Shorts

“A Portrait of an American City: 200 Years of New Castle History,” chronicling the founding and settlement of the first community laid out in present-day Lawrence County, is on exhibit at the Lawrence County Historical Society through May 1999. Laid out by John Carlysle Stewart in 1798, New Castle was incorporated as a borough in 1825 and recognized as a city in 1869. “A Portrait of an American City” features photographs, drawings and prints, posters, and objects and artifacts that trace New Castle’s development from a frontier settlement to its renaissance today. For more informa­tion, write: Lawrence County Historical Society, 408 North Jefferson St., New Cas­tle, PA 16101; or telephone (724) 658-4022. Admission.

More than fifteen thousand chrysan­themums will fill more than four acres of indoor gardens for the 1998 Chrysanthe­mum Festival at Longwood Gardens. Per­formances, demonstrations, and activities will be held during this year’s extrava­ganza, from Sunday, October 24, through Sunday, November 22 [1998]. Additional infor­mation may be obtained by writing: Long­wood Gardens, P.O. Box 501, Kennett Square, PA 19348; by telephoning (610) 388-1000; or by visiting the Long­wood Gardens website. Admission.

Two exhibits, “The Parthenon Project” and “The Old Customs House” will open at the Erie Art Museum on Saturday, October 10 [1998]. A collaborative effort by artists Paul Rosenblatt and Judith Turner, “The Parthenon Project” blends architec­ture, photography, sculpture, and video to pose a lively and provocative dialogue between that supreme icon of western classical architecture and today’s exhibi­tion visitor. The museum is housed in the Old Customs House, an elegant Greek Revival style edifice built in 1839, and “The Old Customs House” explores its history through drawings, prints, and photographs. The exhibitions will run through Thursday, December 20 [1998]. For more information, write: Erie Art Museum, 411 State St., Erie, PA 16501; or telephone (814) 459-5477. Admission.

In conjunction with its landmark exhi­bition “Glass: Shattering Notions,” the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center will host glass identifica­tion days during the weekend of October 31-November 1 [1998]. Area experts representing the region’s glass clubs will identify and appraise glass objects made in western Pennsylvania from the late eighteenth century to the 1950s. For years, Pittsburgh enjoyed being the leader in the manufac­ture of glass as well as assuming a central role in its marketing. “Glass: Shattering Notions” interprets two centuries of glass­making in western Pennsylvania. For more information, write: Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, 1212 Smallman St., Pittsburgh, PA 15222-4200; telephone (412) 454-6000; or visit the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center website. Admission.

Walter Emerson Baum was as well known as an artist as he was a teacher and museum founder (see “Painting a Sense of Place: Walter Emerson Baum and the Lehigh Valley” by Martha Hutson­-Saxton, Spring 1997). “City Streets and Country Byways: The World of Walter E. Baum, 1884-1956,” is a traveling exhibition that will be installed at the Lore Degen­stein Gallery of Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove, from Saturday, October 24, through Sunday, December 13 [1998]. More information is available by writing: Lore Degenstein Gallery, Susquehanna Univer­sity, Selinsgrove, PA 17870; or by tele­phoning (717) 372-4058. Free.

“Over There: World War I Etchings by Lester G. Hornby” will be on view at the Sordoni Art Gallery of Wilkes University in Wilkes-Barre from Sunday, October 11, through Sunday, November 15 [1998]. An illus­trator, engraver, and painter, Lester G. Hornby (1882-1956) was well known for series of engravings depicting the first World War. Additional information may be obtained by writing: Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes University, 150 South River St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18766; or by telephoning (717) 408-4325. Free.

On Friday, October 23, Pennsylvania Humanities Council Commonwealth Speaker John Burt will present a talk enti­tled “The Freedom Trail in Western Penn­sylvania” at the Cumberland County His­torical Society in Carlisle. The presenta­tion will begin at 1 P.M. For more informa­tion, write: Cumberland County Historical Society, 21 North Pitt St., Carlisle, PA 17013; or telephone (717) 249-7610. Free.

A selection of quilts drawn from the collections of the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, Bethlehem, will remain on exhibit through Sunday, November 1 [1998]. “Cover-Up at the Kemerer: Quilts from the Collection” addresses the making of quilts, the changes in design over time, and the roles-both functional and deco­rative-that quilts played in the home. To obtain additional information, write: Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts, 427 North New Street, Bethlehem, PA 18018; or telephone (610) 868-6868. Admission.

From Sunday, November 1, through January 31, 1999, an extensive collection of fraktur made by Pennsylvanians, includ­ing Johann Adam Eyer (1755-1837) and Johan Jacob Friederich Krebs (1749-1815), will be exhibited at the Monroe County Historical Association’s restored 1795 Stroud Mansion. More information is available by writing: Monroe County His­torical Association, 900 Main St., Strouds­burg, PA 18360; or by telephoning (717) 421-7703. Admission.

On exhibit at the Lycoming County Historical Society, Williamsport, through Saturday, November 28 [1998], are prints by Pennsylvania artist John Sloan (1871-1951), whose realism changed the face of the art world. The Lock Haven native was a member of the Ash Can school of art, and his depiction of everyday life earned him great distinction. The exhibit is aug­mented by a selection of works of art by Sloan’s contemporaries Arthur B. Davies, James Preston, Raphael Soyer, Everett Shinn, as well as the artist’s wife, Helen Farr Sloan. For more information, write: Lycoming County Historical Society, 858 West Fourth St., Williamsport, PA 17701; or telephone (717) 326-3326. Admission.

On Thursday, October 4, 1877, many members of southeastern Pennsylvania’s prominent Pennypacker family traveled to Pennypacker Mills in Montgomery County for a family reunion commemo­rating the centennial of the Battle of Ger­mantown. On their way home, many were killed and injured when a car on the Pick­ering Valley Railroad line derailed. “The Great Train Wreck of 1877,” continuing through September 1, 1999, features reunion memorabilia and railroading arti­facts recalling the fateful day. To obtain more information, write: Pennypacker Mills, 5 Haldeman Rd., Schwenksville, PA 19473; or telephone (610) 287-9349. Free.

Featuring models and working draw­ings by architects such as Robert Venturi for furniture that was never produced by Knoll Inc., or is not currently in produc­tion because the design was either too advanced for popular acceptance or proved too technologically challenging, “Not in Production: Furniture by Archi­tects from the Collection of the Knoll Group” is on exhibit at Philadelphia’s Paley Design Center. “Not in Production” will remain open through Sunday, November 8. For more information, write: Paley Design Center, Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science, 4200 Henry Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19144; or telephone (215) 951-2860. Free.

To note the centennial of the founding of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown by Henry Chapman Mercer, the James A. Michener Art Museum is showing “‘Machines Can’t Make Art’: The Pottery and Tiles of Henry Chapman Mer­cer,” featuring a broad range of mosaics, tiles, and art pottery made by the Bucks County pottery and juxtaposed with his­torical objects and artifacts that served as sources for Mercer’s designs. “‘Machines Can’t Make Art'” will remain on view through January 17, 1999. For more details, write: James A. Michener Art Museum, 138 South Pine St., Doylestown, PA 18901-4931; or telephone (215) 340-9800. Admission.