Our Founder
"Man of Steel" John Woodman Higgins
And The Early Years Of His Museum
"Every industry should establish its own technical museum for the inspiration of others in industry, the study of
its clients, and the general education of the public, and they should not only cover history, but present products
and possibilities for the future" -- John Woodman Higgins
Young John
John Woodman Higgins was born on West Street in Worcester, Massachusetts on September 1, 1874. The
younger son of Milton Prince and Katherine Elizabeth (Chapin) Higgins, John was named for his father's professor
at the Chandler Scientific School of Dartmouth College. Milton Higgins was affiliated with Worcester Polytechnic
Institute, a founder and president of Norton Company, as well as the father of the modern trade school movement
in the U.S.
Except for one year in Atlanta, Higgins was schooled in Worcester. He was poor in spelling and languages,
but shared his father's natural talent and interest in mathematics and mechanics. He also possessed a fascination
with metalworking and spent many hours observing blacksmiths, farmers and factory workers at work. Like many
of his contemporaries, young John was also enchanted by the chivalric tales of knights and knighthood, a common
literary theme at that time. These interests manifested themselves in a life-long devotion to steel.
A Doctor or Manufacturer
Since his youth, Higgins had wanted to be either a doctor or a manufacturer. Therefore, it was not surprising
that in 1896 after graduating from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, John joined his father's Plunger Elevator Company.
When the firm was sold, the two men purchased the Worcester Ferrule and Manufacturing Company, reorganizing it
in1905 as the Worcester Pressed Steel Company. When his father died in 1912, Higgins became President and
Treasurer, positions he held until 1950 when his oldest son took over.
A Cellar Painted Silver
On January 17, 1906 after what he described as a "very, very long" courtship, Higgins married Clara Louise
Carter of St. Louis. They soon visited Europe, and while in Venice, Higgins purchased his earliest documentable
armor: a modern reproduction. By 1914, the Higginses, now a family with a son, Carter (soon followed by another
son, Bradley, and a daughter, Mary Louise) built a new house on William Street, near Elm Park. Constructed at
a cost of more than $80,000, it was filled with many state-of-the-art innovations, including coat dryers in
closets, ice machines, secret panels, shoe polishers and automated window shutters. Higgins' love for metal even
reached into the bowels of his home; the William Street cellar was painted in steely silver.
A Dream Is Forged
It was on one of Higgins' many trips to Europe that he resolved to build a first-class collection of armor. In
1927, he recorded that a June 1926 sale at Christie's in London, presumably the Prince Radziwill collection, set
him on his course. He lamented that while he had "one or two copies of suits...," he was still searching for a
"real good genuine suit...an interesting genuine museum piece." He achieved this goal in 1928 when he purchased
a group of armors from Sir Joseph Duveen, the famous art connoisseur and dealer. This was Higgins' first truly
significant acquisition and was followed by several equally important purchases during the next decade.
At this time Higgins' realized that he needed a facility in which to house his growing collection, and he begun
to conceptualize a museum that would serve as a temple to the art of metalworking, where exhibits of all qualities
would be available for hands-on analysis and comparison.
A "Steel Museum" Is Built
When his dream was finally realized in 1931, Higgins' "Steel Museum" was housed along with Worcester
Pressed Steel offices in a new, state-of-the-art, glass and steel curtain wall building. Designed by Joseph D.
Leland Architects of Boston, the structure cost over $300,000. The main gallery was inspired by the many noble
houses and castles Higgins had visited in Europe. This gothic-style Great Hall was divided into "Ancient" and
"Modern" wings, with exhibits showing both historical and modern steel products, ranging from Renaissance suits
of armor to a Piper Cub aircraft that was suspended from the vaulted ceiling. (The plane was removed in the early
1970's when the modern displays were eliminated.)
After touring the museum, visitors were invited to watch the manufacture of modern steel products in
Worcester Pressed Steel's adjoining factory, which Higgins called "the biggest exhibit of them all."
If We Can Strike A Spark...
On October 19, 1961, at the age of eighty-seven, the "man of steel" died of a heart attack. His museum, however,
lives on as an active memorial to one man's desire to record and praise Humankind's artistic and creative history.
Today, Higgins' spirit continues to fill the Great Hall. The ranks of armor stand resplendent, representing the
last of the pre-World War II, private formed American collections to remain in its original home. More than 75,000
visitors annually marvel at the trophies of one man's efforts, a dream made for real for the education and pleasure
of all and with his belief that "If we can strike a spark and interest visitors... we are rewarded."
Credits
Condensed from a speech by Walter J. Karcheski, Jr.,
Former Curator of Arms and Armor
Editor: Julieane Komenda Frost
|
