The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

Happy Halloween!

Series: From Our Collections
By Jeremy Dibbell
    Happy Halloween from all of us at the Historical Society! This scary little guy (or is he laughing?) is a silver gun sight attached to a ~1770s English fowling piece made by John Parkes of Birmingham, England, and originally owned by Paul Revere. The sight [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 31 October, 2010, 8:00 AM

An Adams Family Razor

Series: From Our Collections
By Jeremy Dibbell
Among the other recent interesting finds our Preservation Librarian Kathy Griffin has made in the Society's pre-1900 archives is a 25 June 1860 note from Dr. Charles G. Greene of Boston, which accompanied his donation of a razor used by John and John Quincy Adams: "A razor, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 26 October, 2010, 10:11 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Jeremy Dibbell
- We hope you'll join us on Wednesday, 27 October for an author talk with Pauline Maier about her new book Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. The reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., with the talk getting underway at 6 p.m. Registration for this event [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 25 October, 2010, 7:42 AM

Quincys Take Center Stage

Series: Exhibitions News
By Jeremy Dibbell
Our fall exhibit, Josiah Quincy: A Lost Hero of the Revolution officially opens on Saturday, and we hope you'll come by and see what we have on display. The show will be open to the public without charge, 1:00-4:00 p.m., Monday-Saturday, 23 October 2010 - 22 January 2011, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 20 October, 2010, 8:09 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Jeremy Dibbell
On Wednesday, 20 October Members and Fellows of the Society are invited to a reception marking the opening of our fall exhibit, "Josiah Quincy: A Lost Hero of the Revolution." The reception will begin at 6 p.m., with a presentation by Daniel R. Coquillette of Boston College [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 18 October, 2010, 7:44 AM

MHS Announces New Membership Plans

Series: Around MHS
By Jeremy Dibbell
In case you don't receive @MHS, the Society's e-newsletter (and if you don't, you can sign up here), I wanted to highlight an important announcement in the new issue: some new membership plans and rates. By popular demand, we have extended the special one-year introductory [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 15 October, 2010, 7:37 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Jeremy Dibbell
Two seminars and a brown-bag lunch this week: - On Tuesday, 12 October, at 5:15 p.m., as part of the Boston Environmental History seminar series, Matthew McKenzie of the University of Connecticut at Avery Point will discuss his paper "A History of Denial: Romanticization [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 12 October, 2010, 8:00 AM

Call for Papers: MHS Graduate Student Symposium

Series: Around MHS
By Jeremy Dibbell
"Collecting History: The Massachusetts Historical Society Graduate Symposium" "I must study Politicks and War that my Sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. my Sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History Naval Architecture, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 8 October, 2010, 3:00 PM

Holiday Closure Notice

Series: Around MHS
By Jeremy Dibbell
Please note: the MHS library will be closed on Monday, 11 October in observance of the Columbus Day holiday. The building will be open from 11 a.m. through 2 p.m. for the Fenway Alliance's "Opening Our Doors" open house (your last chance to see the current exhibit, "Precious [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Thursday, 7 October, 2010, 3:15 PM

New on our Bookshelves

Series: From Our Collections
By Jeremy Dibbell
Another new arrival to our display shelves is Midnight Ride, Industrial Dawn: Paul Revere and the Growth of American Enterprise (just published by Johns Hopkins University Press), written by Robert Martello, associate professor of history of science and technology at the [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 6 October, 2010, 8:00 AM

More Bread in the Collections

Series: From Our Collections
By Jeremy Dibbell
After my post last week on a Revolutionary War biscuit, our Curator of Art reported that there were some other examples of baked goods in the MHS collections at various points. In December 1920 the children of Massachusetts' Civil War governor John A. Andrew gave the Society [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 5 October, 2010, 11:35 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Jeremy Dibbell
Here's what's happening at the MHS this week: - On Tuesday, 5 October we'll host a brown-bag lunch talk at 12 noon with Beth Luey, Assistant Editor of the Adams Papers, on her recent book Expanding the American Mind: Books and the Popularization of Knowledge. - Another [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 4 October, 2010, 6:42 AM

A Biscuit's Tale

Series: From Our Collections
By Jeremy Dibbell
Our Preservation Librarian, Kathy Griffin, is sorting through the pre-1900 MHS Archives, and has been coming across some really interesting pieces of correspondence, among which is this 1856 letter from Joseph Mills of Needham, MA: I, Joseph Mills, was the Son of David [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 1 October, 2010, 8:25 AM