Assembling the Tool Collection

Louise and Alan visited the artist and author Eric Sloane, a longtime collector of Americana.  Though Alan had been collecting workshop tools, it was after seeing the new setting for Sloane’s collection of tools in a museum in Connecticut that Alan began assembling a collection of tools specific to particular trades.

Many of the antiques the Sellars acquired during their travels were used to furnish and decorate the gift shop portion of the hardware store, and for many years only a select few of their favorites were displayed on the family room wall in their home. Most of the other tools were stored in boxes in the workshop behind the house.  For special occasions, some of the tools were selected, displayed, and their use demonstrated at many local schools, county and state fairs.

Displaying the Growing Tool Collection

In 1978 Alan and two employees of the hardware store, Carter Butterworth and Don Dougan, began building panels to display the collection.

Alan wanted to exhibit his collection to the public, and he solved the question of "Where?" by hanging the panels from the ceiling above the merchandise in his hardware store. Soon more than 120 display panels were hanging back-to-back throughout the store.  The panels were in a constant state of revision and addition as Alan continued to find more items to improve the collection.

In 1985, the hardware store moved to a larger building - partially to accommodate the tool collection and also to provide gallery space for the developing art collection.  One section of the new building was turned into a tool museum, and an art gallery was made for the paintings.  Mark Wright was hired to help Don and Carter with these projects. At this point many of the tool displays were edited and consolidated into a denser and richer selection totaling about 100 panels.