newsletter

January 2013

Celebrating the Society's Many Connections to Abraham Lincoln

The Society holds a number of documents and artifacts related to Pres. Abraham Lincoln, including a table made for his second inauguration on 4 March 1865. Made by B. B. French of three iron components that were produced during the construction of the U. S. Capitol dome, the table held Lincoln's bible and water glass during the ceremonies. On 21 January 2013, after the swearing in ceremony for President Obama's second term, the table will be featured at the Inaugural Luncheon. At President Obama's first Inaugural Luncheon in 2009, the table displayed two boxes containing the flags that flew over the Capitol during the inauguration ceremonies.It was also used for Pres. Ronald Reagan's second inauguration in 1985.

More than 100 people attended the opening day of two exhibitions at the MHS celebrating Lincoln and the 150th anniversary of the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Forever Free: Lincoln & the Emancipation Proclamation and Lincoln in Manuscript & Artifact feature documents and artifacts related to Lincoln including the pen he used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation on 1 January 1863. Both exhibitions will be open at the Society through 24 May.

The anniversary, pen, and exhibitions were featured in several news stories, including:
"Forever Free: 150th Anniversary Of The Emancipation Proclamation," Alex Ashlock, Here and Now on WBUR, 1 January 2013

"For 150th anniversary, Emancipation Proclamation gets a show," Ian Simpson, Chicago Tribune, 29 December 2012

"150 years later, Lincoln's Emancipation still sparks debate," Rick Hampson, USA Today, 25 December 2012

"How the Emancipation Proclamation Came to Be Signed," Smithsonian Magazine, December 2012

The MHS Tweets

Following up on the continued success of the John Quincy Adams line-a-day diary tweets over the past three and a half years, the MHS launched a new organization-wide Twitter account: @MHS1791. It features historical tidbits, news and events, as well as behind-the-scenes glimpses of what happens at the MHS. Join the conversation as we engage with other historical and cultural institutions, scholars, educators, researchers, visitors, and history enthusiasts. Looking for other ways to interact with the MHS? Follow John Quincy Adams on Twitter at @JQAdams_MHS, visit our Facebook page, and read the Society's blog.

Introducing "The Object of History" with Peter Drummey

There is no one more knowledgeable about the Society's collections and their connection to American history than Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey. Join us for "The Object of History," a series of chats with Mr. Drummey about what documents and artifacts from the Society's collections can tell us about the characters, events, and issues of the past. The series begins on Wednesday, 30 January at 6 PM with Dumb Witnesses: Relics of George Washington at the Massachusetts Historical Society. On Wednesday, 6 March, he will present Walking the Great Beach with a Volume of the MHS "Collections" in Hand, and on Wednesday, 17 June, he will have a Conversation with David Wood, the curator of the Concord Museum. Registration and a fee are required. Register for all three programs in the series and receive a discount! The series fee is $60 public / $30 Fellow and Members; the fee for each program is $25 public / $15 Fellows and Members. The series is free for MHS Fund Giving Circle Members.

The MHS will offer additional fee-based programs this spring, including Authors & Abolitionists, a walking tour of Concord, Mass., with MHS Director of Education and Public Programs Jayne Gordon on Sunday, 28 April, and Sounds of the Civil War, a concert at the MHS with the Boston Saxophone Quartet on Wednesday, 29 May at 6 PM. Discounts are given to MHS Fellows and Members and all fee-based programming is free for MHS Fund Giving Circle Members. If you have any questions about your status, please contact the Development Department at 617-646-0543 or development@masshist.org.

Massachusetts Audubon Society Collection Guide Complete

The MHS is pleased to announce that the newly processed records of the Massachusetts Audubon Society (MAS) are now available to researchers. More than 100 record cartons chronicle the organization from its founding in 1896 as the first Audubon Society in the country through the 20th century as it became a leader in environmental education and advocacy. "This has been a time-consuming and challenging project over several years, and we certainly appreciate all of the MHS's many and varied efforts to bring us to this point, both safeguarding the original records and now making them available to researchers," said Bancroft R. Poor, Vice President for Operations/CFO, MAS. Read more about the Massachusetts Audubon Society collections at the MHS.

The Commonwealth's Attic: Curious Treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society

On display at the de Menil Gallery at Groton School in Groton, Mass., through 4 March, this winter exhibition borrows over 57 objects from the Society's collections. The items are as varied as birds shot by Theodore Roosevelt on vacation in the Adirondacks, tea allegedly gathered from the shore of Dorchester Neck after the Boston Tea Party, an elmwood burl bowl removed from King Philip's (Metacom's) tent after he was slain in 1676, a cane made from a charred timber of the White House after it was burned by the British in the War of 1812, and bullets fired in the Boston Massacre. Admission is free and the gallery is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM, and weekends from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The gallery will be closed 8 through 11 February.

Writing, Reading, & Preserving 18th-Century Letters

Calling all Teachers! Join us for a two-day workshop that will explore 18th-century letters from the collections of the Revere House and the MHS. Teachers will learn about the importance of letters as a communication tool in the 18th century, as well as their importance as historical sources today. Participants can also try their hand at writing letters using 18th-century technology, and transcribing letters written by members of the Revere and Adams families. The sessions will take place on Saturday, 9 February and Saturday, 9 March.

