How FNLPM Supports the New London Public Museum

Thanks to the support of our members and donors, FNLPM is able to grant funding to the New London Public Museum each year for projects and initiatives above and beyond its day-to-day operating budget. Over $60,000 in grants have been made by FNLPM to the Museum since 2012, including:

• Underwriting of an assessment of Museum's blacksmith bellows to determine how this artifact can be conserved.
• Matching funds for the Museum's Collections Assessment for Preservation grant.
  
• Funding for the purchase of oversized archive drawer cabinets for the storage and preservation of larger documents in the Museum’s collections.
• A grant to update the Museum’s “Your Environment” Curiosity Corner to include climate education and an interactive Green Energy House model.
• Funding for a display cabinet to allow the Museum’s Silver Fox display to be more safely viewed by children.
• Financing the conservation of the Museum’s circa 1931 painted sign for The Red Geranium Tea Room.
• Underwriting the cost of the software that enables the Museum to create virtual exhibits as a way to share portions of its collections on the internet for all to see and learn from.
• Funding for the purchase of a portable display case which will enable the Museum to display artifacts in local businesses.

Conservation of the Red Geranium Tea Room Sign

Funded with a grant from Friends of the New London Public Museum, the Midwest Art Conservation Center (MACC) in Minneapolis, MN helped the New London Public Museum preserve its circa 1931 Red Geranium Tea Room Sign. 
 

According to the New London Public Museum, the Red Geranium Tea Room sign was painted by local sign painter 
and photographer Louis Kurszevski around 1932. The sign was donated to the museum in 1987 by David Moriarity. It is the only item in the museum’s collection from the tea room which was located on the corner of West Beacon Avenue and Smith Street in New London from 1931 until around 1949. 

The sign is a double sided sign measuring 44” x 32” and hangs in the museum’s local history section. Prior to this conservative restoration project in 2020, the condition of the sign had been deteriorating; the paint was flaking and there were areas of complete paint loss. Additionally there were concerns about the condition of the metal and the stability of the frame.

The goal was preservation of the historic sign, not making it look brand new. MACC cleaned and stabilized the paint, assessed and corrected any underlying issues, stabilized the frame, etc. The project did not include in-painting, re-painting or color-correcting the sign.

The Red Geranium Tea Room served luncheons and dinners, and was also available for parties.