Dress Up For Hallowe’en All Year Long

Post by Karen Sereda, past Collections Registration Associate (Natural History)

We humans are not the only ones who like to dress up; sometimes animals disguise themselves to look like something else, like we do at Hallowe’en. They may be trying to look like something else or it could be a warning. The ecological term for this is mimicry. There are many different types of mimicry, and differing reasons why an animal would try “look” like something else. I was reminded of this recently when I catalogued a clear wing moth that looked like a wasp. Hover flies also resemble bees or wasps to discourage other animals from eating them, as do some butterflies.

L-R: Clear wing butterfly; Catalogue Number: 58510 © Manitoba Museum. Hover fly; from www.pexels.com, Photographed by Anonymous, July 26, 2009; Web; 30 October 2017. Hummingbird butterfly; from www.pexels.com, Photographed by Anonymous, No date; Web; 30 October 2017.

I first learned about mimicry years ago during a summer job when I was collecting information about differing types of moths. Near some flowers was a hover fly fluttering about. The research scientist I was working for told me not to worry, that it wouldn’t sting me because it actually was a moth, and it was there to drink nectar from the flower. I thought that was so cool!

Sometimes bright colours are used by animals to warn possible predators that they contain toxic or bad-tasting chemicals. It’s a bit like wearing a costume to scare you.

L-R: Poisonous coral snake; from Pixabay.com; Photographed by mgrpowerlifting, 13 April 2013; Web, 31 October 2017. Toxic monarch butterfly; from Pixabay.com; Photographed by Yolanda, 27707; 5 July 2009; Web, 30 October, 2017. Toxic monarch larva; from Pixabay.com; Photographed by leoleobobeo; 24 September 2017; Web, 30 October, 2017.

And other animals may adopt these bright colours pretending to be toxic, when they actually are not! The king snake lives in areas where the coral snake occurs, and looks very similar to the coral snake. It takes advantage of the coral snake’s warning colouration.

Non-poisonous king snake; from www.pexels.com, Photographed by Anonymous, No date; Web; 30 October 2017.

Stick insects are not dangerous to humans, but many are predators of other insects. They have evolved an appearance that looks just like a twig. They remain very still, and if an unsuspecting insect wanders too close, they grab it and eat it! There are even some other insects that look just like leaves!

L-R: Stick insect photo; from Pixabay.com; Photographed by Mark Jordahl; 19 July, 2017; Web, 30 October, 2017. Green cockroach; from Pixabay.com; Photographed by Josch13; 30 July 2013; Web, 30 October, 2017.

Our human history collection is full of special objects, highlighting significant points in Manitoba’s past –like Cuthbert Grant’s medicine chest or the replica of the Nonsuch. Yet we also make a point of collecting objects that represent everyday life in Manitoba – cans of soup, well-loved toys, and farming implements. These mundane objects surprise people, since most of us consider objects we use routinely to have little historical value. Then there are objects that baffle even the seasoned museologist, begging questions like what and, most importantly, why?

Early in my days working with the human history collection, I was searching for a medical-related artifact in an area of our storage room rife with old medicine and surgical tools. I pulled an unlabeled box off a high shelf to have a look inside and was shocked to find it full of dentures –it gave me quite a start. I wish I could say it was the only time that box of dentures had scared me.

The previous artifacts are odd, true, but everyone knows that teeth are needed for chewing and enunciating and everyone loves a good laugh, but this artifact can turn stomachs and bewilder minds better than no other.

During the Victorian era, the popularity of jewellery made of human hair saw a definite rise. Hair would be collected from a loved one and woven into intricate patterns to make bracelets, brooches, earrings and necklaces. Wearing mourning jewellery fabricated from the hair of deceased relatives was common amongst Victorian women. People also made wreaths from human hair to display on their walls, often taking hair from multiple family members to complete a single wreath.

This example was made in Ontario by Mary Jane McKague and brought to Manitoba in 1881, first to Emerson by train and then transported by ox cart to the community of Coulter south of Melita where Mary Jane and her husband John homesteaded. Mary Jane died in childbirth delivering her sixth and final child in 1895. Her wreath was carefully kept by her eldest daughter and later three of her granddaughters before they donated it to the Manitoba Museum in 1985. It is one of several examples of Victorian hair art and jewellery in our collection. Even if the thought of handling human hair is unsettling, these objects are an important part of our understanding of 19^th century society, fashion and the Victorian mourning process.

What commonplace objects that we think nothing of today will give pause to museum collectors of the future? Only time will tell!

