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Own a Bit of Manhattan Beach History

Oct 07, 2024 10:32PM ● By Mb News Staff

(Items for sale at the Manhattan Beach Historical Society this weekend.)

How would you like to own a piece of Manhattan Beach history? You'll get your chance this weekend, as the Manhattan Beach Historical Society hosts an "Own A Bit Of History Sale" as a fundraising event on Saturday, October 12. 

The sale will be held at the Little Red House in Polliwog Park. It will be open to Historical Society members only from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m, and to the general public from 11:30 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.

Items for sale include Metlox pottery and dinnerware, furniture, posters from local events, framed and unframed photo reproductions, vintage Christmas ornaments, and more. 

The event is the culmination of a multiyear effort led by the city of Manhattan Beach and the Manhattan Beach Historical Society to properly organize and store the organization's ever-growing historical collection.

Beginning in 2022, the city hired professional archivists from History Associates Incorporated (HAI) to inventory and catalog every item. (Such an inventory had not been undertaken since 1993.) Those items determined to be duplicates or outside of the scope of the city's historical archive or the educational collection are designated to be sold.

According to the historical society, the team sorted through more than 1,000 documents, photographs, assorted ephemera and additional artifacts and categorized each one, separating items into a Historical Collection and non-Historical Collection. 

Historical Collection items are part of the city’s permanent archival collection. Each item has been given a numeric identifier and stored according to archival standards. 

Non-Historical Collection materials have been further categorized into 1) educational items and 2) items that HAI recommended for "deaccession," and hence for sale. The sale items include object duplicates – mostly photographic reprints, Metlox dinnerware, posters and books – and items determined to be out of the geographic scope of the historical society's collection.  

(Photos via the Manhattan Beach Historical Society.)

Where possible, the historical society has tried to reach out to the original donors to see if they would like these items returned. The organization has also attempted to donate materials that might be better suited in other historical societies or educational institutions. Those that remain will be for sale.

Following the sale, the Red House in Polliwog Park will be repaired, repainted and set up with new exhibits that will highlight Manhattan Beach history.


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