By Dan Hinchen

It’s hard to believe that the end of the month is here already but we have a big exhibit opening to round out our January programs. More on that down the page. Here’s what is on tap at the MHS this week:

– Tuesday, 26 January, 5:15PM : This week’s lone seminar is part of the Immigration and Urban History series. This time around, Cristina Groeger of Harvard University presents “Laborers, Servants, and Schools: Aspirations of Mobility and the Reproduction of Inequality in Boston, 1880-1940.” John McClymer of Assumption College provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers

– Wednesday, 27 January, 12:00PM : Pack up a lunch and spend an hour here at the Society so you can hear short-term research fellow Alisa Wade, The Graduate Center – CUNY, present her Brown Bag talk: “‘Prepared to do Businessy with Many’: Elite Women’s Investment in Early National New York City.” This project traces, among other things, women’s participation in New York’s transition to market capitalism in the early republic. The talk is free and open to the public. 

– Thursday, 28 January, 6:00PM : “‘The Private Jefferson’ Preview Reception.” SOLD OUT This special member event gives visitors a sneak peak at the Society’s newest exhibition before opening to the public. Remarks by Peter S. Onuf begin at 6:00PM, and the reception and preview begin at 6:30PM. 

This event is sold out. If you would like to be placed on the waiting list, please call 617-646-0518 or click on the RSVP link to submit your name online.

– Friday, 29 January, 9:00AM : The Private Jefferson, Special Breakfast Preview. MHS Fellows and Members are invited to a special breakfast preview. For those who are unable to attend the preview the night before, we will open the galleries at 9:00 AM. Stroll through the galleries and talk to MHS Stephen T. Riley Librarian Peter Drummey before the doors open to the public. Coffee and pastries will be available. 

– Friday, 29 January, 10:00AM : The Private Jefferson opens to the public. This exhibit is open Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM, free of charge until 20 May 2016. 

– Saturday, 30 January, 10:00AM : “The History and Collections of the MHS” returns! Stop by for a free tour of the Society. This docent-led tour is open to the public, free of charge. While you’re here you can also take in the current exhibition (see above). 

By Dan Hinchen

Please note that the MHS is CLOSED on Monday, 18 January, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Normal hours resume on Tuesday, 19 January.

This week we have two seminars on tap to sate your historical appetite. They are

– Tuesday, 19 January, 5:15PM – Join us as Sara Georgini from the Adams Papers Editorial Project presents “The Providence of John and Abigail Adams,” which asks what it meant for the Adamses of Massachusetts to be “raised” Christian in America. Chris Beneke of Bentley University provides comment. This talk is part of the Early American History Seminar series. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Thursday, 21 January, 5:30PM – “Biography, Inc.: Two Writers Talk about the Trade.” Join Christopher Benfey, Mount Holyoke College, and Megan Marshall, Emerson College, in a wide-ranging conversation moderated by Susan Ware of American National Biography about teaching, reviewing, and writing biography. This seminar is part of the New England Biography series. Please RSVP, this event is free.

There is no Saturday tour this week.

By Dan Hinchen

Our map exhibition just closed and we are awaiting the arrival of The Private Jefferson which comes later this month. In the meantime, we still have a couple of free programs to tide you over this week:

– On Tuesday, 12 January, 5:15PM, there is an Environmental History seminar. “Airplanes and Postwar America: An Environmental History of the Jet Age” is presented by Thomas Robertson of Worcester Polytechnic Institute and assesses the environmental consequences of aviation. Sonja Duempelmann of Harvard University provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– On Wednesday, 13 January, there is a Brown Bag lunch talk beginning at noon. This week, Jennifer Chuong, Harvard University, speaks about “‘Chargeable Ground’ and ‘Shaking Meadows’: New Models of Land Cultivation in Eighteenth-Century New England.” Part of her dissertation research, Chuong’s talk examines Connecticut minister Jared Eliot’s An Essay Upon Field-Husbandry in New England as It Is or May Be Ordered (1748), with a particular focus on Eliot’s identification of different landscapes as entailing different proportions of effort, investment, and delay in their cultivation. This talk is free and open to the public. Pack a lunch and stopy by!

Please note that the MHS is CLOSED on Monday, 18 January, in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Normal hours resume on Tuesday, 19 January.

