A.O. Brown to Governor John Martin
Creator: Brown, A. O.
Date: March 30, 1886
A.O. Brown, mayor of Parsons, Kansas, telegrams Kansas Governor john Martin, of Topeka, requesting immediate help from the "troops" over a labor dispute. Strikers had driven a freight train off the tracks near Parsons. In February 1885, railroad shop workers walked off the job because of a cut in pay and reduced hours of work. Governor Martin was able to negotiate a settlement to the strike but problems continued throughout Kansas, Missouri, and Texas.

Arthur Capper's pen
Creator: American Pencil Company
Date: 1917
Green dip pen with cork grip, manufactured by the American Pencil Company. Kansas Governor Arthur Capper used this ceremonial pen to sign the "Bone Dry Law" on February 23, 1917, effectively banning alcohol in Kansas. Passed by the Kansas legislature days prior, this law prohibited the possession of liquor by individuals within the state, and ended direct shipments of liquor from out-of-state. Kansas established multiple laws restricting or prohibiting the sale of alcohol from 1880 to 1948. The state's early and lengthy regime of Prohibition lead to some of the most restrictive alcohol laws in the nation. After signing the bill into law, Capper awarded the pen to Mrs. Lillian Mitchner, President of the Kansas Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), in recognition of her work. A resident of Beloit, Kansas, Mitchner later donated to the pen to the Kansas Historical Society.

AT & SF Railway lantern
Creator: R.E. Dietz Company
Date: between 1912 and 1940
The Dietz Acme Inspector Lamp was the most popular railroad lantern marketed for inspecting wheel bearings, journals, etc. The Acme was also the last square tube Hot Blast lantern produced by Dietz, with production ending prior to 1960.

AT & SF Railway paperweight
Date: between 1870 and 1900
In the 1870's and 1880's Great Britain made large investments in the Santa Fe Railroad. Lion paperweights, including this one, were made in England and distributed to Santa Fe Railroad stations, offices, and personnel. The lion is a symbol of Great Britain.

Baby's shawl
Date: 1896-1897
Baby's off-white wool shawl with a hand-embroidered floral decoration in two corners. Emily (Stephens) Grinter embroidered the shawl around 1896 or 1897. She was born in New York in 1833 and married Thomas A. Grinter in 1865. The couple lived in Wyandotte County, Kansas. Thomas was the cousin of Moses Grinter, who operated a trading post and ferry on the Kansas River in Wyandotte County. The date of the shawl suggests that Emily might have made this for one of her grandchildren.

Band, Kansas City, Kansas
Date: Between 1939 and 1940
A view of a band performing in Kansas City as part of the Work Progress Administration's Federal Music Project. Also visible is a large stone building immediately behind the band.

Beaded Pocket
Date: Unknown
This beaded pocket was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1962. It is not known who made it or when it was made. The buckskin was cut into three shaped pieces and sewn together prior to beading. Bands of yellow and blue beads decorated the longer portion of the pocket, which is topped with 11 strings of blue, yellow and red beads. The pocket portion of the beadwork shows a blue, red and yellow beaded four pointed star surrounded by a circle of red and white beads mimicking a twisted pattern. The reverse of the pocket is decorated with a yellow and blue circle of beads. The entire piece has alternating red and white beads along the edge.

Beads from the Mem Site, 14MN328
Date: 1500-1800 CE
These beads were excavated in 1986 during a highway salvage project undertaken by Kansas Historical Society archeologists and Kansas Anthropological Association volunteers at the Mem site. The black glass ovoid bead, of European manufacture, was recovered from the upper fill of a cache pit. The disc-shaped turquoise bead and the two ceramic beads were recovered from the same cache pit. The Mem site, in Marion County, is a Great Bend aspect, ancestral Wichita village.

Beads from the Radio Lane Site, 14CO385
Date: 1400-1899 CE
These three beads were among the many that were excavated at the Radio Lane site, a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in Cowley County. The amber glass faceted bead was likely made in Bohemia and dates to the mid-to-late 19th century. The white glass trade bead has a light brown swirl within the glass. The turquoise bead was recovered from deep within a bell shaped pit feature. Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew excavated there during a Phase IV archeological investigation in 1995.

Beads from the Shrope Site, 14CO331
Date: 1400-1725 CE
A salvage excavation was conducted at the Shrope site in Cowley County by Kansas Historical Society archeologists and crew in 1995. The shell bead shown here, and numerous artifacts, were recovered from deep within a bell-shaped pit. The mussel shell is delicate and great care must have been taken to create the oval hole and shape the bead. The bone bead was found at shallower depths in a different pit. Both ends of a bird bone have been scored, snapped and smoothed to create the bead. The Shrope site was a large Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village. Forty-one archeological features, such as storage pits, hearths, and post molds, were uncovered at the site.

Bell Fragments from the 102 Steel Point Site, 14MO414
Date: 1847-1874
These bell fragments were recovered from an archeological site in Morris County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2020. The bells are made of sheet metal and are decorated with two lines encircling the waist (body) of the bell. The site had multiple occupations from the Archaic period to the late 1800s and may have been one of three large Kansa sites along the Neosho River occupied during the mid-19th century.

Bone Beads from the Saxman Site, 14RC301
Date: 1500-1650 CE
This group of bone beads were recovered from the Saxman site in Rice County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2016. The beads were made from a section of bird bone. They were scored, then cut or snapped, and finally had their edges smoothed, to form the tabular beads. The Saxman site, a large Great Bend aspect village, was occupied by the ancestral Wichita peoples.

Bone Beads from the Sharps Creek Site, 14MP408
Date: 1500-1800 CE
Shown are four bone beads recovered from the Sharps Creek site, a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village in McPherson County. The beads were made from a section of bird bone. They were scored, then cut or snapped, and finally had their edges smoothed, to form the tabular beads. The shortest bead was recovered during excavations at the 1993 Kansas Archeology Training program field school and the other three were donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1993.

Bone Beads from the Tobias Site, 14RC8
Date: 1400-1700 CE
These two bone beads were excavated during the 1977 and 1978 Kansas Archeology Training Program field schools at the Tobias site in Rice County. The beads were made from a section of bird bone. They were scored, then cut or snapped, and finally had their edges smoothed, to form the tubular beads. The Tobias site is a Great Bend aspect (ancestral Wichita) village that had dense artifact deposits, house remains, and numerous deep trash-filled storage pits. The site is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Bone Gaming Pieces from Fool Chief's Village, 14SH305
Date: 1828-1844
These bone gaming pieces were recovered from Fool Chief's Village, a Kansa village in Shawnee County that was the site of the 2012 Kansas Archeology Training Program after which excavations continued through 2013. Sometimes called a cup and pin game, the goal was to catch the deer phalanges, shown here, on a bone pin, scoring points for the number caught.

Bone Ornament from El Cuartelejo, 14SC1
Date: 1650-1750 CE
Shown is a bone ornament that was recovered from the El Cuartelejo site in Scott County. The site, unique in Kansas, is the location of a seven room pueblo occupied by refugees from the Taos and Picuris pueblos in New Mexico in addition to Dismal River aspect groups (Apache). El Cuartelejo, also called the Scott County Pueblo, has been excavated and studied by many archeologists since 1898. This artifact was recovered during the 1976 Kansas Archeology Training Program. The bone ornament has cut marks visible on each end. It was made from a medium sized animal.

Box camera
Creator: Eastman Kodak Company
Date: between 1897 and 1899
Eastman Kodak No. 2 Falcon box camera. Belonged to Alice G. Sennrich, a well-known professional photographer in Valley Falls, Kansas. She entered the business in 1902, purchasing the studio of C.S. Edington, and continued until about 1935. Eastman Kodak manufactured the the No. 2 Falcon from 1897 to 1899.

