Settlement exhibit shows odds and ends of past

Try to picture museum curators decades -- or a century -- from now going through a desk drawer and stumbling upon a digital audio player.

Would they recognize it and know what it was used for? Or would it present something of a mystery to its discoverers?

Rewind to present day Naperville. Among the odds and ends in Naper Settlement's collection are items from the dusty past that can be identified only through diligent detective work helped by vivid imagination.

A selection of those odd emblems of the past will be on display at the 19th-century museum village in a new exhibit set to open Friday titled "Curator's Curiosities."

The 100 or so pieces, culled from a variety of settlement storage spaces, will be on display in the Heritage Gallery in the Pre-Emption House Visitor Center through July 20.

"It's actually an idea that's been kicking around," curator Jennifer Bridge said. "It's a way for us to showcase artifacts we haven't been able to show the public. I wanted it to be a way for people to learn how to investigate an object if they don't know what it is."

Visitors will learn, for example, the tell-tale signs of machine-made items that distinguish them from those made by hand, she said.

"We have a pot-scrubber that I think would be unusual for us," Bridge said. "It looks like it was made out of chain mail."

The exhibit also reflects Americans' preoccupation with the arts and crafts movement in the early 20th century, Bridge said, when a nostalgia for the virtues of craftsmanship came up against the realities of the mass production market.

Some items are easier to identify than others.

"Depending on your age and experience, not everything is going to be a stumper," she said.

Though the exhibit may include a few items that have been displayed previously, most are new to museum visitors, she said. All items date from the 19th century or the early 20th century.

"All things were either used in Naperville or are similar to things that would have been used in Naperville," she said.

In many cases, the antiquated version of an item is displayed side-by-side with its modern-day counterpart.

The exhibit also includes photographs.

One series of photos was taken by photography buff Eli Stark, who was a toy, bicycle and gun merchant with a penchant for creating absurd images using double exposures.

One photo shows him shining his own shoes, another shows him boxing with himself and a third shows him beheading himself, Bridge said.

All the photos, incidentally, give viewers a little glimpse of what life was like in his day.

"He documented everyday life, which was fantastic for us," Bridge said.

If you go

What: 'Curator's Curiosities,' an exhibit of rarely displayed items

Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville

When: Friday through July 20

Winter hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays

Admission: $4.25 for adults, $3.75 for seniors, $3 for ages 3-17, free for ages 2 and younger and Naperville Heritage Society members

Details: (630) 420-6010 or napersettlement.museum