This Week @ MHS

On Wednesday, 12 June, the Society will host its annual business meeting, a special event for elected MHS Fellows. The meeting will begin at 5:00pm and registration is required at no cost.

Following the annual meeting, MHS Fellows along with Members will be invited to a special preview reception for MHS Fellows and Members to get a glimpse of the upcoming exhibition, "The Object of History: 18th-Century Treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society." Starting at 6:00pm, the evening will begin with remarks by Peter Drummey, Stephen T Riley Librarian of the Society, followed by a reception and exhibition preview. Registration is required at no cost.

The next day, Thursday 13 June, is the official opening of three concurrent exhibitions. First is "Estlin Cummings Wild West Show." This small exhibit features childhood writings and drawings of e.e. cummings. Drawings and paintings of zoos, circuses, wild west shows, and house plans, along with a story about life on Joy Farm and the 1914 poem "From a Newspaper" showcase the earliest experiments with words and illustrations by the young poet. This exhibit will be on display from 13 June 2013 until 30 August 2013, 10:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Saturday.

Second, "The Education of Our Children Is Never out of My Mind" will display letters written by John and Abigail Adams to each other, to their children, and to friends and family regarding their views on education. The title of the exhibit comes from a letter that John wrote to Abigail, dated 28 August 1774, in which he exhorts her to train their children to "Fix their Ambition upon great and solid Objects, and their Contempt upon little, frivolous, and useless ones." This exhibit will be on view until 7 September 2013, 10:00am-4:00pm, Monday-Saturday.

Finally, the Society's main exhibition will open to the public on 13 June. "The Object of History: 18th-Century Treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society" explores questions about the meaning of historical objects, why they are preserved, and where their value lay, through the display of 18th-century portraits and objects from the Society's collections, along with rarely seen engravings, needlwork, maps, weapons, furniture, clothing, scientific instruments, and silver. This exhibit will also run until 7 September and will be on view Monday-Saturday, 10:00am-4:00pm. All of the Society's exhibitions are free and open to the public during viewing hours.

On Friday, 14 June, stop by for a free public program in conjunction with the new exhibition as J.L. Bell presents the Curator's Choice.Bell will discuss the provenance, history, and people connected with Ephraim Moors's powder horn, one of the items featured in The Object of History. Bell will also delve into his investigation into the object's details and what they tell us about the Siege of Boston. Carvings on the horn include a crude drawing of the Continental Army encampment at Winter Hill, five grenadiers, a mansion house, and the head of a beast. J.L. Bell is a Massachusetts writer specializing in the start of the American Revolution in and around Boston. His blog, Boston1775.net, features "history, analysis, and unabashed gossip about the start of the American Revolution in Massachusetts." This program will begin at 2:00pm and is free and open to the public.

And on Saturday, 15 June, there will be another free tour of the Society's home at 1154 Boylston St. The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led tour that explores all of the public rooms in the building will touching on the art, architecture, history, and collections of the Society. The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This Week @ MHS

Last Friday saw the curtain drop on our three exhibitions relating to slavery, abolitionism, and Emancipation. As the set-change takes place this week in preparation for our next exhibit there are plenty of other public programs happening this week to bring you to the Society.

First, on Monday, 3 June, the MHS will co-sponsor a conference in Worcester at the College of the Holy Cross. Through a series of sessions and roundtables, "Listen my children and you shall hear: balancing history and myth in Massachusetts public history" will examine and present organizations, programs, and projects that have successfully harnessed myths, expanded their narratives, and redefined their mission without losing their identity. There will also be practical sessions/workshops to explore "teaching the problem," and how to use this model for programming purposes in exciting ways that successfully challenge audiences. The conference for Massachusetts history organizations is presented by the MHS, Mass Humanities, University of Massachusetts Amherst Public History Program, and the University of Massachusetts Boston Public History and Archives Track. Ray Raphael, author of Consitutional Myths: what we get wrong and how to get it right (March 2013) will address "Why myths persists" in his keynote speech. The conference will take place from 9:00am until 4:00pm at the Hogan Campus Center, College of the Holy Cross. For more information, or to register for the conference, visit the Mass Humanities website: http://masshumanities.org/history_conference.