Brass Pendant from the 102 Steel Point Site, 14MO414
Date: 1847-1874
This brass pendant for an earring or necklace was recovered from an archeological site in Morris County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 2020. The site had multiple occupations from the Archaic period (8000 to 2000 years ago) to the late 1800s and was one of three large Kansa sites along the Neosho River occupied during the mid-19th century. This pendant dates from the Kansa occupation.

Brass Ring from the Canville Trading Post, 14NO396
Date: 1847-1872
This brass ring was found at the Canville Trading Post in Neosho County near the Osage Reservation. It was donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1994. During the 1800s it would have been bright and shiny, but time has dulled its shine. The Canville Trading Post was established in 1847 by A. B. Canville. When the Osage reservation land was ceded to the United States in 1870, the Osage left for Oklahoma and Canville followed in 1872.

Buckle from the Canville Trading Post, 14NO396
Date: 1847-1872
This cuprous (contains copper) buckle was found at the Canville Trading Post in Neosho County and donated to the Kansas Historical Society in 1994. The centerbar buckle is decorated with a floral motif and would have been quite a fancy buckle when new and shiny. The Canville Trading Post was established in 1847 by A. B. Canville. When the Osage reservation land was ceded to the United States in 1870, the Osage left for Oklahoma and Canville followed in 1872.

Bugle
Creator: William M. Hostmann Company
Date: between 1910 and 1916
1912 variation of the 1894 pattern B Flat Infantry Bugle. Brass bugle with steel mouthpiece. The bugle belonged to Faustino Julian Domingo. Domingo was born in the Philippines and was brought to the United States by his American teacher in 1904. He settled in Lawrence, Kansas, where he finished high school and joined the Kansas National Guard. In 1915, a Topeka newspaper described Domingo as an "expert bugler." After working as a drill master and battalion instructor, he served in the Mexican Campaign in 1916 and with the 137th Infantry in France during World War I. Exposure to poison gas during that war caused a respiratory illness that forced Domingo to retire from the National Guard 1944. He was on active duty in World War II at the time of his retirement. He died in 1961.

Calculator
Creator: Tandy Corporation
Date: between 1980 and 1985
Radio Shack model TRS-80 pocket computer with miniature printer. Tom Shrimplin of Manhattan, Kansas, purchased this device ca. 1985 at a local Radio Shack store hoping to gain computer skills. At the time, Shrimplin worked as a technician at Kansas State University. Radio Shack, an electronics retail store, was established in 1921 and acquired by Tandy Corporation in 1962. TRS-80 (Tandy Radio Shack 80) was an early generation microcomputer that used innovative programming language.

Camera
Creator: Vive Camera Company
Date: between 1897 and 1902
Magazine camera model Vive No. 1, made by the Vive Camera Company of Chicago, Illinois. Black leather-covered wooden frame, vertical viewfinder, and fixed stop diaphragm. Used by Alice G. Sennrich, a well-known professional photographer in Valley Falls, Kansas, from 1902 into the 1930s.

Carter's Ink Banner from Fort Hays, 14EL301
Date: 1867-1889
This brass advertising banner was recovered by Kansas Historical Society archeologists during excavation at historic Fort Hays in Ellis County. It may have been fixed to a display box for the Carter Ink Company (1858-1976). The banner states "CARTER'S PAT JULY 21st 68 INKS." Fort Hays was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and is a State Historic Site.

Carter's Ink Bottle from Cottonwood Ranch, 14SD327
Date: 1890-1920
This brown glass ink bottle was recovered during the 2002 Kansas Archeology Training Program field school at the Cottonwood Ranch in Sheridan County. The ink bottle has a conical body, tooled double ring finish, and traces of a paper label. Embossed on the bottle bottom is the bottle mold number and "CARTER'S," indicating it was manufactured for the Carter Ink Company (1858-1976). The ranch was established by Abraham Pratt, from Yorkshire, England, in 1878 to raise sheep. Pratt's son, John Fenton Pratt and his family continued to raise sheep at the ranch until 1904. Cottonwood Ranch is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and is a State Historic Site.