Our museums and galleries house fascinating collections, from living bugs to The Beatles, fine art to photography, the Titanic to ancient Egypt.
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Our museums and galleries house fascinating collections, from living bugs to The Beatles, fine art to photography, the Titanic to ancient Egypt.
American Friends of National Museums Liverpool
Donations to AFNML can help to repair items for display at the new Museum of Liverpool, like the snowshoes below, owned by Colonel Arent de Peyster (1736-1822).
Colonel de Peyster, a native of New York City, was educated in London and joined the British Army in 1755. He served in the King's Liverpool Regiment and when assigned to Canada he enjoyed a series of promotions, in 1774 being appointed commandant of Fort Michilimackinac (now Mackinaw) and in 1779 promoted to Major, taking control of Detroit.
In later life he retired to Scotland and was friends with famous poet Robbie Burns. De Peyster published his own works in 1813, titled "Miscellanies, by an officer". After his death, John McDiarmid, who knew de Peyster, wrote; 'No man ever possessed more of the principle of vitality. Old age, which had silvered his hair and furrowed his cheeks, made so little impression on his inner man that... up to... his last illness his mind appeared as active and his intellect as vigorous as they had ever been.'
A fuller biography of Colonel de Peyster and his connection with Robbie Burns can be found on this Robert Burns website.
Colonel de Peysters snowshoes are severely damaged from woodworm. The estimated cost for repair is $1,500.
Conservation is a core function of every museum. That is why National Museums Liverpool opened the National Conservation Centre in 1996. The centre not only cares for the collections held in Liverpool but also carries out work for many other venues across Europe.
The dedicated team of conservators, specialising in paintings, paper, sculpture, models, metals, ceramics, frames, textiles, ship keeping and industrial and land transport conservation, ensure these collections are made available to the public now and preserved for future generations.
Without targeted funding there are items of work that will not receive the attention they need in order to be on display. We hope you will join us in supporting National Museums Liverpool's important work by donating to the American Friends Appeal today.