Erika Hapke Knowles took Ticknorites on a virtual tour of her 2021 Ticknor Prize-winning collection of books and ephemera related to her hometown of New Milford, CT. The collection is deeply personal, originating from a reference to her grandfather she encountered by chance in a history of the town, and expanding to include printed books, advertisements, and even a section of rug produced locally that reflect the social, artistic, and business history of the town from the start of the 20th century to today. As she wrote in her essay, “My collecting strives to keep uncovering the small stories that contribute to New Milford’s history,” and we learned about a few of those stories during her presentation.
Ticknor members can sign into their online account and watch Erika’s full talk on the Videos page.