Richmond/Frey Collection of Ethnological Artifacts

This collection reflects the wide-ranging interests of two 19th century amateur archaeologist from the Mohawk Valley, Adelbert G. Richmond and Samuel Ludlow Frey. Ancient artifacts from around the North America and around the world are on display providing a fascinating look at what people were collecting in the late 1800’s.

A.G. Richmond was an enthusiast in archeological research, and had a collection of about 20,000 specimens from nearly every state in the Union and many parts of the world. He corresponded with and bought or swapped artifacts with other collectors. The Richmond collection was fully cataloged in 1877 and acquired by the Historical Society about 1904.

Samuel Ludlow Frey was a descendant of a prominent local family and spent years of his life tramping about in Montgomery and Fulton counties seeking local Indian materials. Like Richmond (whom he knew and from whom he received some artifacts) he corresponded widely and swapped objects with other collectors of his era. His collection came to the Society in 1928.