Bishop Sideboard

Mahogany

1790 - 1815

This sideboard belonged to the first president of Miami University, Robert Hamilton Bishop.  President Bishop owned the sideboard during his tenure in Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky (1804 - 1842).  It is thought to have descended through the family of his wife.  The sideboard was brought to Oxford to the Bishops in 1824 and stood in the spacious front  entry hall of the Bishop home until the 1930s.  it belonged to Robert H. Bishop MD, from 1940 until 1955.  The sideboard was then lent to a cousin in Massachusetts. In 1991, the sideboard was given to Miami University by Dr. Jonathan S. Bishop and placed in McGuffey Museum.

Pie Safe Cupboard

Poplar with pierced tin panels

1840-1850

Cupboards of this type were used for food storage.  The pierced tin panels allowed air circulation without letting rodents and large insects foul the foodstuffs.

Alexander McGuffey's Chair

1884

This chair, carved in Cincinnati by the famous woodcarving brothers Fry, sat in the hallway of Alexander's law office.  It

personifies discomfort and the story is that

Alexander would leave clients sitting there until they were ready to agree to his terms when negotiating a legal case.  The carved motto, nemo me lacessit impune, freely translated, means that "I will harm you if you harm my good name."

Portrait of Caroline Virginia Rich McGuffey

By Thomas Buchanan Read

Oil on Canvas

1867

Caroline Virginia Rich, shown here in her wedding attire, became the second wife of Alexander H. McGuffey in 1866 when she was 27 years old.  The Cincinnati home of Caroline and Alexander McGuffey, "Sunbright," has been the source of many items with McGuffey associations that have been placed at McGuffey Museum.

Portrait of Unknown Woman

Oil on Canvas

Circa 1830s

This unidentified woman is believed to be one of a pair of wedding portraits.  The paintings are from the Richmond, Indiana area and date to the period of McGuffey's residence in Oxford.

Peter Bruner Hat Box

Band Box

Clayton's Ascent

1835 - 1836

This oval cardboard box is covered with "Clayton's Ascent" paper printed from hand carved wood blocks.