The Beehive: the official blog of the Massachusetts Historical Society

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
At last it is time to leave February behind. As the snow starts to melt, why not come in to the MHS for some history? On Tuesday, 3 March, there is an Early American History Seminar taking place at 5:15PM. Join us as Elizabeth Cover of Boston presents "Degrees of Britishness: [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 28 February, 2015, 12:42 PM

Attention All Cartophiles

Series: Around the Neighborhood
By Dan Hinchen
Back in Novermber I posted on the Beehive about the MHS library staff field trip to Worcester's American Antiquarian Society. The motivation behind the trip was to learn more about the AAS collections, policies, and how their services can benefit our researchers. We, the [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 28 February, 2015, 12:00 AM

Giving a Photograph a Name: Identifying Mary Swift Lamson in the MHS Photo Archive

Series: From Our Collections
By Sabina Beauchard, Reader Services
The photograph collections in the MHS library never fail to excite me. Dabbling in photography as a hobby has allowed me to better appreciate the laborious processes of early photography, and how beautiful the resulting images turn out. Recently, two unidentified photographs [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Tuesday, 24 February, 2015, 1:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
On Tuesday, 24 February, joing us at 5:15PM for an Immigration and Urban History Seminar. "'I Had Ample Opportunity to Notice the City as It then Was': Social and Economic Geographies in New York City, 1783-1830," is presented by Carl Smith of Providence College. Joshua [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 21 February, 2015, 3:16 PM

Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch Diary, Post 41

By Elaine Grublin
The following excerpt is from the diary of Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch. Saturday, Feb. 4th, 1865 In public affairs, rumors thicken with the promise of peace. The visit of F.P. Blair to Richmond has led to a meeting of the Sec. of State, & since of the President, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Thursday, 19 February, 2015, 12:00 AM

From Russia with Love: LCA’s Journey from Russia to France

Series: From Our Collections
By Amanda A. Mathews, Adams Papers
This month marks the 200th Anniversary of Louisa Catherine Adams’s six-week and nearly 2,000-mile trip from St. Petersburg, Russia, to Paris, France. Travelling by carriage across a war-torn Europe and in the midst of Napoleon’s Hundred Days after his escape [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 18 February, 2015, 9:58 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
As we endure yet another snowstorm here in Boston, we are entering a shortened week again, this time thanks to a holiday. Please note that the Society is closed on Monday, 16 February, in observance of President's Day. If you plan to come in for any of our upcoming events, [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 14 February, 2015, 12:00 AM

All the Single Ladies: Deliberate Spinsterhood in the 19th Century

By Susan Martin, Collection Services
With Valentine's Day just around the corner, I thought I'd take a closer look at some letters related to courtship and marriage that recently caught my eye. The Fay-Mixter family papers at the MHS include correspondence by the very witty Maria Denny Fay (1820-1890) [...] read more

comments: 2 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 11 February, 2015, 11:03 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
Assuming that we are not affected by another snow storm, there are a few events happening mid-week here at the Society.  Kicking things off on Tuesday, 10 February, is an Environmental History Seminar. Beginning at 5:15PM, Katherine Johnston of Columbia University [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Saturday, 7 February, 2015, 4:01 PM

An American Woman in Egypt, 1914-1915: Cairo to Aysut

Series: From Our Collections
By Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook, Reader Services
As Boston digs out from yet another heavy snowfall this week, it warms my imagination to return to our anonymous journey up the Nile by steamship -- a pleasure cruise documented in the diaries of an anonymous American traveler during the winter of 1914-1915. Our diarist’s [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Wednesday, 4 February, 2015, 12:00 AM

This Week @ MHS

Series: Today @MHS
By Dan Hinchen
January is in the bag and as February arrives we have a lot on the calendar here at the Society. Now that we have officially had our first blizzard of the year, be sure to check for building closures and event cancelations during bad weather before visiting the MHS. Starting [...] read more

comments: 0 | permalink | Published: Sunday, 1 February, 2015, 12:00 AM