Before the property changed hands, Dominy family members removed tools, equipment, fittings, and furnishings from the house and shops. Large equipment, including the benches and lathes, were stored in the barn of a Southampton antiques dealer. In 1957 the collection came to the attention of Winterthur Director Charles F. Montgomery, who pursued its acquisition with the enthusiastic support of the museum’s founder, Henry Francis du Pont, and with funds provided by Henry Belin du Pont. The Dominy shops have been on continuous display at Winterthur since 1960. In 1968 then-Curator of Collections Charles Hummel (right) published With Hammer in Hand: The Dominy Craftsmen of East Hampton, New York, an exhaustive study of the Dominy tools, archives, furniture, and clocks. This exhibition is based on that seminal work.

Image Courtesy of The Hunt; Photography By Jim Graham

Click through the image below to take a virtual tour of the Dominy Woodworking Shop