A postcard from the 1940s that says “Greetings from Faribault Minnesota. The Peony Capital of the World.” Faribault was home to the Brand Peony Farm which once grew over 1000 varieties of peonies.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this postcard in our collections database.

A postcard depicting the “Magic Aquarium Bar and Liquor Store” in Moorhead, Minnesota. 1940.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this postcard in our collections database.

Take a look and enjoy!

A block print on paper showing a firehouse on the East side of St. Paul. Made by Gary Egger in 1980.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this print in our collections database.

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A rectangular paperboard ink blotter with depiction of Indian woman advertising for Wabasha Roller Mills, Minnesota, circa 1920.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this blotter in our collections database.

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A woodcut print on paper titled “Mendota South” made by Alexander Masley in 1935.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this print in our collections database.

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An oil on masonite painting of a St. Paul street scene made by Minnesota artist Arthur Allie in the 1930s.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this painting in our collections database.

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An untitled oil on canvas painting made by Minnesota artist Alice Hugy.

For more information or to purchase a photograph of this item, view this painting in our collections database.

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

This is the official iron stamp of the Minnesota territorial seal showing a farmer plowing, a tree stump and ax, and an American Indian on horseback with lance in hand riding toward a setting sun. The motto above the design reads “Quo sursum velo videre”; this is a misprint of the intended Latin phrase “Quae sursum volo videre” (“I wish to see what is beyond”). Encircling the seal is “THE GREAT SEAL OF MINNESOTA. 1849.” The manufacturer’s trademark “D. O. HARE.W.C.” is stamped on the face of the seal and also on the rim.

The seal design (adopted in 1849) was from a sketch by Col. J. J. Albert and redesigned by Capt. Seth Eastman, as seen in this watercolor by Eastman.

Two other designs were considered by a special legislative committee for a new Great Seal of Minnesota upon achieving statehood in 1858.  However, it fell to Governor Sibley to have the state seal engraved, and he decided to stick with the original territorial seal (for which he was largely responsible) with minor modifications. Sibley got rid of the misspelled Latin and added “L’etoile du Nord” (“The North Star”); the direction of the American Indian and Farmer are reversed on the state seal; and it reads “The Great Seal of the State of Minnesota, 1858.”

In 1981, the original engraved state seal from 1858 was part of a Minnesota Statehood display in the Minnesota State Capitol. When the exhibit was deinstalled in 1984, the original 1858 seal was misplaced. The Society continues its efforts to find the seal, in hopes of restoring it to its place alongside the engraved territorial seal in the MNHS Collection.

Come see the Minnesota Territorial Seal and much more in our new Library Lobby display Icons of Minnesota, on view during Library open hours now through August 30, 2014!

We are fortunate to have so many great objects telling the early history of Minnesota in the Collections. To learn more, visit:

• Minnesota State Capitol
• Exhibits at the Minnesota History Center
• Collections Online
• Minnesota Historical Society Library

Fleck’s Beer salt and pepper shaker set. Two deep brown glass miniature beer bottles with crown-type metal caps. Each has a neck band that read reads “Felsenkeller / FLECK’S Brau” with a tiny insignia for “FLECKS BEER.” The larger label shows wooden kegs, a circular insignia for “FLECKS / BEER” and the text “STRONG BEER / BREWED & BOTTLED BY / Ernst Fleckenstein Brewing Co. / FARIBAULT, MINN.” circa 1930-50.

For details, view this set in our collections database.

(Note: The comments section has been temporarily disabled while we upgrade the website. You can always leave comments on our Flickr Photostream at http://www.flickr.com/photos/minnesotahistoricalsociety/)

Large oil on board painting made by Minnesota artist Jerry Rudquist in 1990.

For details, view this painting in our collections database.

Gouache on board painting of the Chicago Great Western Railway Bridge and the Robert Street Bridge in downtown St. Paul, 1987.

For details, view this painting in our collections database.

