New Britain herald., 1923-10-04


 -Hartferd. Oct, 4,-one of the mos
 remarkable collections of objects oI historical interest. and antiques ir senefals ever seen in New England IS now on display. at Manchester Conn. eight miles east Of this city The exhibit will be open all this weeI, In connection with the Manchester Centennial celebration. The Centennial VIII attract upwards of 5O.0a6 people II is believed. The entire Recreation building on School street. South Man. chester. n seoo.0oo struetupe. has been given over 10 the exhibits In connec- ton with the Centennial. The histor- Teal display occupies almost the whole ground floor. and contains thousands of wonderfully interesting exhibits. The whole town has opened up its treasure chests and loaned It's choic- est heirlooms; there arc articles which have been handed down from genera ton to generation for hundred years. Also. there arc articles 200 to 250 years old. The collection Is insured for s15.00o.
 Under the same roof are also three other important displays, each a complete and comprehensive exhibit, as follows: Industrial exhibit, eduea- tional exhibit and agricultural exhibit. All Of these are described in detail below. at the close of the description of the historical exhibit
 The Cheney Swords
 On large rack in the lobby, as one enters the building, are upwards of twenty Spencer rifles, and nearby are two swords to which much history at- taches. One was the sword of the late Colonel Frank w. Cheney, of the Sixteenth Connecticut Volunteer regi- ment, carried by Colonel Cheney dur ing the Civil war. The, other is the sword of late Ward Cheney, who was killed while in action in the Philip pines.
 The Spencer rifles were the inven- tion of Christopher M. Spencer, Manchester man, and the greatest in- Nentor the town ever produced. His rifles revolutionized the art of war at the time of his invention and many attributed the shortening of the Civil war to the effectiveness of the Spen- cer rife. The rife was invented in 1862, while Mir. Spencer was superin- tendent of Cheney brothers machine shop. The model was made in the Cheney shop. The action is said to Fe the same as afterwards used on the Winchester rife.
 Mir. Spencer also invented the re- beating shotgun known as the "pump gum This action is used in the | modern firearms.
 One of the rifles in the Manchester | exhibit has elaborate chased work on | the stock and is valued at $500. It | was made for MT. Spencer personally. Another handsome gun in case was made expressly for Frank Cheney, father of Frank Cheney Jr., in ap- preciation of Cheney Brothers serv- ice to the country during the Civil War.
 A Vcritable Museum
 The thousands of pieces in the Man chester collection make up such an exhibit as cannot be seen outside of art museum. .Manches- ter people in all stations in life, from those in humble circumstances to those who command millions, have put forth their most cherished possess sions in making this exhibit suc- cess. At the historical exhibit will be found a block front chest of drawers worth S1,000. There is a very rare |owboy with Spanish foot a rocking settee with cradle attached, with pro- Iecting board to safeguard the child and a mushroom chair, unusual in any collection. Another rare piece is five slat 4 rocker. A Dutch dropeaf ] able can be seen accompanied by an l authentic written history to the effect ( hat General Washington and General { lafayette both had breakfast at this able. Duncan Phyfe, the only real American designer of fame, is repre- ented by a splendid dressing table. On the walls are hand made quilts f 25 to 150 years old. For these. the ( heep were raised in Manchester; the ( vool was sheared, spun and woven nto cloth on hand looms here in S c On the east wall of the main audi a orium is a quilt of sunfower design | % years old. There is tester four ,ost Sheraton bed. On form is a h