Boehm Reception at Customs House Museum

“Today, we are presenting this magnificent collection of Boehm porcelains, in celebration of its 25th anniversary here at the Customs House Museum,” Frank Lott said. “I’m calling it, A Preview of Spring, as all these beautiful birds and flowers are on display a full month before Spring arrives. You feel like you’re standing in the middle of Springtime.”

Turnout for the reception was larger than expected. “It’s great having these folks come celebrate with us,” Lott said. “These are people who have a vested interest in this collection, through their financial support. We are celebrating today, then this exhibit will be open to the public for the next three months.”

Fred and Judy Landis are the founders of this Boehm porcelain collection. What they began has grown into one of the largest collections of Boehm birds and flowers in the country.

“We were introduced to Boehm’s work by Francis Cross,” Fred Landis said. “She would invite us over every time she got a new piece. We loved them all. When she passed away, she donated her collection to the library, there was no Customs House Museum at that time.

“We found ten pieces for sale in Kentucky in 1994. We asked 100 friends to contribute $100 a piece to make the purchase. That was the beginning, and it has mushroomed from there. It took 15 years to amass this collection of 128 pieces. Boehm is considered the first American producer of fine porcelain.”