The Object of History

On this episode of The Object of History, we visit an item from the MHS collection currently on loan to the Museum of African American History on Boston's Beacon Hill. We examine the imposing stone that enabled the printing of William Lloyd Garrison's abolitionist publication, The Liberator. While visiting the Museum, we learn more about the building's importance to African American history in Boston as well as the Museum's current exhibits.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-4-episode-7-Imposing-Stone  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Angela T. Tate is Chief Curator and Director of Collections at the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket (MAAH). She oversees collections, exhibitions, interpretation, and content, focused on the lives and descendants of the Black communities in Boston and Nantucket, as well as New England. Prior to joining MAAH, she was inaugural women's history curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC). She co-curated the permanent exhibit, Forces for Change: Mary McLeod Bethune and Black Women's Activism, which highlights the strategies Black women have used to fight for justice and equality. Throughout her career, she has worked as curator and public historian in a variety of archives and museums in California and Illinois that focused on telling inclusive and expansive stories of the American past. She is a PhD candidate in History at Northwestern University and her dissertation discusses cultural diplomacy and Pan-Africanism through the 1950s-60s radio program hosted by Etta Moten Barnett in Chicago. This work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the New York Public Library, and the Schlesinger Library at the Radcliffe Institute. Her work has been published in Resonance: The Journal of Sound and Culture, the Smithsonian's Afrofuturism catalog, Ubuntu Dialogues, and several upcoming publications. Find more information at www.atpublichistory.com  Cara Liasson currently serves as the Collections Manager and Registrar for the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket. Her career in the museum field spans over fifteen years, where she has worked at institutions such as Lowell National Historical Park and Old Sturbridge Village. She holds a B.A. in History from Wheaton College in Massachusetts and a graduate certificate in Museum Collections Management and Care from George Washington University. Selvin Backert is the Education Specialist at the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket. Sage Morgan-Hubbard is the Director of Learning & Engagement  at the Museum of African American History, Boston and Nantucket. This episode uses materials from: Osprey by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

On this episode, we visit the Massachusetts Audubon Society (Mass Audubon). While there, we examine some objects related to the early history of the Society from Membership Specialist, Emily Gray. MHS Chief Historian Peter Drummey and Bancroft Poor, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer at Mass Audubon, tell us about the Society's formation as an advocacy group at the turn of the twentieth century and how its goals have changed over time.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-4-episode-6-Mass-Audubon  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Bancroft Poor serves as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer for Mass Audubon. In these roles, he is in charge of information technology, human resources, capital assets and planning, and financial functions, including budget preparation and monitoring, annual audit and tax preparation, insurance, contracting, investment liaison, and banking. He is a member of the senior management team and one of the primary staff contacts with the Board of Directors, serving as staff liaison to the Board Administration/Finance, Audit, and Investment Committees. In addition, he manages Mass Audubon's Belize program and works extensively on Mass Audubon's internal climate change and energy conservation initiatives. Bancroft Poor has been an employee of Mass Audubon since 1984. He is a graduate of Harvard College and holds a master's degree in Public and Private Management from the Yale School of Management. Emily Gray is a Membership Specialist with Mass Audubon. This episode uses materials from: The Bond (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

On this episode, we continue our visit to Mount Auburn Cemetery. Joined by biographer Natalie Dykstra, we visit the Gardner tomb where Isabella Stewart Gardner is buried. We learn more about Gardner and her family's relationship to the history of Boston from Dykstra and Chief Historian Peter Drummey. Mount Auburn is the first American cemetery that purposely combined commemoration with elements of experimental gardening, picturesque landscape design, and access to nature, starting a trend across the nation in the mid-19th century that led to the creation of the first public parks in this country. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-4-episode-5-Gardner-Tomb  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Natalie Dykstra is the author of Clover Adams: A Gilded and Heartbreaking Life, which was a finalist for the 2013 Massachusetts Book Award.  For her recent book Chasing Beauty: The Life of Isabella Stewart Gardner, she received a National Endowment for the Humanities Public Scholars grant and the inaugural Robert and Ina Caro Research Fellowship from the Biographers International Organization. Chasing Beauty is a finalist for the Marfield Prize, the national award for arts writing. Dykstra has been an elected Fellow of the Massachusetts Historical Society since 2011 and is an emerita professor of English at Hope College.  She lives near Boston. Meg L. Winslow is Senior Curator of Historical Collections & Archives at Mount Auburn Cemetery where she is responsible for developing and overseeing the Cemetery's permanent collections of historical and aesthetic importance. Meg is co-author with Melissa Banta of The Art of Commemoration and America's First Rural Cemetery, Mount Auburn's Significant Monument Collection, in its third printing. This episode uses materials from: Elderberry (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