The following day, Tuesday 4 June, pack a lunch and swing by the Society for "What 'the Federalist Papers' Are Not," a Brown Bag Lunch Author Talk. Beginning at 12:00pm, Ray Raphael will consider the questions: When and why did The Federalist become The Federalist Papers? What role did the essays play in the ratification debates? Can Publius be considered an authoritative source for interpreting specific sections of the Constitution – or for discovering its inner meaning? Ray Raphael’s latest book is Constitutional Myths: What We Get Wrong and How To Get It Right. His previous works include Mr. President: How and Why the Founders Created a Chief Executive, Founding Myths, A People’s History of the American Revolution, and The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord. This event is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, 5 June, come on back for another talk in our Brown Bag series as Michael Hevel, University of Arkansas, presents "Betwixt Brewings: A History of College Students and Alcohol." Mr. Hevel's project traces the historical roots of contemporary concerns about college students' alcohol use, specifically focusing on students and alcohol between 1820 and 1860. Drinking behaviors, meanings that students made from alcohol, and their reactions to and involvement in the temperance movement are all gleaned from antebellum diaires kept by them. The discussion begins at 12:00pm and is free and open to the public.

Finally, on Saturday, 8 June, stop by for a building tour. The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led tour that explores the public spaces of the Society's home at 1154 Boylston St. Visitors will learn about the history of the Society, the collections it holds, and see some of the art and architecture of the historic building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tour is free and open to the public. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups. Parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending a tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This Week @ MHS

Attention Researchers: The library of the MHS will be closing at 4:00pm on Wednesday, 29 May, and at 3:00pm on Thursday, 30 May. Please excuse any inconvenience.

As summer unofficially begins this week, exhibitions officially close here at the Society. Thank you to all who visited 1154 Boylston to learn about abolitionism, slavery, and Emancipation over the past couple of months. Stay tuned for more information about upcoming exhibitions.

Now, with the beautiful week on tap outside, why not consider taking a walk to the MHS for a public program this week? On Wednesday, 28 May 2013, pack yourself a lunch and come by for a brown bag lunch talk. Beginning at noon, Heather Cooper of the University of Iowa presents "Confiscated Voices: representing the slave experience during the American Civil War." In this talk, Ms. Cooper will explore the ways in which contraband men and women - runaway slaves who fled to the Union during the Civil War - enacted their own representation of their changing status and slave experience and through everyday performance in the contraband camps, challenging competing representations of race, gender, and slavery in the process. This view is contrasted with the pervasive references to "contraband" in the press, on stage, and in political cartoons which suggested that "contraband" became the primary representation of slavery and slaves during the Civil War. Brown Bag lunch talks are free and open to the public.

Then, on Wednesday evening beginning at 6:00pm, the MHS will host a special musical performance by the Boston Saxophone Quartet. "Sounds of the Civil War" will feature familiar tunes from the 1860s that were sung around the parlor piano, as well as songs written specifically for the newest instrument in the era: the saxophone. Included will be musical performances and historical commentary on the selected pieces. Members of the Boston Saxophone Quartet have performed with the Boston Pops, Boston Symphony Orchestra, and leading Broadway theaters throughout New England. Conductor and instrumentalist Peter Cokkinias, Professor at neighboring Berklee College of Music, has served for over 30 seasons as Music Director/Conductor of the Metrowest Symphony Orchestra; has conducted the Boston Ballet and Boston Pops; and has performed with the Boston Lyric Opera, Boston Ballet, and Cincinnati, Hartford, Pittsburgh, and Boston Symphony Orchestras. Registration is required with a fee for this event. Free for MHS Fund Giving Circle members. Please contact the education department for more information at 617-646-0557/education@masshist.org.

Finally, on Saturday, 1 June, stop by the MHS for a free tour. The History and Collections of the MHS is a 90-minute docent-led tour that explores the public rooms of the Society's home on Boylston St. and touches on the history and collections of the MHS. The tour is free and open to the public and begins at 10:00am. No reservation is required for individuals or small groups but parties of 8 or more should contact the MHS prior to attending the tour. For more information please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley, at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

This Week @ MHS

As we approach the long Memorial Day weekend, there is a lull in the activity here at the MHS. There are no public programs scheduled this week. However, this is your last chance to view our three current exhibitions concerning slavery, abolition, and Emancipation in Massachusetts. The exhibits will be available every day this week, Monday-Friday, 10:00am-4:00pm, and are free to the public. The final day of the exhibits is Friday, 24 May. After that, we will make way for our next installment: "The Object of History: 18th-century treasures from the Massachusetts Historical Society." Stay tuned for more information or visit our online calendar of events.

And please take note that the Society will be closed this Saturday, 25 May, and Monday, 27 May, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. Normal hours will resume on Tuesday, 28 May. Enjoy the long weekend!