Ordinary Objects

Museum Practium: Objective Blog, Philadelphia History Museum

Oktavia LaBarge, November 7, 2013

Title: Rocking Horse

Year:1916

Material: Wood, paint, glass (Replacement tail)

Creator: János Demiam

Collection: The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Collection, 2006, Gift of Mrs. Ethel Demian, 1985

This is a rocking horse from the Philadelphia History Museum in “The Ordinary, the Extraordinary, and the Unknown: The Power of Objects,” gallery.  The museum works to display the history of Philadelphia through the experiences of people in Philadelphia and their objects in its collection.  This rocking horse was carved by a Hungarian immigrant, János Demian, a carver at the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, for his son in 1916.  The Philadelphia Toboggan Company was created in 1904, to builds cars for wooden roller coasters and carousels.

Although this object may seem trivial, it reveals part of Philadelphia’s past.  America is composed of a melting pot of immigrants from all over the world.  At one point, Philadelphia was a central immigrant port and in the early 20th century Philadelphia was the third largest port in the United States.  The rocking horse is a reminder that Philadelphia is made up of immigrants and that they played an important role in the development of the city.   

In the description of the exhibition, it states, “The Ordinary, the Extraordinary, and the Unknown, challenges viewers to look at the meaning of objects, the stories they tell, and their Philadelphia connection.”  This reveals the importance of the rocking horse, because although it may seem ordinary, a variety of interpretations can be made from it.  

In 1985, the rocking horse was given to The Historical Society of Pennsylvania Collection, Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies Collection by Ethel Demian.  The Historical Society of Pennsylvania works to preserve the history and heritage of Pennsylvania. I can only assume that Ethel Demian is a relative of János Demian, the creator of this rocking horse, since they have the same last name.  

The rocking horse is on the second floor of the Philadelphia History Museum in “The Ordinary, the Extraordinary, and the Unknown: The Power of Objects” gallery.  The object is in a glass case in the right corner of the exhibition. The gallery has multiple shelves of objects and placed below the rocking horse is a toy train and Philly the War Dog, who was a mascot of the American soldiers during World War I. The objects placed in the room reveal  the ideas and intent of the exhibition.  The museum has a diverse array of objects ranging from eye glasses to a cage which held the dead bodies of criminals.  It is interesting to consider how all of these objects relate to the history of Philadelphia.

On the reader rail that wraps around the room, are numbers that correspond with numbers placed next to the objects and that have information about the item.  In addition, the museum has iPads placed on the reader rail, where a visitor can find a specific object and learn more information about it.  The label and iPad reveal the maker, date, source, materials, dimensions, and additional relevant information.  Sadly, the information that is on the iPad about the rocking horse is the same that is stated in the label.  The label and iPad reveal that this is a story of a father’s love, who created the rocking horse as a gift for his son.

Despite my interest in the rocking horse, many visitors would probably not notice this object.  It is placed above the visitor’s eye level and is in the corner of the room.  In addition, there is no information about Janos Damien or this specific rocking horse online.  If a visitor would like to learn more about this object, they could consider researching more about rocking horses.  Rocking horses are a popular children’s toy, dating back to ancient Greece.  In addition, someone interested could consider visiting the Philadelphia Toboggan Company, which is still around today.

Someone who might not be interested in this object may be an adult who does not have children.  This person would probably overlook the rocking horse in the museum because they would not have an interest in children’s toys.  In addition, someone who had a negative experience with horses would probably dislike the rocking horse because it may bring back negative memories.

To further engage visitors with the rocking horse the museum could consider creating a scavenger hunt in the museum.  Since the organization of the museum is composed of a varieties of objects from different time periods, many objects may be overlooked due to the mass amount in a small area.  By creating a scavenger hunt, the museum could draw visitor’s attention to objects that may have been overlooked before.  In addition, the museum could consider creating a special exhibition which reveals the different toys made in Philadelphia over time.  It would be interesting to learn about different toy companies and see the evolution of toys over time. This would be beneficial to the museum to allow them to draw in families with children who like toys.