Post by Kim Cielos, Collections and Conservation Assistant – Young Canada Works Summer Student 

It has been an exciting summer as the Collections and Conservation Assistant summer student at the Manitoba Museum. This is not my first job in a museum; previously I had summer positions at the Transcona Museum as a Collections and Research Assistant and at the Winnipeg Art Gallery as a Collection Inventory Assistant. This is however, the first time I have had the chance to undertake conservation-related duties. I work closely with Cindy Colford and Carolyn Sirett who are two amazing people that guided me throughout the summer teaching me about conservation work. Perhaps it’s destiny, but coincidentally, both Cindy and Carolyn have studied (and Cindy was a professor in the Collections Conservation and Management Program) at Fleming College in Peterborough, Ontario where I will be going this going fall. Though I will be taking the Museum Management and Curatorship Program and not the Conservation program, there are some aspects where these two programs intertwine with each other. Thus, not only did I get to experience things before learning them in my program at Fleming, but I got to do, in my opinion, some pretty neat stuff.

I have only touched a tip of the iceberg with what I have done this summer. I have done other conservation tasks like polishing silver medals from WWII and taking photographs of artifacts before and after their treatment, helping to clean a cast iron coat of arms from the HBC Museum Collection, as well as making new custom boxes for artifacts to go into storage. From the collections side, I helped with cataloging artifacts and entering information into the collections management database, and labelling specimens from the zoology collections with their catalouge numbers.

Before and after treatment of WWII medal. It’s a very satisfying seeing how much cleaner it becomes. © Manitoba Museum

The people at the Manitoba Museum were wonderful and helpful in creating an educational and fun experience here. Not only did I get to see the interesting aspects of conservation and collections, but my time here helped me broaden my knowledge about the different roles and career options that are possible in the museum field. I may be going into a general museum studies program, but I feel better prepared for the conservation-related tasks that may come along after my summer at the Manitoba Museum.

Legacies of Confederation: A New Look at Manitoba History, tells many inspiring stories and is supported by several amazing artifacts and specimens. Most visitors to the Museum do not get to see what happens behind-the-scenes in order to prepare our artifacts and specimens for display. Research is compiled, design and layouts are created, condition reports are completed, mounts are built, and in some cases, conservation treatments are performed in order to ensure the safe display of the Museum’s collections.

The ears of the specimen showed the most visible damage in the form of extreme shrinkage, which resulted in a number of tears and splits in the surface. The skin had shrunk so much that the internal structure of the taxidermy mount was exposed.

I was able to repair this damage by cutting the exposed wire framework to the surface of the skin without damaging the hide. I then used a piece of Japanese tissue paper sized to cover the split in the skin and in-painted the tissue with watercolours to match the surrounding hide. Using a conservation grade heat-set adhesive, the Japanese tissue paper was adhered in place and set with a tacking iron. The final touches to the ears included placing a few strands of bison fur from a sample to produce a consistent look to the area.

In addition to the ear repair, a large hole in the neck was infilled with plaster, years of dust and dirt was removed, and the original wooden backing board was consolidated.

Before being selected to be part of the Legacies exhibition, this specimen spent most of its time in storage lying flat. But now, visitors to the Museum can see the specimen as it was intended, wall-mounted vertically.

On the day of installation, it took four installation staff to lift this nearly 100-pound specimen into position – five feet in the air. Today, as a feature piece within this exhibition, the bison head mount demonstrates its iconic significance to Manitoba’s history.

The Museum’s Conservation Department is charged with ensuring the long-term preservation of the Museum’s collections by mitigating deterioration before it begins, and responding to damage when required.

Post by Karen Sereda, past Collections Registration Associate (Natural History)

Where do all the dead animals come from?

Once the bird skin is dry, the pins can be removed and the specimen is catalogued. The information or as we call it, “the data”, associated with a specimen is just as important to us as the bird itself. When I get a bird skin to catalogue the first thing I usually do is find the donor form, and then look up its name. Dr. Mooi would have already determined its scientific name. The bird is assigned a catalogue number, and its taxonomic classification is confirmed.

So why do we collect bird skins?

Also, not all birds of one species will look exactly the same. Even though they might be of a similar age and sex, birds can be different sizes, and exhibit different colour variations.

Sometimes samples are taken to test for DNA or other chemicals. This is how it was discovered that use of the pesticide DDT was causing the decline of certain species of predatory birds, such as eagles. The decline was because DDT accumulated in the parent birds, and caused thinning of bird egg shells. Then less baby birds would hatch successfully.

So, we never know, someday in the future those birds we collect might serve an unexpected purpose.

When the weather turns cold many of us pull out handcrafted quilts and afghans. The comfort they bring often goes beyond the mere physical and can make us feel as if the people that created them are enveloping us in a warm and loving hug. Recently, a very special quilt was donated to the Manitoba Museum. One of thousands sent overseas by the Canadian Red Cross during the Second World War to provide warmth and comfort, it has now returned home to Manitoba nearly 75 years later.

