This Week @ MHS

As our season of programs winds down, there is but a single lonely item on the calendar this week. Join us on Saturday, 20 June, for the History and Collections of the MHS. This free tour, open to the poublic, is led by a docent and lasts about 90 minutes. Visitors will tour the public spaces at the Society while learning about the art, architecture, history, and collections held here. No need for reservations for individuals and small groups. However, large parties (8 or more) should contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

And do not forget to come in and view our current exhibition. Open to the public and free of charge, "God Save the People!: From the Stamp Act to Bunker Hill" features documents, images, art, and artifacts from the Society's holdings to illustrate this turbulent time in the city's (and the nation's) history. The exhibit is open Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM.

This Week @ MHS

Once again, we are doubling-up on the Brown Bag lunch talks this week. We also have a public program and a free tour on the slate. 

First, on Monday, 8 June, stop by at noon for "Stray Threads: How the Factory System Unravelled Terms in Women's Labor in the Early Industrial Era." This talk is given by short-term research fellow Meghan Wadle of Southern Methodist University. Brown bag talks are free and open to the public. 

And on Wednesday, 10 June, pack another lunch and come in for "Wilderness and the Continental Soldiers' Mind: Eighteenth-Century Ideas About the Environment of Eastern Massachusetts, 1775." This talk by Daniel Soucier, University of Maine, is part of a larger doctoral dissertation project and it focuses on Benedict Arnold's invasion of Canada in 1775. 

Also on Wednesday, beginning at 6:00PM, is a reception for Boston Historical Societies. The MHS is pleased to invite representatives of local historical organizations for a chance to mingle and inform their neighbors about recent accomplishments and current projects. RSVP required at no cost. 

Finally, on Saturday, 13 June, come in for the History and Collections of the MHS. This docent-led, 90-minute tour exposes guests to all of the public spaces in the Society's home on Boylston Street. The tour is free and open to the public. Parties of 8 or more should contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This Week @ MHS

June is arrived, and with it come brown bags and conversations at the MHS. 

On Monday, 1 June, stop by at noon for a Brown Bag lunch talk given by Kristina Garvin of Ohio State University. "The Cultural Work of the Serial in U.S. Literature, 1786-1815" gives an overview of serial ficiton in the early republic and explores its particular uses and features. This program is free and open to the public. 

Wednesday, 3 June, sees another Brown Bag starting at noon, this time given by Jordan Smith of Georgetown University. His project, "The Invention of Rum," investigates the history of rum in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. 

On Wednesday evening, there is a special author talk and conversation facilitated by independent author and activisit Jim Vrabel. "How Community Activism Made the New Boston Better" will focus on the rise in community activism in the 1960s and 1970s as well as the state of activism today. Joining Vrabel are Tom Corrigan, Moe Gillen, Renee Loth, and M. Daniel Richardson, Jr. This event is open to the public with a fee of $10 (no charge for Fellows and Members), and registration is required so please RSVP. A pre-talk reception begins at 5:30PM with the event starting at 6:00PM. 

And on Saturday, 6 June, stop by at 10:00AM for the History and Collections of the MHS. Docent-led and lasting about 90 minutes, this free tour explores the public rooms in our historic building and touches on the art, history, architecture and collections at the Society. Tours are open to the public, free of charge, with no reservation needed for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the Curator of Art, Anne Bentley, in advance at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

Also on Saturday, beginning at 1:00PM, is the third installment of "Begin at the Beginning: Boston's Founding Documents." Led by historian Abby Chandler and the Partnership of Historic Bostons will look at the Massachusetts 1641 Body of Liberties, the first legal code in the English colonies. The talk is free and open to the public, RSVP required. No expertise necessary, just an interest in the history of where we live. 

Finally, don't forget to come in and view our current exhibition: "God Save the People! From the Stamp Act to Bunker Hill." This exhibit is open to the public free of charge, Monday-Saturday, 10:00AM-4:00PM.

This Week @ MHS

It is a shortened week here at the Society with a couple of early closures and a long weekend. 

Please note that the Library closes early on Tuesday, 19 May, at 3:45PM, and on Wednesday, 20 May, at 3:30PM. 

On Tuesday, 19 May, there is an Early American History seminar taking place at 5:15PM. "Slavery in Massachusetts" is a panel discussion featuring Barbara A. Mathews of Historic Deerfield, Gloria McCahon Whiting of Harvard University, and Maria A. Bollettino of Framingham State University. The session considers two papers, Mathews' "'Is This Where Titus Lived?' Researching and Intepreting African-American Presence in 18th-Century Rural New England," and Whiting's "The Body of Liberties and Bodies in Bondage: Dorcas the Blackmore, Dorchester's First Church, and the Legalization of Slavery in the Anglo-Atlantic World." This event is free and open to the public. 

And on Wednesday, 20 May, is the second installment of the Utopian Settlement series. "Mr. Ripley's Utopia" consists of a lecture and walking tour at Brook Farm (670 Baker Street in West Roxbury). The event is guided by Peter Drummey, Stephen T. Riley Librarian (MHS) and Maggi Brown, Regional Interpretive Coordinator (DCR). The program begins at 5:30PM - Sold Out

The MHS is CLOSED on Saturday, 23 May - Monday, 25 May, in observance of Memorial Day. Normal hours resume on Tuesday, 26 May.