Gordon Millar remembers the day he walked into an antique store in Missouri and was delighted by an intricate instrument with cast-iron gears and decorative engravings. An engineer, he was fascinated by its perfect instrumentation and quality craftsmanship.

He didn’t, however, know what it was.

It’s a different story today. Now, Millar not only knows that was an 1847 Thompson apple parer he purchased 20 years ago, he is also an avid collector, a member of the International Association of Apple Parer Enthusiasts and the proud owner of some 100 apple peelers.

“It was pretty to look at,” he said of that first apple peeler he found in Missouri. “I went from there, and I couldn’t stop.”

Now, he’s about to share his obsessive bounty with the rest of the Island.

Beginning Friday, Oct. 1, 40 to 50 of Millar’s peelers and parers will be on display at the Vashon Heritage Museum — an exhibit titled “The Appeal of Apple Peelers.” The exhibit will span the spectrum, displaying everything from antique wooden peelers to modern-day plastic ones.

According to historian Bruce Haulman, the earliest peelers consisted of a wooden board; a person sat on one end and turned a crank mounted on the other, where a two-pronged fork held the apple. By the mid-19th century, the first mechanical peeler appeared.

“Over the next 80 years, hundreds of patents were taken out on new designs and improvements to the humble apple peeler,” Haulman said.

Haulman, a board member for the museum, said the organization decided to put on the exhibit because of the way it speaks to early Vashon life. “At one point, apples were a very important part of farming on Vashon,” he said.

Historically, the devices also appeal to him — because of the way they speak to what he called the “mechanical obsession” of the 18th and 19th centuries.

“It’s an interesting little exhibit,” he said.

The Vashon Heritage Museum’s new exhibit opens with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 1, during the Gallery Cruise. Visitors at Friday’s reception will be able to use an antique apple peeler as well as press cider. The exhibit will continue until mid-November. The museum is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays. It’s located at 10105 Bank Road S.W.