You know those senseless dreams in which, for some unknown reason, you are in a strange place quietly admiring a row of gleaming old stoves and then you step through a door and are surrounded by a frantic buzzing and whirring of hundreds of toys and creepy dolls come alive, and you escape down a hallway to find a room with a billowy roof, full of old cars being driven by stuffed animals and music machines blowing bubbles? Well, there’s a museum in Maine that kind of feels like that.
It’s called Bryant Stove and Music in Thorndike, a small town just a few miles from Unity, home to the Common Ground Fair. Bryant’s sells beautifully restored antique wood cooking and coal heating stoves and for those alone it’s worth a visit. But it also houses a quirky, amazing collection of stuff, from button collections, to dancing Barbie dolls, to gorgeous working gramophones and player pianos. It is a little hard to describe, actually.
There are three sections in this small museum: the stoves; the toys; and everything else. The entry section belongs to the stoves, with rows of ornately decorated coal stoves on the right and many vintages of wood burning cook stoves on the left.
They were for sale but sadly we don’t have room for one.
The next attraction was the toy room. It was an experience. A switch on the wall brought the room alive from floor to high ceiling.
It was a mechanical toy fantasy land–a frenzy of movement, sound, color, and details–too many to take in–unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
To the accompaniment of carnival music, airplanes whirled, a bear teetered on a tightrope, toys rode on a moving ferris wheel, stuffed animals danced, and–my favorite–Barbie dolls jerkily emerged from a curtain in a fashion show.

Not your typical Barbie dolls. This was a tap dancing show.
There was way too much to take in. Every bit of space was stuffed with toys, moving or posed. It was dusty, kind of weird, very random, and oddly wonderful.
My favorite part of the museum, however, was the third section, a quonset hut with a billowy roof.

When printing photos, odd details jumped out, such as the feet on the left.

Is that a sausage grinder in the corner?
It was brimming with a fascinating hodgepodge of machines, from a whimsical collection of air-powered motors, to an amazing evolution of working music-making machines, flanked by old buggies and cars, all interspersed with miscellaneous odd and quirky things. And stuffed animals were propped in the oddest places.

A working hurdy gurdy
There were informative signs throughout and, if he’s there, Mr. Bryant provides a personal perspective on his treasures. We unfortunately only caught him for a short time.
It takes time to see everything at Bryant’s.
It’s like digging through some amazing person’s attic, or brain.
We didn’t even scratch the surface. The museum was dog-friendly, but Zoe was nonplussed.
Next time, we’ll leave Zoe home, and have a leisurely browse through this creation of a brilliant, unique imagination.
Fascinating
It’s quite a place.
Bill and Muir’s dream come true…they actively seek out museums like this. I will definitely share this with them. And actually, I appreciate these little quirky places too 😆. Thanks cousin!
This place was especially unique because of all the old music makers. I have never seen anything like them. We are looking forward to going back.
If you ever get to Pennsylvania again, an absolutely incredible (but very different kind of) museum is the Mercer Museum, in Doylestown, Pa. It is still the home of the Mercer Tile Works. https://www.mercermuseum.org/visit/mercer-museum/
That looks like our kind of place, Arlene. Thanks. We’ll be back to Pennsylvania and definitely will check out the Mercer.
I was a potter for years and love the old gorgeous tiles made there (arts and crafts period). But we were blown away by both the museum and Mercer’s home.
Do you still make pottery?
No, I am no longer physically capable of lifting 50 lb. boxes of clay, etc. Even sitting at a wheel is too difficult. Old potters always have bad backs…haha. It’s ok…I just change focus as I age. We sing now. Folk dance is out, too.
Yep, I think you’ve discovered how to age well–no fretting about what you can’t do, just change focus.
I am trying…xoxoxo
Ooh, not sure I’d be able to look round a place like this for more than 5 minutes. Dancing dolls would give me the creeps. Zoe looks bemused by the whole experience!
Ha. You would have had nightmares–guaranteed. It was like a Zombie Barbie convention overseen by staring, creepy baby dolls. At least there weren’t any clowns. Zoe was bemused–she couldn’t figure out what we were doing there.
The old stoves remind me of the wood stove my grandmother cooked on her entire life. I enjoy wandering around places like that. I’ve been in plenty of antique shops here in the south but none with the kind of stuff you saw there. The owner must have some amazing stories to tell.
I love the old wood cook stoves. These were so beautiful, I was caressing them as if they were living creatures.
Yes, amazing is right. We heard the tail end of one of Mr. Bryant’s story–he was playing an old cylinder gramophone of a comic storyteller. Not only is he a marvelous history source, but he can demonstrate how those old fragile magical machines work. We can’t wait to go back when he is there.
I think I might be a little nonplussed, too. It looks like a fascinating place.
It was a bit overwhelming–especially the toy room. If you ever have a little extra time up in the Unity area, this place definitely is worth a stop.
What a fascinating place! I love looking in places like these. What an amazing collection of things. I love the stoves and seeing old toys takes me back to my childhood when life was a little more simple and we had to use our imaginations rather than watch screens all day! Thanks for sharing this really interesting array of items.
You’re welcome. What struck me there was how much attention to beauty and craftsmanship there was in even the most utilitarian pieces. Many of the stoves were works of art.
Wowsa! Clif and I live within driving distance. We’ll have to make a pilgrimage soon.
It’s quite an experience.
I’m so looking forward to visiting this store/museum.
Gonna have to remember that place. We expect to be in Maine next summer
Maine is full of wonderful places and some fantastic museums. This one is quirky and a bit out of the way, but if you are anywhere near the area, it’s definitely worth a stop.
What an amazingly kinky, quirky place. Poor Zoe does look quite worried.
Quirky, yes. I’m not so sure about kinky, although there was a disheveled 70’s hooker look to some of the Barbies. Zoe always wants so badly to be good and she just couldn’t figure out what this place was.
The Barbies reminded me of a caravan park we stayed in. https://pommepal.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/ravensthorp-a-caravan-park-with-attitude/
Compromised Barbies indeed. Very, very funny. Loved the succulent toilets. I savor forays into little worlds of eccentricity.
Me too it’s what makes independent travel so rewarding…
You’re right, a kindred spirit to the Italian Wizard of Oz indeed. (Though Mr Bryant’s place looks quite a bit larger!)