“
—
summer flowers have sprung from the earth in such haste and abundance as to tell of infinite treasures beneath. It seems as tho
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the earth were overflowing with hope and promise, so that it can not contain itself, and finds expression in these sweet breathing blossoms.
”
–Marianne Dwight to Anna Q.T. Parsons, 16 May [1845]
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Featured Item from the MHS Collection
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This photograph of abolitionist and inventor Thaddeus Hyatt was sent to his Massachusetts lawyer and fellow abolitionist Samuel E. Sewall in April 1860. Born in 1816 in Rahway, New Jersey, Hyatt is perhaps best remembered as a structural engineer and inventor of translucent paving glass for sidewalks and walkways. Hyatt's “vault lights”—glass lenses set into cast iron (and later concrete) frames—created sidewalks which provided light to the areas below. The fortune amassed from this invention and others allowed Hyatt to pursue his passions which, after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, included the establishment of Kansas as a free state and the abolition of slavery. He became a friend of the ardent abolitionist John Brown, spearheading a fundraising effort on behalf of his family after Brown’s arrest.
Read more about Hyatt
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On Wednesday, 29 July, at 5:30 PM, Peter Drummey, MHS, presents
Salem History Through the MHS Archive
.
In Salem, as in many cities and towns in Massachusetts, local patriotism is so strong that most materials for the study of local history have remained close to where they were created. Nonetheless, since soon after our founding, the MHS has collected and published materials about Salem. Drummey will lead a virtual tour of letters, diaries, manuscript records, publications, portraits, photographs, and artifacts ranging from the time of the witchcraft hysteria through Salem’s golden age to the height of the India Trade, the industrial city of 100 years, and the influenza epidemic in 1918-1919.
Register for the online program.
On
Thursday, 30 July, at 12:00 PM
, Samantha Payne, Harvard University, presents
Reconstruction as the Last Atlantic Revolution
. This project explores the Atlantic history of Reconstruction between 1861 and 1912. Following emancipation, planters and capitalists in the United States, Cuba, and Brazil collaborated to implement racially discriminatory legislation. This wave of state building was designed to counter a black freedom movement that threatened the survival of plantation capitalism in the Atlantic World.
Register for the online program.
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Share Your COVID-19 Experience(s)
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The MHS invites you to contribute your COVID-19 experience(s) to our collection. Record your experiences on a daily, weekly, or intermittent basis. You can contribute your thoughts and images online. Visit our
COVID-19 web display
to learn more and to share your thoughts. Or, you can keep a journal and donate it to the MHS. Contact
collections@masshist.org
for more information.
Thank you to everyone who has shared so far. If you have not yet done so or would like to contribute again, please visit:
www.masshist.org/projects/covid/index.php
.
You can also read what others have shared.
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To initiate a chat, click the “Ask a Librarian” bubble on our
Virtual Reference and Chat Services webpage.
Chat service is currently available Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, and on Tuesday, from 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM, excluding holidays when the library is closed.
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Our Members are the heart of the MHS community and an integral part of the MHS story. Become a Member to help make possible the Society’s mission to promote the study of American history. Receive benefits including invitations to enhanced Member-only events; free or discounted admission to special programs; and access to publications such as our calendar of events, newsletter, and Annual Report. Learn more at
www.masshist.org/support/members
.
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