The Vent House Museum houses the largest known collection of materials related to the profession of a ventriloquist. Aside from the 500 ventriloquist figures found in the Museum, visitors can find hundreds of volumes related to ventriloquism in the Vent Haven Library. This includes books that are written in 8 languages dating back to the 18th century.

The Museum was founded by Cincinnati native William Shakespeare Berger or ?W.S,? as he is known by his friends. He worked in the mailroom of the Cambridge Tile Company in Cincinnati and retired as President of the company in 1947. He purchased his first ventriloquist figure in New York 1910. Named, Tommy Baloney, the figure started his fabulous collection. As the collection grew, W.S. renovated his garage and added a second building to house his collection.

From the late 1940?s to 1960, W.S. became the President of the International Brotherhood of Ventriloquists. From 300 members, the organization grew to have 1000 members. As he feared for his collection becoming divided and dispersed, he sought help to build a charitable foundation for his assets, property, and collection.

Today, the Vent Haven Museum, the only Museum of its kind, features over 700 figures, thousands of photographs, and playbills as well as a library of books.