Object of the Month

"Let all your voices, like merry bells, join loud and clear in the grand chorus of liberty:" Emancipation Proclaimed on New Year's Day 1863

In this 1863 New Year's greeting, Brigadier General Rufus Saxton, the military governor of the Department of the South, encourages the African American population of the area under Union control in South Carolina to assemble to hear the Emancipation Proclamation read and "to indulge in such other manifestations of joy as may be called forth by the occasion." The celebration took place at the camp of the First Regiment of South Carolina Volunteers, the first unit of former slaves raised for military service during the Civil War. Read more about emancipation and Rufus Saxton.

Looking at the Civil War: Massachusetts Finds Her Voice

January 1863: "...started again in the morning although it was raining quite hard."

Letter from Daniel H. Spofford to Rachel Spofford, 25 January 1863

Daniel H. Spofford, a private in Company H of the First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, describes the futility and frustration of the so-called Mud March conducted by General Ambrose Burnside, then the Commander of the Army of the Potomac, in this 25 January 1863 letter to his mother, Rachel Spofford Heald. He also shares some details of his life in camp, including a visit to the hospital, a description of his winter quarters, and the predictions of a spiritual medium, also a private in Company H, regarding the close of the war. Read more about Daniel H. Spofford.

On View

Closing 31 January: In Death Lamented: The Tradition of Anglo-American Mourning Jewelry

On display through 31 January 2013, this exhibition features rings, bracelets, brooches, and other pieces of mourning jewelry from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, ranging from early gold bands with death's head iconography to jeweled brooches and intricately woven hairwork pieces of the Civil War era. These elegant and evocative objects are presented in the context of their history, use, and meaning, alongside related pieces of material culture. A full-color companion volume of the same title is available for sale at the Society and on Amazon.

View a selection of mourning jewelry online at www.masshist.org/features/mourning-jewelry and listen to an interview with Guest Curator Sarah Nehama on Fieldstone Common Radio.

Forever Free: Lincoln & the Emancipation Proclamation

This exhibition features the pen used by Abraham Lincoln to sign the Emancipation Proclamation on 1 January 1863 as well as a bronze cast made from a study model of Daniel Chester French's statue for the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Visitors can learn how the MHS acquired the pen and view paintings, broadsides, engravings, and manuscripts that tell the story of how Boston celebrated emancipation.

Lincoln in Manuscript & Artifact

This exhibition displays documents and artifacts related to Abraham Lincoln. Featured items include Lincoln's famous 1855 letter to Joshua F. Speed explaining his evolving views on slavery and the casts of the life mask and hands of Lincoln made by Leonard Volk in the spring of 1860.

Exhibitions are free and open to the public, Monday through Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The galleries will be open on Tuesday, 1 January, from 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM.

MHS Events Calendar

Please note that the library and galleries will be closed Monday, 21 January, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Wednesday, 9 January 12:00 PM

Brown-Bag
Greta LaFleur, University of Hawai'i at Manoa
American Insides: Popular Narrative & the Historiography of Sexuality, 1675-1815

Saturday, 12 January 10:00 AM

MHS Tour
The History & Collections of the MHS

Tuesday, 15 January 5:15 PM

Environmental History Seminar
John Spiers, Boston College
"Whither Have All the Forests Gone": A Case of Land Preservation in Suburban Washington
RSVP required

Saturday, 19 January 2:00 PM

Program
Len Gougeon, University of Scranton
America's Second Revolution: New England, Old England, & the Civil War
RSVP required

Thursday, 24 January 5:30 PM

Biography Seminar
Stacy Schiff, Pulitizer Prize-winning author
Biographers' Round Table: A Conversation with Stacy Schiff
RSVP required

Friday, 25 January 2:00 PM

Exhibition Spotlight
Peter Drummey, MHS
The Real Gettysburg Address

Tuesday, 29 January 5:15 PM

Immigration and Urban History Seminar
Hidetaka Hirota, Boston College
"Pretended love of personal liberty": Antislavery, Nativism, & Deportation Policy in Antebellum Massachusetts
RSVP required

Wednesday, 30 January 6:00 PM

Conversation
Peter Drummey, MHS
Dumb Witnesses: Relics of George Washington at the Massachusetts Historical Society
Pre-Talk Reception at 5:30 PM
Part of "The Object of History" series
Fee: $25 public / $15 Fellows & Members, Free for MHS Fund Giving Circle Members
RSVP required

Saturday, 2 February 10:00 AM

MHS Tour
The History & Collections of the MHS

Tuesday, 5 February 5:15 PM

Early American History Seminar
Richard Boles, George Washington University, and Jared Hardesty, Boston College
Panel Discussion: Race, Religion, & Freedom in the 18th Century North
Location: Old State House
RSVP required

Thursday, 7 February 5:30 PM

History of Women and Gender Seminar
Jennifer Morgan, New York University
Quotidian Erasures: Gender & the Logic of the Early Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade
Location: Schlesinger Library
RSVP required

All events are free and open to the public and held at the MHS unless otherwise noted. Reservations are requested for most events. There is a charge to receive seminar papers in advance.

For complete event and RSVP information, visit the MHS online calendar: www.masshist.org/events.

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