For details, view this patch in our collections database.

Purple bumper sticker with ‘Best Beers Are Minnesota Brewed’ and an image of the state of Minnesota in white with the names of Minnesota breweries in red “COLD SPRING/GRAIN BELT/HAMM’S/SCHELL’S/SCHMIDT’S.” Circa 1975.

For details, view this bumper sticker in our collections database.

This is a portrait of Harry Wild Jones who was an influential Minneapolis architect and lover of goatees. He is credited with introducing the Shingle Style of architecture to Minneapolis and is probably best known as the designer of the Lakewood Cemetery Chapel and the Washburn Park Water Tower.

The man in this ambrotype portrait is John Harrington Stevens, an early settler of what would become Minneapolis and member of the first state legislature. You can admire his beard in person by visiting a statue of him located in Minnehaha Park.

As you can guess from the photograph, this is William B. Mitchell. Minnesota Supreme Court Judge, namesake of the William Mitchell College of Law and moustache aficionado.

William Watts Folwell, in addition to having a rather contemplative beard, was the first president of the University of Minnesota and has a building on the East Bank campus named after him.

This tintype portrait, circa 1880, is of Judson A. Bly a miller who lived and worked in Forestville, Minnesota. Forestville is now a ghost town located in Forestville State Park and is still reportedly haunted by Bly’s Hulihee style beard.

The man with all the medals on his chest and hair on his lip is Lucius F. Hubbard. He was an orphan who moved to Red Wing, Minnesota at the age of 21. He joined the 5th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry at the outbreak of the Civil War and in 1881 he was elected governor. The Minnesota county of Hubbard is named after him.

The man with the sideburns is Dorilus Morrison, the first (and third) mayor of Minneapolis and founder the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis which would later become Wells Fargo.

Last but not least, this photograph made by a Minneapolis Star-Tribune photographer in 1937 shows the world famous professional wrestler Farmer Tobin taking in a relaxing game of golf in Minnesota between bouts. He combined a 6 foot 7 inch frame with a tattoo collection and massive beard to make a formidable wrestling persona.

A watercolor painting of the Common Shooting Star prairie wildflower made by John Berglund for the WPA Federal Art project in 1938.

For details, view this watercolor in our collections database.

Produced by Lizzie Ehrenhalt

For more valentines, see Collections Online.

Produced by Sondra Reierson

Learn More:

• Walter F. Mondale Collection
• Government, Politics, and Public Affairs
• Attend an Evening with Mondale and the Public Affairs Collection

Firefighter’s helmet used by Oscar J. Pederson, Assistant Chief of the St. Paul Fire Department, circa 1940.

For details, view the helmet in our online collections database.

To view more historical firefighting objects, and to learn about the dedication of the Minnesota Fallen Firefighter Memorial on September 30, 2012, watch our podcast Firefighting in Minnesota: A Salute to the Fallen.

Sondra Reierson, Collections Assistant

Learn More:

• See Collections Online to view photographs and artifacts related to firefighting in Minnesota
• See History Center Library website to search for books and manuscript collections
• Visit the History Center Library, where staff can show you how to request materials and view film footage
• For details about the memorial and the dedication ceremony, visit http://www.mnfireservicefoundation.org/ or http://www.facebook.com/MinnesotaFireServiceFoundation

Learn More:

• Family History Immigration Resources in the Library

Please click on image of letter below to enlarge it.

The Society holds a number of related items, including concert ephemera and publicity materials such as this Purple Rain movie brochure (below).

Prince’s original Purple Rain costume is also part of the Society’s collection.  The costume, like Prince’s music, is a synthesis of various periods and styles.  Learn more about the costume at our PunkFunkRockPop webpage.  The outfit also can be viewed in the MN150 exhibit at the Minnesota History Center, which is open through the end of December, 2011.

