Among the objects currently on exhibition are a mismatched set of William & Mary chairs in the Spanish style. The chairs were heavily restored in the twentieth century and were dated to between 1685 and 1715. The Spanish inspiration was a common aesthetic in late Stuart England where an admiration of everything Dutch and the Spanish lowlands prevailed. The chairs are not particularly unusual but represent how the stories behind an object can at times be of greater value than the objects themselves. The chairs came to the museum from collector Mrs. Josephine Cory Purtscher Fellows (1902 – 1986).  Josephine Purtscher was a native of Lima, OH and came East to attend Mount Holyoke College. Following her graduation in 1924, she worked as a commercial artist in the magazine industry, where she met her future husband Laurence Cloud Fellows (1885 – 1964). Fellows was a successful illustrator and commercial artist noted in his day as the premier fashion illustrator for women’s magazines. The two were avid collectors with an eclectic array of European and American antiques initially assembled to be used as references in their illustrations. The set of William & Mary chairs were likely purchased for use in an illustration and became part of the furnishings of their East Haddam home. The Fellows were near neighbors of conservation architect Frederick Palmer and culinary historian Frances Phipps who may have influenced their furnishings collection. Towards the end of Josephine’s life she donated their collection to institutions around New England including over 350 pieces of European silver and 150 Chinese snuff boxes to her alma mater.