New Glensheen Obscura Exhibit Opens Friday in Duluth

If you've ever wondered what lies behind those closed doors as you walk through the beautiful halls of Glensheen Mansion, you're about to find out.

Glensheen Mansion has announced their new exhibit, Glensheen Obscura, will be officially open to the public beginning Friday, June 4, and it will run through the end of the summer.

The new exhibit will feature fascinating items that are usually stored away in one of the mansion's 23 closets. Glensheen staff, or "Sheeners" as they call themselves, have always enjoyed seeing some of the more obscure items in the Congdons’ collection and now the public will have the opportunity to see them as well.

Many of the pieces in the Glensheen Obscura exhibit were purchased during the Congdons' worldly travels, yet some are a glimpse into a life that isn’t much different than yours. That being said, these are not normal items you'll be seeing.  Some of these items are very obscure.

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Organizers say one of the worldly travel trips that Chester Congdon and two friends took was to tour the countries of the Pacific Ocean and they brought back a few of the items that are in the Glensheen Obscura exhibit. One of these items is an elaborate instrument called an ‘angklung’ that makes the strangest sound.

In addition to instruments from halfway around the world, guests will see items like "broken dolls, (once loved and now slightly creepy), rare maps," and the Skull & Snake Inkwell pictured below.

Glensheen staff doesn’t know exactly where the inkwell came from, but it was likely picked up on one of the Congdons' many overseas vacations. The skull is carved wood, and the snake is ivory. Under the cute little frog is where the ink would have been stored.

The Glensheen Obscura exhibit can be seen this summer on both the self-guided Classic Tour and self-guided Full Mansion tour.

Glensheen is open daily 9:00 am – 5:00 pm for self-guided tours. Classic Tours are available for purchase online at Glensheen.org and Full Mansion Tours are available for purchase onsite.

Glensheen is also open until 7:00 p.m. on Saturdays for self-guided tours now through October 23, 2021.