John Knauss, Reference Associate

Over the years the Minnesota Historical Society has collected the sheet music that documents Minnesota’s musical heritage. This month sees the publication of a new sheet music finding aid; two others were published over the summer. Many of the pieces of music in these collections have been digitized and can be viewed from their finding aids.

Do you feel like singing a rousing chorus of Rah! Rah! Ski-u-mah! for the University of Minnesota football team, cutting a rug with the Minnesota Cadet Lancers , or calling the steps for the Minnesota Shake-Down?

Or browse through all three finding aids for a tuneful reminder of Minnesota’s past at:

Collection of Songs and Music about Minnesota Places, Institutions, Businesses, and Themes

Collection of Songs and Music by Minnesota Composers

Collection of Songs and Music by Minnesota Women Composers

The digitization of this portion of the Minnesota Sheet Music Collection was funded in part by a grant from the Bean Family Fund for Business History.

Sarah Quimby, Library Processing Manager

The 2008 election cycle was remarkable, distinguished by the historic victory of Barack Obama and significant gains for the Democratic Party in general. As Minnesotans know, one bit of election business remains undecided six months later. Republican Norm Coleman and Democrat Al Franken continue their contest for Minnesota’s vacant U.S. Senate seat.

As usual, the St. Paul Saints baseball team turned a big news story into a winning promotion. At its May 23 game against the Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Canaries, the team gave away “Re” Count bobbleheads to the first 2,500 fans. The dolls, dressed like the number-loving Count von Count character of Sesame Street fame, feature a rotating head with two faces. Depending on your political proclivities, you can set the “Re” Count to display either Norm Coleman’s or Al Franken’s mug.

While the Society collected Franken and Coleman materials during last year’s campaign, the “Re” Count is something special. It speaks to the unusually prolonged nature of the Senate race, and to the good humor with which Minnesotans have taken it. And it’s one… one clever idea, too, ha ha ha!

Matt Anderson, Objects Curator

Learn More:

• View the podcast on the 1963 recount struggle between gubernatorial candidates Elmer Andersen and Karl Rolvaag

Highlights from the convention itself include the Minnesota delegation’s floor standard, two delegate chairs, informational signs that guided delegates through the Xcel Energy Center, and 56 pieces of the confetti – each piece bearing a color photo of John McCain – that fell over the crowd after the nominee’s acceptance speech.

From the media, we collected eight different credential cards – two for each day of the convention – used by staffers with Minnesota Public Radio and KARE-11 TV. We also collected a photojournalist’s camera that was broken beyond repair as he covered protests near Mears Park on September 2.

Two protestors donated handmade anti-war signs they carried on the John Ireland Boulevard bridge during the September 4 demonstration, as well as a pocket guide to protestors’ civil rights issued by the ACLU. We received a “Peace Keepers” T-shirt worn by one of the volunteers who formed a nonviolent barrier between protestors and police officers. We also collected one of the disposable “PlastiCuff” wrist restraints used by police officers to secure arrested individuals.

Our week at the center of American political life was a thrilling one. I’d like to think that we’ve preserved a little bit of that excitement along with these objects.

Matt Anderson, Objects Curator

Learn More:

• Podcast on the 1892 Republican National Convention, held in Minneapolis
• History Topics page on the 1892 Republican National Convention

• View posters and photos on the Fair in the Visual Resources Database
• Order the books State Fair, Blue Ribbon or The Great Dan Patch and the Remarkable Mr. Savage in the online store
• Share your own story about the Minnesota State Fair

It was not until plans were made for the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 that the lack of a flag became a real problem. As a part of that grand fair, marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus’s voyage to the Americas (the fair itself was a bit behind schedule), each of the then 44 states were invited to mount an exhibit at the fairgrounds in Chicago. As the Minnesota display was prepared, the state legislature determined that the occasion called for an official state flag.

