The Art & Bessie Leybourn Digital Museum

12/06/2023

The Trailgazer

In 1962, Charles Wilson Leybourn, great grandson of Toledo pioneer John Leybourn, patented a map reading device he coined the Trailgazer. Prior to GPS, this small, metal framed magnifying glass allowed a driver to more easily and safely see map details.

Advertised in Popular Science and other publications, Charles's invention serves as an excellent example of Midwest ingenuity and entrepreneurship. He personally packaged and mailed many to customers around the country. Despite it's usefulness, the Trailgazer lacked slimmer, illuminating features of its more popular successors.

http://www.houseofleybourn.com



Toledo History Museum Imagination Station Toledo Maumee Valley Historical Society Toledo Lucas County Public Library The Toledo Museum of Art Historic Woodlawn Cemetery

06/01/2023

06/01/2023

Happy June! Here's a few summertime favorites from The Art & Bessie Leybourn Digital Museum.

Be sure to check out more incredible images of late 19th and early 20th century northwest Ohio online at http://www.houseofleybourn.com!

Toledo Lucas County Public Library The Toledo Museum of Art Toledo History Museum West Toledo - Neighborhood Group Lakeside Chautauqua Lakeside Heritage Society Historic Woodlawn Cemetery

05/15/2023

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03/03/2023

The Art & Bessie Leybourn Digital Museum is now LIVE on our website! Many of the beautiful photographs, including portraits, landscapes and related documents can be viewed at http://www.houseofleybourn.com by clicking "Art & Bessie Leybourn Digital Museum" on our website menu.

The Leybourn family archives include hundreds of original photographs, documents, letters, and legal correspondence relevant to the Leybourn family of Toledo, Ohio. In addition to family-specific materials, the archives contain numerous references and depictions of 19th and early 20th century northwest Ohio.

With an initial offering of approximately 100 items on March 1, 2023, the collection will be curated and supplemented with approximately 150 more items in the coming weeks and months.

Entrance to this museum is FREE, but donations to our non-profit for the maintenance and restoration of the historic brick cottage at 3502 Watson Avenue in west Toledo are most appreciated!

Home of the House of Leybourn and the Leybourn family archives, a collection of nearly 300 photos and documents about the Leybourn pioneers of Toledo, OH