The story of the quilt begins in Steep Rock, Manitoba where local women would have been part of a network of participants in the Red Cross “Women’s War Work” sewing and knitting program. It was likely sorted and packed at a Red Cross facility before being shipped overseas and on to the Dudley Road Hospital in Birmingham. There, a Matron passed the quilt on to Cynthia (Betty) Craddock sometime towards the end of the war. Betty worked as a lathe operator making tank parts in a factory in Coventry. Her husband Joe had completed apprenticeship as a painter and decorator and then was called up for the army in 1940. He worked as a cook for the Army Intelligence Corp, serving in England and Wales. Joe reached the continent just after D-Day and was among the first troops in Belgium. They had married in 1943 and were together for over 70 years. Their only son Anthony was born in 1945.

The Canadian Red Cross Society was founded in 1896. The purpose of the Society, as set out in its 1909 Act of Incorporation, was “to furnish volunteer aid to the sick and wounded of armies in time of war”. Following WWI, the Red Cross expanded its role into public health, especially in remote or newly settled areas of Canada. The two mandates merged in WWII as the Red Cross worked with military personnel and civilian victims of the war. On the home front, countless volunteers worked to high standards creating supplementary hospital and relief supplies.

The Canadian Red Cross Society distributed patterns and lapel pins to volunteers in the “Women’s War Work” program.

Now that the quilt has been received into the museum’s collection, Roland Sawatzky, Curator of History is looking forward to sharing it with the community and perhaps learning more about the “hands-on” humanitarians who sewed it. As the women of Steep Rock gathered to create this quilt, I’m sure they would not have imagined that it would be treasured by the receiving family into the next century.

Sources:

120 Years of the Canadian Red Cross at www.redcross.ca/history/home
Biographical and historical notes provided by Anthony Craddock

Twas the week before Christmas and all through the museum,

Artifacts wondered if visitors would see ‘em.

Some historical treasures sat smug on display,

While other objects remained hidden away.

These ornaments once hung on old Christmas trees,

Some dating as far back as the 1920s!

With the curator in his office and I snug in mine,

I catalogued objects from way back in time.

When deep in the vault, exploring I go,

Finding boxes of Christmas lights from long, long ago.

Quick to the shelf, with nitrile gloved paw,

I admire the condition, in a reverent awe.

The box is pristine, it’s practically new!

A string of Noma lights within, in green, yellow and blue.

When what to my wandering eye should I see?

It’s Frosty the Snowman on small cardboard skis!

Then a large mechanical Santa, who seems truly alive,

Bought in the forties from Eaton’s for two-hundred-seventy-five!

Before Winnipeg, Toronto was where Santa got his kicks

-he decorated the home of a man named F. William Nicks.

Lovingly bought long ago from a store.

Now all a part of our Christmas collection,

Even some doughy Christmas confection!

And not all the things are from days of yore;

Some come from a time when break dancers tore up the floor!

Cabbage Patch Kids and Snoopy to boot…

Our vault contains all kinds of modern-day loot!

A sleighful of artifacts from Christmases past!

But alas is time to turn out the light,

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

[Note: This blog contains descriptions and images that may not be suitable for sensitive individuals.] 

In the Natural Sciences Department, we receive hundreds of specimens each year that will eventually be added to the permanent Scientific Collections. The Curators collect specimens through their many research projects, while other specimens are collected and donated by the general public. Most of these specimens require some very specific and time-consuming preparation before they can be in a state for which a researcher can use them. Fossils are exposed with precision tools, insects are painstakingly pinned, plants are pressed and artfully mounted, and mammal and bird study skins are skillfully prepared. Skeletons of vertebrates also require a very specialized preparation process that very few people are witness to. 

Specimens are readied for the beetle colony by first making sure that all of the data has been recorded, including its weight and the standardized measurements that are taken. The specimen is then de-fleshed by removing most of the muscle tissue, internal organs and eyes. It is then placed in a drying cabinet so the specimen does not introduce mold into the colony. Once completely dried, the skeletons are placed in rows on top of a layer of cotton batting within a cardboard box lid.

These are NOT free-range beetles! 

The Dermestid beetles and their larva are just one of the types of insects that pose danger to our galleries, and the specimens and artifacts that are stored in the collections storage rooms. To ensure that none of our colony beetles escape, special considerations were built into the room. These beetles can burrow into many surfaces/media, so the walls are cinderblock, sealed with 3 coats of epoxy paint, instead of drywall. I’ve installed a perimeter of yellow tape around the room that has a layer of a sticky product applied to it (this product is similar to ‘Tanglefoot’ that is used to stop the Elm Bark Beetle on trees). The bung holes on the lid of the drum have two layers of fine mesh – this allows air exchange, but they can’t get escape. 