The legislature appointed a flag commission and the commission in turn sponsored a design contest open to all Minnesotans. Amelia Hyde Center of Minneapolis submitted the winning entry. Center’s design called for a double-sided flag blue on one face, and white on the other. The Minnesota state seal (which the state had remembered to adopt in 1861) was the focal point. Center placed three dates in the seal: 1819 (the founding of Fort Snelling), 1858 (statehood), and 1893 (the flag’s design). Sisters Pauline and Thomane Fjelde, immigrants to Minnesota from Norway and respected needleworkers, were contracted to produce the actual prototype flag. The Fjelde sisters did such a fine job of it that the Minnesota flag earned a gold medal for embroidery at the Chicago exposition.

Center’s design survives largely intact in our current state flag. The double-sided scheme was dropped in favor of two blue sides in 1957, not for aesthetic reasons, but because a single-colored flag was easier to mass-produce. The Fjeldes’ original silk flag became the property of the Minnesota National Guard. It made public appearances in parades as late as 1919, and then went into storage. The flag underwent conservation treatments in the 1930s, and again in the 1980s, before the Guard transferred it to the Minnesota Historical Society in 1993. Some things are indeed worth the wait.

Matt Anderson, Objects Curator

Learn More:

• Photo of Minnesota State Building at the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893
• Photo of Pauline and Thomane Fjelde
• “State Flag” at the Minnesota North Star State Government Website
• Minnesota state flag, available for purchase in the Online Store

This collection provides wonderful documentation of how Minnesota celebrated its centennial and will be useful for planning the state’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2008. The Statehood Centennial Commission records are part of the State Archives collections, cataloged in the Society’s online catalog, MN PALS, and available for use in the Society’s Library.

Charles Rodgers, Government Records Specialist

Learn More

• Records of the Minnesota Statehood Centennial Commission
• Photos from the 1958 Centennial Celebration
• The Minnesota Statehood Centennial Album, conceived and sung by Gene Bluestein with guitar
• 100 years of Good Cooking: Minnesota Centennial Cookbook by Virginia Huck

Pictured are samples from a recent acquisition of 125 mug shots and 85 Bertillon cards which originated with, or were used by, the St. Paul Police Department. This collection documents the identification and incarceration of criminals thought to be in the City of St. Paul and surrounding areas from 1891 through 1911. “House sneak,” “safe blower,” and “swindler” were not uncommon criminal occupations, and tattoos, scars, moles and physical shortcomings were duly noted. One card in the collection describes a criminal as follows: “Walks slightly pigeon-toed, slightly stooped shoulders, round lump on top and back of head…”Most of the mug shot cards were created by the St. Paul Police Department, but some originated in other cities’ police departments, including Duluth, Minneapolis, Superior (Wisconsin), Chicago, Kansas City, Fargo, Denver, and New Orleans. Most are marked “Personal Property Jno. J. O’Connor,” presumably the same John J. O’Connor who was Chief of Police for the City of St. Paul from 1900 to 1912 and from 1914 to 1920.

Mug shot cards are 4 by 2 1/2 inches (pocket size) with a photo of the criminal on the front and the criminal’s name, alias(es), residence, legitimate and criminal occupations, physical measurements, features and “peculiarities” on the back.

The Bertillon cards are 6 by 5 1/2 inches, offering front/profile photographs of the criminal and Bertillon measurements on the front of the card, while the back lists information similar to the mug shot cards. The Bertillon System was an improvement of identification over simple mug shots and basic physical measurements, and was a forerunner to fingerprinting. It was developed by French criminologist Alphonse Bertillon in the early 1880s to increase the accuracy of criminal identification by measuring certain bony portions of the body, including the skull, foot, cubit, trunk and left middle finger. This identification method spread throughout Europe and was introduced into the United States in 1887.

Charles Rodgers, Government Records Specialist

Learn More

• St. Paul Police Department Photographs
• Records of the St. Paul Department of Police
• Early History of the St. Paul Police Department by Fred Kaphingst
• Gangsters in St. Paul 
• St. Paul Gangster History Research Collection
• Strange Days, Dangerous Nights