By Dan Hinchen

We are back in the library for another year (our 225th!) but we are starting things off slowly. This week we have two items on the agenda for you:

– Wednesday, 6 January, 12:00PM : “Factory Fleets and Fewer Fish: Fisheries Management in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, 1945-1996” is a Brown Bag lunch talk presented by Benjamin Kochan of Boston University. This project makes heavy use of the Leverett Saltonstall papers to explore the evolution of US fishery policy in the mid-twentieth century. The talk is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 9 January, 9:00AM : “Transforming Boston: From Basket Case to Innovation Hub” is a teacher workshop that connects the history of Boston to the major economic and social trends of the late 20th century, providing educators with classroom-ready materials that reveal how Boston became the innovation hub of America. This program is open to educators and history enthusiasts with a fee of $25. To register or to get more information complete this registration form, or contact the education department at education@masshist.org or 617-646-0557.

– Finally, this week is your last chance to see our current exhibitions! Come in any day this week, 10:00AM-4:00PM, to get a last glimpse of our map exhibit, the correspondence of Teddy Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge, and the Unitarian Conscience. Then stay tuned to learn more about our upcoming exhibit, The Private Jefferson, opening later in January. 

* N.B. – There are no Saturday public tours scheduled in January before the next exhibit opens.

By Dan Hinchen

There are no events on the calendar for this shortened week here at the Society. 

Please note that the library of the Massachusetts Historical Society is closed from December 24th through January 3rd and will re-open on Monday, January 4th. The MHS exhibition galleries are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on December 26, 28-30, and January 2. Find information on our website about our current and upcoming exhibitions. 

See you in January!

By Dan Hinchen

As we approach the year’s end there are three opportunities this week to get your fill of history before the holidays:

– Monday, 14 December, 6:00PM : “She Can Bring Us Home: Dr. Dorothy Boulding Ferebee, Civil Rights Pioneer” Join us for this author talk with acting New York State Supreme Court justice Diane Kiesel. She will discuss her biography of Ferebee, an African American obstetrician and civial rights activist, introducing her to a new generation of readers. This talk is open to the public with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Fellows or Members). Registration required. 

– Wednesday, 16 December, 12:00PM : Stop by at noon for a Brown Bag lunch talk with research fellow Kathryn Lasdow of Columbia University. “Mrs. Rowe’s Wharf: Femal Property Owners in Early-National Boston” offers some preliminary findings on the relationship between female waterfront property ownership and the rise of corporate-sponsored building projects in early-national Boston. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Friday, 18 December, 2:00PM : “Terra Firma: The La Perouse Atlas of a Lost Voyage” is a gallery talk centered around our current exhibition, Terra Firma: The Beginnings of the MHS Map Collection. Petery Drummey of the MHS will walk visitors through the mystery of the ill-starred Pacific voyage of the Comte de La Perouse. This event is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 19 December, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a free, docent-led tour of the Society’s home at 1154 Boylston St. Visitors will tour all of the public space in the building and will also have time to view our current exhibition. No reservations necessary for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley in advance at abentley@masshist.org or 617-646-0508.

By Dan Hinchen

Got a history itch? Maybe this week’s programs can help!

– Tuesday, 8 December, 5:15PM : “Rerouting Risk: New Orleans and the Mississippi River” is an Environmental History seminar presented by Craig E. Colten of Louisiana State University. This project looks at the impacts caused by flood diversions and offers a perspective on the environmental consequences of the impending transformations. Steve Moga of Smith College provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wednesday, 9 December, 6:00PM : MHS Fellows and Members Holiday Party. MHS Fellows and Members are invited to celebrate the season at the Society’s annual holiday party. Enjoy festive music, holiday cheer, and the annual tradition of reading the anti-Christmas laws. Registration required. Become a Member today!

– Thursday, 10 December, 5:30PM : “A ‘fine looking body of women’: Woman Suffragists Develop Their Visual Campaign.” This seminar from the History of Women and Gender series is presented by Allison Lange of the Wentworth Institute and looks at how suffrage leaders began to change the way they represented themselves and fellow prominent figures. Susan Ware, Schlesinger Library and American National Biography, provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Friday, 11 December : Library Closing at 3:30PM

– Current Exhibitions : Remember that our exhibit space is open to the public free of charge Mon-Fri, 10:00AM-4:00PM. 

