The Historic New England Library and Archives is temporarily closed to in-person, online, and telephone inquiries to accommodate a move from Otis House to interim space in Boston. This relocation ensures the highest level of care for and access to our archival collections during the upcoming major multi-year construction projects surrounding Otis House and planned improvements at our facilities. During this period of closure, staff is engaged in packing, managing the move, and unpacking archives materials, and preparing for reopening our archives operation in nearby, accessible space this fall.

We understand that suspending access to our archival collections and staff research support is challenging for researchers, and we are grateful for your patience and understanding. During this time, we invite you to explore the large selection of our archival and object collections that is digitized and accessible through our Collections Access Portal.

More than 1.5 million records documenting the cultural and architectural history of New England

The vast collections of Historic New England’s Library and Archives provide important documentation for New England’s cultural and architectural history. Its holdings include photographs, architectural drawings, manuscripts, ephemera, prints and engravings, artwork, and books. Visit Collections Access to explore Historic New England’s online collection.

In abundance and variety, the more than 600,000 photographs and negatives are arranged by specific medium, including extensive collections of daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, cartes-de-visite, stereographic views, albums, postcards, and standard prints. They record buildings, domestic interiors, commercial interiors, streetscapes, landscapes, people at work, relaxing and at play, and modes of transportation. Many of New England’s leading nineteenth and early twentieth-century photographers are represented. The Library and Archives also holds the institutional archives of Historic New England. Essential to the understanding of the mission and purpose of the organization and the passion and commitment of its founder, William Sumner Appleton, these records are also valuable for researching the history of the preservation movement in the United States.