Finishing Touches
May 24- October 14, 2024
Exhibition open Thursday–Monday
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
last entry at 4:30 p.m.
“How the exhibition came to be”
by exhibition curator Molly Liolios
While conducting an inventory of the collection at the Portsmouth Historical Society, I noticed that the number of accessories in storage was outstanding. There was a sampling of every category―hair accessories, hats, canes, gloves, shoes―you think of it and we probably have it in the collection. “Finishing Touches” highlights the pieces that often get overlooked on a person’s ensemble. The little personal touches that can offer insight into the wearer’s true self.
In this exhibition, the majority of objects date to the 19th century with a few examples from the 20th. A few favorites include a pair of shag mittens from the early 1800s, which have a pink tulip design on the hands, a tortoiseshell hair comb with a floral pattern of silver and mother-of–pearl inlay from the late 19th century, and a pair of sunglasses in their original case from the early 1900s.