Florida Historic Furniture
The furniture styles represented in the collection cover most of the major fashion trends of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including Federal, American Empire, Gothic Revival, Renaissance Revival, Eastlake, Arts and Crafts/Mission, and Colonial Revival. A large number of pieces are in the vernacular or folk tradition and do not use any recognized high style in their design or construction. Some of the artifacts in the museum's collection still need in-depth background research to determine their full historical significance.
We have a wide variety of artifact types in the collection. They represent most types of household furnishing, and many office/public building types of furniture. There is also a good range of economic levels represented by our furniture, from upper middle class to poor cracker farmer. Altogether, some 185 pieces of furniture have some connection to Florida history. They include some very significant pieces, including furniture from Governor George Drew (1876-80) and his family [accession number 82.40] and a range of pieces from the Old Capitol (1902) [accession numbers 78.54.4; 86.75.1; 91M.72 and 73; and 92M.26.1].
