See the World’s Largest Collection of Lithophanes at this Ohio Museum

When visitors step into the 1880s manor house at the Schedel Arboretum & Gardens, their first reaction is usually various expressions of amazement. At first, the lithophanes lining the walls look like simple porcelain plaques. Then a switch is flipped, light floods in from behind, and portraits, landmarks and scenes come to life.

“You see this really intricately detailed image,” says Rod Noble, executive director of the Schedel Arboretum & Gardens. “Maybe it’s a portrait. Maybe it’s a bridge. Maybe it’s an animal.” 

Toledo collector Laurel Gotshall Blair originally came upon a small collection of lithophanes at an International Music Box Society meeting in Berlin Heights in 1961. Blair then spent the following decades expanding his collection, eventually displaying more than 2,300 lithophanes in a private museum at his home.

He later donated the works, which hold the distinction of being the world’s largest collection of this 19th-century art form, to the city of Toledo. In 2002, the collection was displayed in a renovated space at the Toledo Botanical Garden. Since 2021, the Schedel Arboretum & Garden in Elmore has housed the collection.  

“They were of great utility back in the 19th century, before electricity,” Noble says, noting that people used lithophanes as shields for candles, so they didn’t have glare in their eyes while reading or sewing.

Today, museum visitors can see part of Blair’s collection on any given visit, with pieces rotated regularly and often organized by themes, such as religious scenes, animals, architecture and science. 

“Lithophanes went from a very utilitarian item through their purpose to just becoming something that was more of a visceral, pleasing experience,” Noble says. “It’s an artistic form that’s simply pleasing to look at.”

19255 W. Portage River South Rd., Elmore 43416, 419/862-3182, lithophanemuseum.org

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