For Immediate Release:
Contact: Lois Frankenberger, publicist
978.470.0040
lfrankenberger@comcast.net
Malcolm & Elizabeth Chace were honored at the 2005
Gala and Community Service Awards for their
continued generosity, leadership and support of
The American Textile History Museum.
LOWELL, (June 14, 2006) – In a move to use technology to bring its collections online for scholars and interested individuals, the American Textile History Museum is pleased to announce the launch of The Chace Catalogue. The project, which got underway two years ago, is sponsored by The Chace Foundation of Providence, Rhode Island.
According to ATHM’s executive director James S. Coleman, approximately 600 objects from the Museum’s collections of textiles, decorative arts, tools, machinery and workplace artifacts are now available for viewing online. “This is a bold step forward for the Museum as a national presence,” said Coleman. “Our gratitude goes to the Chace Foundation for enabling the Museum to share our unparalleled collections. Now, website visitors will have access to key portions of our curatorial and storage facilities through the technology of a virtual museum.”
Elizabeth and Malcolm Chace are dedicated philanthropists and longtime Museum supporters. Mr. Chace has been a member of the ATHM Board of Advisors since 1995, and is president and director of the Chace Foundation which supports a variety of organizations in the areas of arts, education, health, human services, religion and the environment.
The Chace Catalogue can be found at www.athm.org under the “Collections” tab. Deborah-Ann Giusti, coordinator & cataloguer of the Chace Project said that the new online collections database is in the pilot phase of the online catalogue project. “We will continue to add records to the online database as soon as they are ready for public viewing,” she said.
The American Textile History Museum tells America’s story through the art, history and science of our textiles. It is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive textile museum, and is located in the Kitson factory, built in 1860 to manufacture textile machinery.
The Museum is home to the most significant integrated textile history collection in North America, with an extraordinary library and one of the world’s largest and most important publicly held collections of tools, spinning wheels and hand looms. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers has designated its industrial machinery as a National Historic Engineering Heritage Collection. Its collections of books and documents, tools and textile machinery, fabric samples, textiles, and costumes come to life in the Textiles in America core exhibition, special exhibitions, and educational programs.
The Museum was founded in North Andover, MA in 1960 by Caroline Stevens Rogers, a hand-weaver and collector, and has been accredited by the American Association of Museums since 1973. Growing from a small regional facility to a nationally recognized cultural institution, the Museum moved to historic Lowell in 1997 to better serve the public.
The Museum continues its annual fundraising efforts to support the Museum’s ongoing operations, collections, development of new exhibitions, hands-on learning in the Textile Learning Center (TLC) and educational programs which serve over 8,500 area grade school students.
Exhibits and TLC are open during regular Museum hours. Admission is $8 for adults; $6 for seniors, college students, children 6-16, and groups; free for children under 6 and Museum members.
The Museum, an Editors' Choice in the 2006 edition of the Yankee Magazine Travel Guide to New England, is located at 491 Dutton Street in Lowell, adjacent to the Lowell National Historical Park, 35 miles north of Boston off Route I-495. The building is wheelchair accessible, and parking is free. Telephone 978-441-0400.
Visit
The Chace Catalogue NOW
or use the link under the & #8220;Collections”
tab.
