Shelburne Museum

The historic Vermont House provides the backdrop for Something Old, Something New, an exhibition that chronicles the development of high-style American furniture in New England. Showcased are unique pieces from Shelburne Museum’s collections, ranging from a Massachusetts Hadley Chest dating from 1707 to an elegant Vermont card table produced in 1801. Incidentally, both items are wedding gifts – hence the title of the show.

Something Old, Something New offers both a chronological view and illuminates regional differences between a variety of 17^th century, William and Mary, Queen Anne, Chippendale, and Federal style storage units, tables, and chairs. The exhibition provides a cosmopolitan counterpoint to the museum’s extensive painted furniture collection produced in more rural areas. The furniture in Something Old, Something New is accompanied by decorative arts in ceramics, metalwork, and glass imported from Europe and the Far East which graced the finest American homes of the period.

In addition to themes of change over time and place, the exhibition addresses changing construction materials, decorative techniques, and changing technology over 100 years.