Completed skeleton specimens are given a final cleaning with a small paintbrush to remove any debris or shed larval casings. They are then catalogued, and each bone including the skull and mandible are numbered and placed in an acid-free box with its data label. After a final freezing treatment to be sure they are completely free of anything live, they are ready to be filed into our main Scientific Collections storage room. 

These specimens are then available for researchers and educational purposes. 

Blog by Debbie Thompson, past Diorama and Collections Technician (Natural History)

Note: This blog contains descriptions and images that may not be suitable for sensitive individuals.

Most people pass by a dead bird, rarely giving it a second thought and leaving it where it lies. But there are many members of the public who notify the Manitoba Museum of the dead birds they do find, often from fatal encounters with windows. The Manitoba Museum appreciates the opportunity to salvage these, as it does not hunt birds to add to its Ornithology collection.

Before I start to process a bird, notes are taken: donor, collector, location, date of acquisition, when it was found and prepared; observations (broken bones, external parasites, molting, etc.); then scientific data, including weight, total length, tail length, wing size, beak and leg length. If possible, sex and age are determined by plumage and feather conditions, which are later confirmed through dissection. I use tools ranging from a simple ruler to surgical blades and scissors.

Tools laid out before beginning work on Palm Warbler. © Manitoba Museum

The pattern on the top of the skull can reveal the age of the bird. If a large area is soft and transparent, the bird is a juvenile; if it’s hard and opaque, it indicates an adult. The brain and the eyes are removed and the skull filled with cotton.

The body is reshaped with cotton wrapped around a wooden dowel and the skin is pulled up around it. The incision along the breast bone and abdomen is sewn up. Often, the feathers need a gentle cleaning, with special attention to primp the plumage. The bird study skin is wrapped in a cloth ribbon to hold the wings in place and is pinned to a foam sheet to dry in a special drier.

Left to right: Palm Warbler (#132 DT) – body cavity filled with cotton; body cavity sewn closed and feathers primpted. © Manitoba Museum

Left to right: Palm Warbler (#132 DT) – study skin wrapped and pinned to foam; finished bird study skin. © Manitoba Museum

Using a microscope, I confirm the sex of the bird and measure the testes or ovary. Determining whether the female bird has laid eggs, I search for the nearly invisible oviduct. If it’s straight, then the female hasn’t laid a clutch, but if it appears convoluted, she has laid eggs. I also look for internal parasites (such as roundworms), and then examine the stomach contents, noting everything found within. By far, the scariest of the stomach contents have to be spiders. Eye to eye and larger than life under a microscope, I jump every time I find one!

With patience and respect, it takes about 3 ½ hours to prepare a bird the size of a warbler. The study skin and data collected will aid researchers in the future, and any and all information I am able to collect is invaluable, a lasting legacy of a bird’s untimely death. The contributions to research are greatly enhanced when the public becomes involved, sharing with us their own discoveries and interest in the environment around them.

By Ellen Stothers, Collections and Conservation Assistant (YCW summer student)

Over the last few weeks, I have been assigned the task of doing inventory, cataloguing, and condition reporting artifacts in “Amy Galbraith’s Dress Shop,” in the Museum’s Urban Gallery. I have also cleaned and photographed the objects. Through this process I have been delighted to learn more about the history behind the artifacts that we see in this 1920’s shop. I thought you might enjoy some of my findings!

Hats were a staple of the 1920’s wardrobe. The Dress Shop has nine hats that help to portray life and style during the 1920’s. Some of the hats stand out in my memory just because of where they are from. For example, the hat with gold feathers [H9-8-396 (1)] is from Holt Renfrew and the green hat [H9-38-496] is from Eaton’s. With some of the hats, we are lucky enough to have a more detailed recorded history. The pink hat [H9-4-451B(1)], which you can see in the window of the Dress Shop, is also from Eaton’s and it was worn by Miss Hazel McMillan as maid of honour at her twin sister’s wedding in 1929. The one with green chiffon roses [H9-5-147] was worn by Mrs. James A. Richardson during a visit to Buckingham Palace in 1919. These generous donations, which the Museum received in the 1970’s, help us to understand and imagine Winnipeg in the 1920s.

From left to right: H9-8-396 (1), H9-38-496, H9-4-451-B (1), H9-5-147. © Manitoba Museum

Strolling through the Urban Gallery, one may not at first realize how many artifacts are in each room. Take another look! Each room is an incredibly detailed portal into Manitoba’s past. The Dress Shop has a number of smaller objects that help to complete the room. These items include hatpins, hairpins, mirrors, shoes, sewing supplies and handkerchiefs. On the counter, there are a number of handkerchiefs. Here are some pictures of some of the handkerchiefs that help add to the 1920’s feel of the room.

From left to right: H9-5-4-h, H9-5-4-d. © Manitoba Museum

Next time you pass by the rooms in the Urban Gallery make sure to stop and look, you might be surprised at some of the interesting artifacts you can see!