By Suzy Alstrin
The Sellars Tool Gallery within the Funk Heritage Center and Bennett History Museum regularly draws visitors’ attention and praise. One such visitor, Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reporter Jeremy Redmon, published an article earlier this week that reads, “I saw something mesmerizing that wedged itself squarely in my memories. Called ‘Tools of Trades,’ the exhibition features thousands of handmade implements collected by a Marietta hardware store owner, the late Joseph Alan Sellars. Some date to the 18th century. What struck me the most is how the tools were intricately arranged for the exhibit. The fanlike symmetry of the designs is strangely comforting, even transfixing.”
Exhibition designer and curator Don Dougan met up with Redmon during one of his visits. With interested Reinhardt students listening in as they spoke, Dougan detailed the history behind the creation of 114 panels and how each one of the thousands of handmade tools served important functions. He reflected that in 1978 he began working for hardware store owner Alan Sellars and helped design and create the store’s impressive hanging displays of antique tools, “I spent more than 20 years with these as part of my life. For Alan, as a collector, it was living history and I feel very much the same. I got to play with every single one of these and it became a learning experience in itself.”
Dougan explained how he enjoys investigating “whatsits,” a term describing an unidentified tool, one of which turned out to be a tool for churning laundry. His favorite panel displays measuring devices, because he says, “It’s man trying to measure his world and all the different ways it can be done.”
Every tool within the gallery reflects the Sellars’ vision to preserve, present, and share a part of the past. In 1999, Louise Sellars donated the collection to Reinhardt in honor of her late husband, fulfilling his wish to have his collection become a living educational experience. Through the Sellars’ generous donation and Dougan’s work in displaying the panels, future generations can witness and appreciate an important part of American craftsmanship.
The AJC article can be read HERE
