Westerly Sun Column | Library Holds Many Treasures From Past

Anyone who has lived in one home for a number of years can attest to the fact that personal belongings have a way of adding up. At over 130 years old, and spanning more than 60,000 square feet, I’m sure you can imagine that Westerly Library has stored a lot of items over the years … and I’m not just talking about books! From pieces of art to rocks and minerals, huge varieties of objects have called the library “home,” and plenty of them are still on display throughout the building.

One of the more striking pieces you will see while strolling through the library is the mahogany grandfather clock, which is just off the elevator on the second floor. Paul Stillman, who is a relative of Westerly’s very first silversmith, Deacon Williams Stillman, made the Chippendale-style clock for Thomas Noyes II around 1807. His family generously donated the clock (along with the original bill of sale) to the library in 1938, where it has remained ever since. Speaking of Noyes: even if you don’t recognize the name, you may recognize his face. There is a portrait of him above the fireplace in the auditorium, hand on hip, where he gets to look out over the audience during the many lectures and presentations that take place in that space.

Another item that we get questions about often is the large music box at the top of the old wooden staircase. This “Sublime Harmonie Piccolo Zither” box was built in Switzerland around 1870, and gifted to the library by Mrs. Stephen Wilcox in the early 1900s. While it no longer plays any tunes, you can raise the mahogany case and see the four interchangeable cylinders inside, admire the silver-plated bail handles and Rococo escutcheons that adorn the chest, and hum a little ditty of your own devising.

One of my personal favorite pieces is a revolving bookstand that lives in our Old Main Reading Room. The eye-catching design was inspired by one that Thomas Jefferson had in Monticello, which holds up to five books at a time atop a rotating stand. While this particular one never belonged to Jefferson, it is a fantastic reproduction, and we were thrilled when it was donated to us in 2013.

Of course, there are many, many more items than these — from pieces of shipwrecks, to a velocipede, and everything in-between. We often have visitors inquire about the location of items that they remember seeing here, and no matter how random the inquiry sounds, (for instance, “Where would I find the bird nests that were on display here when I was a child?”), I know by now to take them seriously! At one time, it seems we even had a wreath made by Mrs. Melissa Stillman in the late 1800s, composed of flowers made from the hair of her relatives. I tell you, there is always something to see — and learn about — at the library!

by Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian