New Acquisitions & Donations

Each quarter the Tennessee State Museum receives numerous donations for the museum collection. Several objects are also acquired for the collection

To download a complete list, click here.

For inquiries, call 615-741-2692.



Two Important Firearms Added
to the Collection
The museum’s Collections staff recently purchased two rifles made by members of the famous gunsmithing Bean family of East Tennessee. Charles Bean and his brother, Baxter, crafted these rifles. They, along with their brothers, Robert and Joseph, were prominent gun makers in East Tennessee during the early 19th century. Their father Russell may also have been a gunsmith. Charles Jr. (1837 -1919) was the last of the Bean family gunsmiths. The rifles, both full stock flintlocks with iron furniture, exhibit the details that distinguish these early firearms.

                   

 Left:Painting of Scopes Trial
by Henry Billings
The museum recently purchased this 1939 oil painting by artist Henry Billings entitled, Scopes Trial. It depicts the landmark American legal case of 1925 in which high school science teacher, John Scopes, was accused of violating Tennessee’s Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach evolution in any state-funded school. The painting shows attorney Clarence Darrow examining William Jennings Bryan, on the front lawn of the Rhea County Courthouse. The banner on the courthouse’s exterior wall advised: READ YOUR BIBLE! Reporters are seen in the tower of the courthouse watching the trial.                                                                    




Left: Pale Moon 
Proceeds from last year’s A Tennessee Waltz paid for this outstanding addition to the museum’s collection, Pale Moon, a view of the Smoky Mountains by noted landscape artist Rudolph Ingerle. The artist began painting in East Tennessee during the 1920s and is credited as one of the leaders in the movement to preserve the area as a federal park, which today is America’s most visited park.
Red, White & Blue
Rocky Mountain Quilt
A quilt once belonging to the Bacon Family of Roane County, TN has been purchased at auction by museum staff. The finely detailed quilting and minute patterning in the red sunbursts are typical of pre-Civil War work in Tennessee and indicate a date in the 1850-60 range. Some of the most diverse examples of the Rocky Mountain design have come from Tennessee, according to quilt historian Bets Ramsey.



James Earl Ray Wanted Poseter
This FBI poster, dated April 19, 1968, publicizes the manhunt for James Earl Ray following his assassination of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. It was purchased by the museum at a recent auction. Ray is listed as wanted for "Civil Rights — Conspiracy Interstate Flight Robbery." The poster also cautions the public that he "is sought in connection with a murder wherein the victim was shot. Considered armed and extremely dangerous."

  

        Left: James C. Crawley Rundlet
A recently purchased grey clay rundlet (small barrel) by James C. Crawley has become part of the TSM collection. Crawley was born in Maryland about 1798. He married Anna Martin about 1826 in White County, TN. White County census records have him listed as a manufacturer and in the 1850 census as a potter. White County was a center for pottery production at this time period. This rundlet is the earliest dated Middle Tennessee form with an identified potter’s name, known to date. 






Left: See Beautiful Rock City
The museum recently purchased a watercolor entitled, See Beautiful Rock City, by artist James Albert Caulfield III. The painting depicts cows in a field in front of a barn painted with an advertisement reading "See Beautiful Rock City." Caulfield, who was born in Detroit, Michigan, lived most of his early life in East Lansing before moving to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1985.

Tennessee Regional
Library Bookmobile
The museum received a recent gift of a steel toy step van based on a mid-1950s Ford V-8 delivery van. With sliding front doors and a hinged rear door, the toy, created to look like a Tennessee Regional Library Bookmobile, was donated along with a Community Library sign and a book about the bookmobile.