On this episode, we visit the Mount Auburn Cemetery in nearby Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts. Following a suggestion by Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights and Reproductions at the MHS, we investigate one connection that we have to the Cemetery: a key to Robert C. Winthrop's tomb.  Mount Auburn is the first American cemetery that purposely combined commemoration with elements of experimental gardening, picturesque landscape design, and access to nature, starting a trend across the nation in the mid-19th century that led to the creation of the first public parks in this country. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-4-episode-4-Winthrop-Tomb  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights and Reproductions, has been with the MHS since 2018. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Maine and an MLIS from Simmons University. Her historical interests include the history of the book, queer history, and historic grief practices. Meg L. Winslow is Senior Curator of Historical Collections & Archives at Mount Auburn Cemetery where she is responsible for developing and overseeing the Cemetery's permanent collections of historical and aesthetic importance. Meg is co-author with Melissa Banta of The Art of Commemoration and America's First Rural Cemetery, Mount Auburn's Significant Monument Collection, in its third printing. This episode uses materials from: Meadowland (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we visit the Bulfinch Building at the Massachusetts General Hospital to examine one of the most, if not the most, significant discoveries in modern medicine. Sarah Alger, the Director of the Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation, shows us the hospital's Ether Dome where the first public surgery using an anesthetic was performed. Back at the MHS, we sit down with Chief Historian Peter Drummey and Curator of Art and Artifacts Emerita Anne Bentley to learn more about the contentious history of this innovation. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-4-episode-3-painless-revolution Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Sarah Alger is the George and Nancy Putnam Director of Mass General Hospital's Paul S. Russell, MD Museum of Medical History and Innovation. She was a founding editor of Proto, a thought leadership publication that was sponsored by MGH for 17 years. This episode uses materials from: The Bond (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we begin our exploration of the greater Boston area and institutions that are connected to the MHS through shared collections. We first visit the Old North Church located in the North End to speak with Nikki Stewart, Executive Director of Old North Illuminated, and Patrick Gabridge, the producing artistic director of Plays in Place. We learn more about the building, its significance to the American Revolution, and its relationship to the Society's collections.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-4-episode-2-old-north-church  For more information on the staged reading of Revolution's Edge, please visit oldnorth.com. Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Nikki Stewart currently serves as the Executive Director of Old North Illuminated. Since 2020, Nikki has led the organization through a transformation that includes a new mission and interpretive plan, extensive research into Old North's Black and Indigenous communities, and the creation of new on-site and classroom programming. Patrick Gabridge is the producing artistic director of Plays in Place, a site-specific theater company that creates new plays in partnership with museums, historic sites, and other cultural institutions. They've created engaging theatrical experiences at Old North Church, the Massachusetts State House, Mount Auburn Cemetery, and many other sites around New England. This episode uses materials from: Sanctuary by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

Join us on January 6, 2025 for Historians & Their Histories, the new podcast from the Massachusetts Historical Society. In this new series, we are introducing you to the historians who write the histories. In each episode, we sit down with a scholar who has received fellowship support from the Massachusetts Historical Society. We learn about their origin stories and ask them about why they became students of the past. And we get a sneak peek at their current projects, too.  

On this season of The Object of History, we are visiting institutions and organizations that have a connection to the MHS either through collections that we house or objects that we have loaned to them. But, first, we begin this season by discussing our very own headquarters in Boston. We sit down with various MHS staff members to learn more about the construction of the building, its maintenance, and their own experiences at 1154 Boylston Street. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-4-episode-1-1154  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Dan Sweeney is the Facility Manager at the MHS. He began working at the Society in 2010. James P. Harrison III has been Custodian at the MHS since 1990.  This episode uses materials from: Canoe by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In a recent episode of The Object of History, titled "The Mortal & Everlasting Life of Frederic Augustus James: Enduring Life Behind the Deadline of a Civil War POW Camp", we discussed Frederic Augustus James's experience in the Andersonville prisoner of war camp during the Civil War. In this bonus episode, we sit down with MHS Library Assistant Brandon McGrath-Neely. Brandon shares his impressions of James's writings and discusses his experience as a Park Ranger at the Andersonville National Historic Site and National Prisoner of War Museum. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-bonus-episode-inside-andersonville  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Listen to "The Mortal & Everlasting Life of Frederic Augustus James: Enduring Life Behind the Deadline of a Civil War POW Camp". Episode Special Guest: Brandon McGrath-Neely is a current student at Simmons University's dual-degree Masters of Library and Information Science and History program. He is a graduate of Gettysburg College, where we worked as a Civil War Fellow, documentary filmmaker, and a Brian C. Pohanka Intern at Andersonville National Historic Site and National Prisoner of War Museum. This episode uses materials from: Bald Eagle by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)  Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In a recent episode of The Object of History, titled "Events That Did Not Happen", we examined several items from the MHS collections that marked events that did not actually take place. In this bonus episode, we sit down with MHS Library Assistant Hannah Goeselt to learn more about Boston's statue of Leif Erikson and Eben Horsford's efforts to commemorate Norse discoverers of America.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-7.5-eben-horsfords-nordic-nostalgia  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Listen to "Events That Did Not Happen". Read Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 of Hannah's blog post on "Horsford's Vikings of New England". Episode Special Guest: Hannah Goeselt joined the MHS as a Library Assistant in October of 2023 after graduating from Simmons' Master of Library and Information Science program. She mostly writes and thinks about manuscripts as material objects and their individual journeys through history. This episode uses materials from: Ginger by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we are focusing on the Civil War and the prisoner of war experience of Frederic Augustus James and others like him. Elaine Heavey, the Director of the Library at the MHS, introduces us to James' diary and letters held by the MHS. Historian Evan Kutzler, author of Living By Inches: The Smells, Sounds, Tastes, and Feeling of Captivity in Civil War Prisons, tells us more about the prisoner of war experience. And the MHS Curator of Art & Artifacts Emerita, Anne Bentley, describes a few objects in our collection created by prisoners of war or taken from prisons during the Civil War. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-8-frederic-augustus-james Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Elaine Heavey, Director of the Library, joined the Library Readers Services team at the MHS 2006. She previously worked as a high school history teacher at Bridgewater-Raynham Regional High School.  Elaine holds a BA in History and Religious Studies from Stonehill College, and an Masters in Library Science from Simmons College. Evan Kutzler is an associate professor of U.S. and public history at Western Michigan University. He is the author of Living by Inches: The Smells, Sounds, Tastes, and Feeling of Captivity in CIvil War Prisons (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2019) and a former park ranger at Andersonville National Historic Site. This episode uses materials from: Bald Eagle by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

On this episode, we take a look at events that never happened and are yet commemorated in some fashion. We find the monument to one such event on Boston's Commonwealth Avenue Mall. We also take a look at a token that marks the presidential election of an American politician and a set of medals struck to mark a great naval victory, neither of which happened. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-7-events-that-did-not-happen  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Learn more about the Lusitania Medal here. Episode Special Guest: Mary Yacovone, Curator of Rare Books & Visual Materials, has been at the MHS since 1994, after beginning her library career at the Essex Institute in Salem, Mass. She holds a B.A. in English from Tufts University and a Masters in Library Science from Simmons College. This episode uses materials from: Ginger by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we continue our conversation with Prof. Matthew Dennis, author of the book American Relics and the Politics of Public Memory. Prof. Dennis discussed corporeal relics with us in Part 1 of this discussion. In Part 2, we talk about natural specimens as well as objects that are given significance by the connection they have to an historic event or figure. MHS Curator of Art & Artifacts Emerita, Anne Bentley, and Chief Historian & Stephen T. Riley Librarian, Peter Drummey, also return to help us look at the remains of a Blackburnian warbler and a pair of epaulets that belonged to General George Washington. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-6-relics-one-of-a-kind  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Matthew Dennis is Professor of History and Environmental Studies Emeritus at the University of Oregon and now lives in New York City. His books include Cultivating a Landscape of Peace: Iroquois-European Encounters in 17th-Century America; Red, White, and Blue Letter Days: An American Calendar; Riot and Revelry in Early America; Encyclopedia of Holidays and Celebrations, 3 vols.; Seneca Possessed: Indians, Witchcraft, and Power in the Early American Republic; and American Relics and the Politics of Public Memory. This episode uses materials from: Yellow-rumped Warbler by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we speak with historian Matthew Dennis about his book, which looks at relics in American memory. With Peter Drummey, the Chief Historian & Stephen T. Riley Librarian, and Anne Bentley, the Curator of Art & Artifacts Emerita at the MHS, we examine two pieces of a blood-soaked towel and a fishhook made from human bone. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-5-relics-corporeal-remains  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Matthew Dennis is Professor of History and Environmental Studies Emeritus at the University of Oregon and now lives in New York City. His books include Cultivating a Landscape of Peace: Iroquois-European Encounters in 17th-Century America; Red, White, and Blue Letter Days: An American Calendar; Riot and Revelry in Early America; Encyclopedia of Holidays and Celebrations, 3 vols.; Seneca Possessed: Indians, Witchcraft, and Power in the Early American Republic; and American Relics and the Politics of Public Memory. This episode uses materials from: Monday by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)   Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

