With Halloween fast approaching, it is a perfect time to explore the holiday’s history and its connections to material culture. Halloween Postcard Collection Many of the objects from the early history of Halloween celebrations in the U.S. relate directly to women and the home. As Halloween evolved into a popular holiday around the turn of […]
Last month, I wrote about Mary Fleet’s needlework and the idea of reading the “negative space” of a piece of material culture—examining what is not depicted, but is essential to an object’s meaning and form. I wrote about how we should seek to understand Mary’s needlework within the context of her family’s enslavement of many […]
In object-based research, it is sometimes just as important to examine what is not shown as it is to observe and analyze the visible features of an object. I think of this as examining the “negative space” of a piece of material culture. The stories illuminate the object if we look at it anew. Mary […]
Sharing updates and discoveries. March is Women’s History Month. While I think that every month is an ideal time to research, talk about, and value women in every facet of our history, I will always embrace the opportunity to join a broader conversation about the stories of women’s lives. This month, I find myself thinking […]
Moving through the stacks and shelves of objects in Historic New England’s Haverhill facility, Mariah Gruner was struck by the impressions of so many bodies.
Mellon Conservation Fellow Karen Bishop shares her process for creating a replica of a seventeenth-century carved drawer and box. In the final part of this series, Karen creates the feet and trim. Lathe Turning After building the case and drawer, Karen moved on to the box’s finishing touches: molded trim and turned feet. Similar to […]
February is Black History Month. This month, we honor Black New Englanders through history with new research from our study center, upcoming events, and more. Through their stories, we invite you to celebrate and reflect on Black History Month with us. Stories from the Study Center The Study Center is Historic New England’s academic research […]
Mellon Conservation Fellow Karen Bishop shares her process for creating a replica of a seventeenth-century carved drawer and box. The project is a great opportunity for Karen to explore traditional woodworking techniques. The replica will complete the missing lower half of a box in the Historic New England collection. This multi-part blog will show how […]
by Wanda Hopkins Systemic modes of inequality have become so blatantly apparent in recent times that many social, cultural, and historical institutions have almost simultaneously responded. One type of response is the creation of land acknowledgement statements, which are offered to recognize Indigenous peoples as the original inhabitants and stewards of the land. Responses emerging […]
by Ellie Paliga, preservation services manager, northern New England In ways both structural and aesthetic, historic houses evolve with the people who inhabit them. While documentation—written records, building permits, historic maps, photographs, drawings—provide insight into the known history of a building, we can also find evidence of change in the building’s structure itself. Just like […]
Mellon Conservation Fellow Karen Bishop shares her process for creating a replica of a seventeenth-century carved drawer and box. A recent project in the conservation lab showcases one of the ways Historic New England’s Mellon Conservation Fellows gain hands-on experience while working with collection objects and staff. This multi-part blog will show how Karen makes […]
by Jennifer Robinson, preservation services manager, southern New England Energy efficiency is often understood as a modern concept, but New Englanders were managing thermal comfort and ventilation through passive design long before the advent of complex mechanical heating and cooling systems. Several of our own historic properties were built with design-driven features to naturally mitigate […]
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