Contact: Karen Hollywood, Public Relations and Program
Coordinator Macculloch Hall Historical Museum / khollywood@maccullochhall.org /
www.maccullochhall.org / (973) 538-2404 ext 15
This year’s second floor Christmas exhibit at Macculloch Hall
Historical Museum, “Not a Creature Was Stirring” – Christmas Animals, Toys
and Thomas Nast”, opens on December 7th. This second floor exhibit will be available
to view on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday afternoons during touring hours, 1pm
– 4pm, until December 22nd.
The Museum will reopen on January 2nd and the exhibit will
remain on display until Thursday, January 30th. This second floor gallery exhibit features
several of the Museum’s holiday-themed Thomas Nast images, as well as toys and
ornaments from a century ago. This is
the fifth year antique dealers and local collectors have assembled unique
treasures to create a universally charming Christmas holiday exhibit. This year’s display features an animal theme,
presented in the form of toys, animal shaped ornaments and decorations.
The exhibit has been created through generous object loans from Joe and
Sharon Happle of Sign of the Tymes
Antiques, Lafayette NJ , Lauren V. Rethwisch of Wooly Sheep
Antiques, Robbinsville NJ, and Barbara Silverstein, a local collector and
member of the museum, and was curated by Museum Curator Ryan Hyman and Mrs.
Silverstein.
The Museum’s period rooms will be decorated for the holidays in
traditional style by the Garden Club of Morristown with fresh holly and
boxwood, greenery and other live decorations including a historically-inspired
Christmas tree throughout December. Enjoy
docent-led tours through the period rooms to learn the history of the
Macculloch family and W. Parsons Todd, the philanthropist who transformed this
family home into a museum with a superb collection of fine English and American
decorative arts. During tours of the
gorgeous historic home visitors will view seasonal decorations as well as the Museum's
collection of holiday-themed original artwork by caricaturist Thomas Nast. Nast, a well-known political cartoonist who
popularized the Democratic Donkey and the Republican Elephant, also contributed
to America’s contemporary image of Santa Claus. Visitors will find more than thirty of Thomas
Nast’s original Santa and Christmas images throughout the Museum’s galleries
and period rooms. Macculloch Hall
Historical Museum has the largest collection of Nast originals in the nation.
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Guided tours and visits to exhibits are offered on Wednesday,
Thursday and Sunday afternoons during touring hours, 1pm – 4pm, from December 7th
until December 22nd. The
Museum will reopen for holiday tours on January 2nd when visitors
will still be able to enjoy the Assumption tree, the second floor “Not a Creature Was Stirring” Christmas exhibit, and Thomas
Nast images. This will remain on view through January 30th. The
galleries and gift shop, which stocks a range of Thomas Nast and other
Christmas items including cards, prints and ornaments as well as other gift
items, are open until 4pm on tour days. For
more information about programs and exhibits please visit our website or
Facebook page, accessible through the website. Macculloch
Hall Historical Museum preserves the history of the Macculloch-Miller families,
the Morris area community, and the legacy of its founder W. Parsons Todd
through its historic site, collections, exhibits, and educational and cultural
programs. The Museum is open for house
and exhibit tours on Wednesdays, Thursdays & Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The last tour leaves at 3pm. Adults $8;
Seniors & Students $6; Children 6 – 12 $4. Members and children under 5 are
free. The gardens at Macculloch Hall
Historical Museum are open Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm and Sundays 1pm - 4pm
unless posted otherwise. The gates are
secured at all other times. Call (973)
538-2404 ext. 10, visit our website www.maccullochhall.org or find us on
Facebook. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum, 45 Macculloch Ave.,
Morristown, NJ 07960. Macculloch Hall Historical Museum received an operating
support grant from the New Jersey Historical Commission, a division of the
Department of State. Macculloch
Hall Historical Museum is a nonprofit educational affiliate of the W. Parsons
Todd Foundation.
Image courtesy of Stan Freeny
