Extension Project puppet and furniture collection, C0512, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries

Background

Scope and content:

This collection includes a Benjamin Franklin puppet and 7 individual pieces of miniature wooden furniture.

The Benjamin Franklin puppet measures approximately 22 inches in length and includes a papier-mâché head, a rounded cap filled with straw, and some strings showing possible use as a marionette. The left foot is detached and placed inside the box next to the puppet. Label inside of jacket reads: "State-Wide Museum Extension Philadelphia Unit W.P.A."

The miniature furniture pieces each measure approximately 6 inches or less in length and are mostly desks and tables, as well as one standing candelabra and a spinning wheel attached to a colorful fabric rug. One piece includes metal hinges and several pieces show signs of damage. Some pieces include labels with identification numbers or names.

Biographical / historical:

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created in by Executive Order in 1935, part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, as a work program for those facing unemployment as a result of the Great Depression. The WPA's stated purpose was to provide opportunities for unemployed workers to use and preserve their skills through public works projects, as well as arts and culture initiatives such as the Federal Arts Project, Federal Theatre Project, and Federal Writers' Project. Renamed the Works Projects Administration in 1939, its programs and projects provided work for approximately 8.5 million people over its eight years, coming to an end in 1943 with the boom in employment provided by the new wartime economy.

In 1935, soon after the establishment of the WPA, Pennsylvania began a Museum Extension Project, also known as the State-Wide Museum Extension, with the purpose of creating visual educational aids for classroom use. The Museum Extension Project employed artists, sculptors, and writers to create historic models, puppets, illustrated plates, and maps to be used throughout Pennsylvania's school districts, particularly those without easy access to the larger museums. The program had seven offices throughout the state, centered in Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia, with the latter office co-sponsored with the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Academy of Natural Sciences, the Atwater Kent Museum (now known as the Philadelphia History Museum), and the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology.

Acquisition information:
Donated by Nancy O'Rourke in 2015.
Processing information:

Processing and finding aid completed by Meghan Glasbrenner in March 2024.

Arrangement:

Items are stored in two boxes based on medium and size requirements.

Physical location:
OS R 4, C 1, S 3
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard