On October 20, 1985, the Maine State Museum opened "Made in Maine," an exhibit on 19th-century manufacturing that represents the institution's largest research, collecting, and exhibition undertaking to date. For four years "Made in Maine" consumed nearly all the energies of the museum's staff, along with $400,000 in construction costs. However, payoffs for citizens of Maine, the museum community, and scholars of industrial history more than justify this initial cost. The exhibit superbly demonstrates the variety, pervasiveness, and duration of manufacturing in the state, broadening outsiders' perceptions of Maine as simply a region of forests, seacoast, tourists, and potatoes. When contemplating a major exhibit some years ago, the Maine State Museum staff took stock of its historical collections. As at other