19th Century Scientific Pine Specimen Chest

19th century Irish Marine Botany Specimens made for Thomas Barnett of the Niagara Falls Museum. Seaweed samples were collected off the West Coast of Ireland in 1871 by Mrs. Maria J.W. Kirkwood and presented to Thomas Barnett Esquire, proprietor of the Niagara Falls Museum. These come as two separately framed pieces with hand embroidered lettering surrounded by seaweed and a poem written by Victoria Hall. Free shipping within the United States and Canada. The Niagara Falls Museum was a museum most notable for being the oldest Canadian museum (1827), as well as for having housed the mummy of Ramesses I for 140 years before its return to Egypt in 2003. It was founded by Thomas Barnett of Birmingham, England and underwent a few vocational changes in its history. More on Thomas Barnett and the Niagara Falls Museum. Thomas Barnett was born on December the 4th, 1799 near Birmingham, England. He moved to Canada in the early 1820s and opened the Niagara Falls Museum in 1827 at the base of the Canadian Horseshoe Falls. Barnett had a passion for collecting oddities. He retrofitted a former brewery house to exhibit his private collection. Although Barnett was aware of the collection patterns of his North American contemporaries, his own approach bore an uncanny similarity to the British tradition, such as the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford, the first traditional museum in Britain. The Niagara Falls Museum had humble beginnings. In 1827, the first museum contained Thomas Barnett's own cabinet of taxidermic curiosities. Although the details were not documented, the collection was likely composed of a number of mounted animals of local origin, combined with a smattering of Native American artifacts. Barnett's collection however rapidly grew. Prior to 1844, an account of the museum's contents stated that there were over 5000 items, including bipeds, quadrupeds, birds, fish, insects, reptiles, shells, minerals, and Native American curiosities. Through the first fifty years of its existence, the Niagara Falls Museum continued to acquire similar artifacts through the diligent efforts of the Barnett family and their associates. In 1854, Sydney Barnett (son of Thomas Barnett) made the first of his three trips to Egypt (two by himself and one with Dr. J. Douglas of Montreal) and purchased four mummies as well as a host of other Egyptian antiquities. In 1857, mastodon remains were discovered in St. Thomas, Ontario and later placed in the museum. In 1859 an inventory of the museum's contents included, in addition to the previously mentioned artifacts, an egg collection...

This solid antique mahogany desk top document chest is completely unsigned, but presumed to have been made in England in circa 1900 in the period Edwardian style. The front of the ch...

American made suitcase manufactured by Hulbert Bros. They were in business from 1870-1909 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Free shipping within the United Stat...

This gorgeous sofa was made in Quebec, circa 1860 and done in the French Louis XVl style. The wood frame is handcrafted from tiger maple and it features iconic Canadian motifs such as the beaver...

19th century wood stationery box.

19th century papier mâché tray featuring a painted English landscape scene with man fishing.

A Belgian mid-19th century, red painted store display cabinet. A large and imposing antique Canadian pine display cabinet vitrine, woodcarving in...

19th century oak coin cabinet, the moulded top above panelled body, the two front doors opening to reveal fitted interior of twenty two lined drawers terminating on platform base.

A very good solid mahogany jewellers showcase in old finish , multi drawers , brass hardware details, and glass front doors.. This is a rare beauty acquired in Scotland years ago and brought to Canada. An exceptional piece with removal;e glass...

Large and unique jewelry or collectors cabinet. Oak and Blackened Walnut with inlay marquetry detail, having original iron hardware and original lock (no key). Fitted multi drawer i...

Fun and function abound in this free standing pine kitchen island with 24 drawers. This delightful pine apothecary originally served as a shop counter or storage cabinet. Counters si...

Circa 1870 Large 19th C English mahogany glazed apothecary wall cabinet sku 577 Measures: W262 x D34 x H75 cm.