began to travel overseas in order to find skilled artisans capable of reproducing the museum's collection for sale in the Met Store. Kelleher began commissioning a wide range of reproductions of the museum's artifacts in materials ranging from ceramic to bronze. The objects quickly became some of the most popular items offered for sale at Kelleher's Met Store. Among the most popular reproductions created by the Met Store and Kelleher was a likeness of a blue Egyptian hippopotamus figurine dating from between 1981 and 1885 B.C., that was dubbed "William"; (The museum's iconic blue hippo is now sold as a merchandise line, ranging from "William" puzzles and stuffed animals to pillows and magnets.) Under Kelleher, the Met began to use its reproduction line as a way to support struggling artists and artisans. For example, in 1959 the Met hired a Chinese refugee who set up a temporary art studio in the museum's basement creating traditional ink rubbings, which were then sold directly to visitors to the museum, and hiring an Italian potter who made reproductions of a Pennsylvania Dutch plate. Kelleher also supervised the building of reproduction workshops within the museum to ensure the quality of items sold at the Met Store. He defended the commercial and artistic aims of the Met's line of reproductions in a 1970 interview with The New York Times: "If it's a faithful reproduction, it has educational value and it's a way of giving the object wider circulation outside of the museum." Kelleher was promoted to the museum's publisher in 1972. He was further promoted to vice president of the Met in 1978. Books published by Kelleher include Treasures from the Bronze Age of China: An Exhibition from the People's Republic of China (1980). He retired in 1986, but continued to work with the Metropolitan Museum of Art as an active consultant until his death in 2007. Two years after Kelleher's retirement, the Met opened its first satellite Met Store in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1988. The Met Store today As of 2007, the Met Store and its merchandising business, including the reproductions, begun by Kelleher, currently brings the Metropolitan Museum of Art over $1 million in revenue a year. The Met Stores' offerings currently range from small items, such as key chains, to a $30,000-dollar emerald necklace. There are now Met Stores open throughout the United States and around the world, including the flagship Met