How Did I Get to the Cazenovia Public Library?

In 1890, a very generous and wealthy Cazenovia resident named Robert James Hubbard established the first permanent home for the library. He then took a Grand Tour of Europe and the Middle East, with the intent on purchasing a mummy and other Ancient Egyptian artifacts for a museum within the library. In 1894, Mr. Hubbard went to Cairo, Egypt, the whole time documenting his trip in a diary. While he was there he purchased me, a mummy cat, and a few other objects that are on display. I cost him 20 British Pounds, which was today’s equivalent of about $2000. I should tell you that today a person cannot go to Egypt and buy a mummy. But anyway, I was then shipped back to the United States (for another $2000 by Wells Fargo Co.), to the library where I was placed in a glass case on the second floor. I was received with quite a welcoming, too. A “Mummy Tea” was given, with the price of 10 cents per person, which raised $35. At that time, that was a lot of money. During the “Mummy Tea” people came dressed very fancily to celebrate my arrival and they ate small treats and drank tea.
I remained on the second floor for 104 years! Now, as you may know, I currently reside in the wonderful Egyptian Room on the first floor of the library. Throughout this entire time, while I was upstairs and now that I’m downstairs, whole families of people have been coming to see me. Take for example Betsy Kennedy, the Library Director. Did you know that when she was a little girl, her father used to bring her to the museum to visit me? Now she’s all grown up!