Dear Lee,

    Last week we had a family trip and as always we scheduled our events and filled in with stops at antiques shops, museums and historic locations. First stop, Philadelphia. We drove to the Liberty Bell and the buildings where the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were written. I was disappointed. When I saw the Liberty Bell as a child, it was hanging in a covered portico, almost close enough to touch. Now it’s fully protected from weather and harm in a brick building, with lines for tourists and no way to see the icon from a car.

    But our main stop was the famous Barnes Foundation. Dr. Albert Barnes (1872–1951) earned a fortune manufacturing pharmaceuticals including Argyrol, a treatment for gonorrhea. He started buying art in 1912, studied, sought expert advice, and bought post-impressionist and modern paintings by now-famous artists like Renoir, Matisse, Picasso, Van Gogh and a selection of old masters as well as decorative arts. He hung the art to illustrate “connections.” He willed the art and his house to the city, but he wanted it to be kept exactly as it was. By the 1990s, problems led to law suits and the decision to move the collection near the Philadelphia Art Museum. Two hundred million dollars were raised to build a museum that duplicated the size and shape of each room of his house and the patterns of art that hung on the walls. We joined a crowd and spent two hours surrounded by art. After an hour I knew I was “skimming” the exhibit. It’s too much for one visit. Truly amazing, but 800 paintings are overwhelming, and I found myself reverting to my collecting instinct and studying the antique tools and hardware hung between pictures. Would anyone else notice my favorite room with wooden kitchen spoons and slicers hung between pictures?

    Next stop, Bethlehem, Pa., to see my grandchild graduate from college. No time to visit the Peeps candy factory, but we did tour huge rusting factories that are being converted into usable buildings and took an impressive walk through the preserved remains of four monster steel mills of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There is also a Moravian village from the 1700s, with buildings still standing and in use, and a local historical museum. Once again, we found a “Steampunk” exhibit along with antiques. No one in our hometown seems to have heard of this new collecting area. More about it next month.