Miniatures Everywhere

I seem to bump into miniatures where ever I go. But I was especially delighted with the unexpected miniatures I saw in the little town of Saint Michaels, Maryland, where I spent the weekend at a family wedding.

First, in the small and delightful local historical museum (St. Michaels Museum), I saw a set of miniature box scenes stacked to form what is alternately called “The Magic Mountain” or “The Glass Mountain.” Created by the three Graham sisters of Saint Michaels–Ermina, Josephine, and Annie—the little scenes depict realistic events as well as children’s stories. They are tiny and all hand crafted. It is thought that the scenes were created around 1875.

The Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum also used miniatures to convey their history. There were models of different kinds of boats as well as some dioramas depicting historic scenes and techniques including this one on shipbuilding.