Glencairn Museum Members visit archives & storage cages

As an old marketing slogan used to proclaim, membership has its privileges. On Saturday morning, March 10, one of those privileges of membership drew nearly 40 Glencairn Museum members to a tour down into the archives and storage cages at the Museum to learn about how items in the collection and other resources are preserved, maintained and used.

The free Members-Only Coffee included beverages and snacks both before and after the tour, which was conducted in a relaxed and informative manner—questions and comments welcome—by knowledgeable members of the Museum staff.

“Visiting with staff while getting to see things not normally shown is always popular,” says Peter Childs, membership coordinator for the Museum, which opened in 1982. “It seems to be one of the reasons people invest in a membership for an organization such as ours: besides supporting the mission, members find it’s rewarding to have exclusive access.”

“Most museums can exhibit only a fraction of their artifacts to the public at any given time,” says Bret Bostock, assistant director, who has managed collections and coordinated exhibitions for the Museum since 1991. “Because so many objects in storage are rarely on display, it is important that these spaces are accessible to the public at times, making behind-the-scenes events such as this vital.”

What do visitors to the archives and storage cages see? Because Glencairn was a home first, the space itself provides a glimpse into the Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn family’s past. In the climate-controlled environment of what used to be the gym on a lower level, huge rolling shelving units hold furniture, tapestries and rugs, paintings and photos, books and documents. Further along, wire-framed floor-to-ceiling cages filled with less fragile pieces, much of it relating to the medieval building arts used in construction of Glencairn and Bryn Athyn Cathedral next door, occupy the former underground garage.

Glencairn Museum members-only activities, which include exclusive trips and other programs, are held at least twice a year. For more information on membership, programs, tours and Glencairn’s collection of religious art and artifacts: GlencairnMuseum.org, info@GlencairnMuseum.org or 267.502.2600. Glencairn Museum, 1001 Cathedral Road, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

IMAGE: At Glencairn Museum’s free Members-Only Coffee on Saturday, March 10, visitors toured the Museum’s archives and storage cages and spent time in rarely seen areas of the building familiar only to staff. Here in the Plasters Cage, Glenn Greer (right), Collections and Exhibitions assistant, explains how these models were used to create details at both Glencairn (built 1928-39) and Bryn Athyn Cathedral (1913-19). (CREDIT: Glencairn Museum)