Exhibition Opening Reception: Albert’s Odd Jobs: Making a Living in the 1800s

Please join us for an in-person opening reception for the exhibition, Albert’s Odd Jobs: Making a Living in the 1800s.

Albert Walker was a 19th century farmer – and amateur magician – living in Glastonbury, Connecticut. Through his myriad odd jobs, Walker illustrates a pivotal moment in Connecticut history. Changes in technology, economics, and labor during the Industrial Revolution redefined work and leisure, raising questions that we are still asking today. This exhibition explores those questions, using Walker’s diaries, objects, and ephemera to better understand the personal experience of finding and keeping work in an evolving market, pursuing passions and upholding obligations, and maintaining a foothold in a shrinking industry. It invites visitors to think about their own experiences and to use the past to inform their present.

Please let us know you will be able to join us by September 1. Click here to RSVP. Remarks begin at 5:45pm.

Magician Jim Sisti will entertain us with some magic during the reception!

Image: Clock repair toolbox belonging to Albert Walker. CMCH collection, The Newman S. Hungerford Museum Fund, 2007.4.2

We thank our members and donors for making exhibitions like this possible!