By Dan Hinchen

Back from one holiday and looking forward to more. It is another shortened week here at the Society but there is no lack of good programming to enjoy. On the schedule this week:

– Tuesday, 1 December, 5:15PM : “Faces, Beauty, and Brains: Physiognomy and Female Education in Post-Revolutionary America.” This Early American History seminar is presented by Rachel Walker of the University of Maryland and explores how the “science” of interpreting facial features was used to distinguish between the minds of men and women in early republican America. Robert A. Gross, University of Connnecticut, provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

– Wedndesday, 2 December, 12:00PM : “Liberty Ports: Sex, Crime, and Policing in World War Two America” is a Brown Bag lunch talk presented by Aaron Hiltner of Boston University. His project tracks interactions between American civilians and troops, the military’s policing of stateside servicement, and the transformation of American cities during wartime. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Wednesday, 2 December, 6:00PM : Transforming Boston: From Basket Case to Innovation Hub, Program 4 – What’s Next. This program features a panel discussion with John Barros, chief of economic development, City of Boston; Marc Draisen, MAPC; Cassandra Campbell, Fresh Food Generation; and moderator David Luberoff, Boston Area Research Initiative (BARI). The program is open to the public with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS, BARI, or Rappaport Fellows or Members), registration required. 

– Friday, 4 December : LIBRARY CLOSED. Galleries remain open, 10:00AM-4:00PM.

– Saturday, 5 December, 9:00AM : Teacher Workshop: Roosevelt, Lodge, and the Rush to Empire. To register for this event, complete our Registration Form and mail/email it to the MHS Education Department. For more information, contact the education department at education@masshist.org or 617-646-0557.

By Dan Hinchen

We have a much-shortened week at the Society as we prepare for Thanksgiving, but there are still a couple of events going on here for you take in. 

– Monday, 23 November, 6:00PM : Join us for an author talk with Sally G. McMillen of Davidson College. She is speaking on her new book, Lucy Stone: An Unapologetic Life, which addresses Stone’s omission from the pantheon of women suffragists of the 19th century. This talk is open to the public for a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS Fellows or Members). Registration is required. 

– Tuesday, 24 November, 5:15PM : Mark Herlihy of Endicott College presents “‘A barbarous practice that would not be permitted in other civilized countries’: The Evolution and Enduring Presence of the African Dodger Game at Boston-Area Amusement Venues,” a seminar talk that is part of the Immigration and Urban History series. Jeff Melnick of UMass – Boston provides comment. Seminars are free and open to the public; RSVP required. Subscribe to receive advance copies of the seminar papers.

Please note that the MHS is closed on Thursday, 26 November, for Thanksgiving. The library remains closed through Saturday, 28 November. The exhibition galleries are open on Friday, 27 November, and Saturday, 28 November, 10:00AM-4:00PM. Normal hours resume on Monday, 30 November. 

By Dan Hinchen

It is a little bit quieter at the Society this week, but there are still some programs for your history-loving pleasure. Here’s what’s happening:

– Wednesday, 18 November, 6:00PM : “Transforming Boston: From Basket Case to Innovation Hub, Program 3 – The New Economy: Eds and Meds, 1980s to Today.” Regsitration is required for this event with a fee of $10 (no charge for MHS, BARI, or Rappaport Fellows or Members). Please note that this program takes place at the MIT Stata Center (Vassar Street near Main Street), room 33-123.

– Friday, 20 November, 2:00PM : “From Bunker Hill to Yorktown: Collecting Maps Along America’s Road to Independence.” Join us for this gallery talk in which Ronald Grim, Curator of Maps at the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, will discuss the history of map collection in relation to Terra Firma: The Beginnings of the MHS Map Collection. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 21 November, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the MHS is a free public tour of the Society’s building on Boylston St. The walk-through is docent-led and lasts about 90 minutes. No need for reservations for individuals and small groups, but parties of 8 or more should contact Art Curator Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org

– Saturday, 21 November, 1:00PM : “Begin at the Beginning: Boston’s Founding Documents.” Historian Margaret Newell leads a discussion of the enslavement of Native Americans from the first years of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Registration is required at no cost. Please RSVP.