The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

“The Inveteracy of Party Spirit is however indeed allarming at present.”: Press and Partisanship in the Election of 1796

Series: From Our Collections
By Amanda A. Mathews, Adams Papers
As another election season draws to a close, there is mounting concern over the state of American party politics with vitriolic and panic-stricken ads, headlines, and pleas for support dominating the media. We rush to declare an election “the nastiest ever” as [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 31 October, 2012, 12:00 AM

Society Launches Modern New Website

Series: Around MHS
By Emilie Haertsch, Publications
On 18 September the MHS launched its brand new website, complete with features including an interactive Adams timeline, a gallery displaying prominent objects and manuscripts from the collections, and mobile access capability. The site contains eight search tools and over [...] read more

comments: 1 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 24 October, 2012, 8:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Elaine Grublin
It has been busy, busy, busy at 1154 Boylston Street this fall.  And this week is no different.  Plan to attend one of this week's events.  And remember to visit the online calendar for additional information. Monday, 22 October at 6:00 PM, author Missy Wolfe [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 22 October, 2012, 8:00 AM

Mourning Jewelry: A Spooky Tradition?

Series: Exhibitions News
By Jim Connolly, Publications
Halloween approaches and the MHS has decked the halls with skulls, skeletons, and scythes. Or if you don’t find those creepy, then how about rings full of human hair? How about a brooch featuring a snake eating its own tail (the ouroboros, a symbol of eternity—in [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 19 October, 2012, 10:00 AM

The Intersection of Comics and History: An Interview with Jason Rodriguez

Series: Around MHS
By Emilie Haertsch, Publications
Writer and editor Jason Rodriguez’s work includes District Comics: An Unconventional History of Washington, DC, Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened, and The Little Particle That Could. His books have been nominated for eight Harvey Awards honoring excellence [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 12 October, 2012, 8:00 AM

Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch, Post 17

Series: Civil War 
By Elaine Grublin
The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. Saturday, Oct. 26th, 1862 Of public affairs, the chief have been the defeat of the rebels near Sharpsburg & elsewhere, & their evacuation of Maryland and Kentucky, - and the President’s [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 10 October, 2012, 1:00 AM

Brown-Bag Lunch Talk: “Some Are Weatherwise, Some Are Otherwise”

Series: Around MHS
By Anna J. Cook, Reader Services
On Wednesday, 3 October, research fellow Lauri Coleman from The College of William and Mary, gave her brown-bag lunch talk, “ ‘Some are Weatherwise, Some are Otherwise’: Popular Almanacs and Weather Cosmology in Mid-eighteenth Century America.” Coleman’s [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Friday, 5 October, 2012, 8:00 AM

"Representing Me": The Scrapbook of Eleanor Shumway

Series: Collection Profiles
By Susan Martin, Collection Services
Earlier this year, the MHS acquired the scrapbook of Eleanor Shumway, a teenager living in Newton, Massachusetts in the early 20th century. We see a lot of scrapbooks here, but this one is unique because Eleanor annotated each page, making the volume a kind of personal diary, [...] read more

comments: 2 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 3 October, 2012, 8:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Elaine Grublin
The fall season is in full-swing.  We are offering three evening programs, a brown-bag lunch, and a building tour this week. There is a little something for everyone, so plan on stopping in.  Additional details about all events are available through our online [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Monday, 1 October, 2012, 8:00 AM