On this episode, we are investigating the phenomenon of Egyptomania, a "fascination with the style of Egypt, but also the people, and the landscape, and antiquity". We sit down with Lea Stephenson, a PhD Candidate in Art History at the University of Delaware, to examine Egyptomania's second wave during the Gilded Age. Lea helps us examine two collections by Americans who documented their travels to Egypt through various media. We also discuss these American travelers and their relationship with the landscape. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-4-egyptomania Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Lea Stephenson is a PhD Candidate in Art History at the University of Delaware, where her dissertation considers Euro-American artists and collectors in Egypt during the Gilded Age. Currently, she is the Luce Foundation Curatorial Fellow in American Paintings & Works on Paper at Historic Deerfield. This episode uses materials from: Box Canyon by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)        Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)        Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

On this episode, learn more about abolitionist Jonathan Walker, known as the “Branded Hand”, because of a punishment he received for attempting to rescue 7 enslaved laborers in 1844. Hannah Elder, the Associate Reference Librarian for Rights and Reproductions at the MHS, and Katherine Fein, a PhD candidate in the Department of Art History & Archaeology at Columbia University, join us as we discuss how abolitionists harnessed the new technology of photography to showcase the brutality of the system of slavery. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-3-branded-hand  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests:  Katherine Fein is a PhD candidate in the Department of Art History & Archaeology at Columbia University. Her article about the daguerreotype of Jonathan Walker's branded hand was published in Oxford Art Journal. Hannah Elder, Associate Reference Librarian for Rights and Reproductions, has been with the MHS since 2018. She holds a BA in Anthropology from the University of Maine and an MLIS from Simmons University. Her historical interests include the history of the book, queer history, and the lived experiences of ordinary women. This episode uses materials from: Belted Kingfisher by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)       Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)       Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we discuss the field of Disability History and how it relates to several items at the MHS. Jenny Reiss, a Ph.D. candidate at University of Pennsylvania, introduces us to Gouverneur Morris, a founding father of the United States who lived with disabilities. We then take a look at several 19th and 20th century objects in the collection that relate to the history of disability. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-2-gouverneur-morris-and-history-disability  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests:  Jennifer W. Reiss is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is working on a dissertation, tentatively titled "Undone Bodies: Women and Disability in Early America", exploring the relationship between gender and disability in colonial America and the early Republic. She holds a B.A. in History and Political Science, also from Penn, a J.D. from Harvard Law School, and two Master's degrees, in Law and in History, from the University of Cambridge. Mary Yacovone, Curator of Rare Books & Visual Materials, has been at the MHS since 1994, after beginning her library career at the Essex Institute in Salem, Mass. She holds a B.A. in English from Tufts University and a Masters in Library Science from Simmons College. This episode uses materials from: Across The River by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode of The Object of History, we closely examine a portrait of George Washington in which he does not resemble the familiar face on the one-dollar bill. We discuss how this might be related to President Washington's longtime struggle with his dental health and the cultural significance of teeth in the 18th century. Episode transcript Learn more about episode object here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-3-episode-1-washingtons-teeth  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests:  Lucy Smith is a PhD candidate at the University of Michigan in the joint History and Women & Gender Studies program. Her dissertation examines the cultural history of human teeth in the early American Republic and has taken her to 34 archives in 21 cities nationwide. Prior to graduate school, Smith worked nearly a decade in the museum field, most recently as the Education Specialist at George Washington's Mount Vernon. This episode uses materials from: Lens Flare by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In 1860, a historically-minded donor presented the MHS with tree roots, which he claimed belonged to Boston's famous Liberty Tree. The tree, an American elm, served as a rallying point and important symbol for protesters and rebels in the years leading up to the American Revolution. Were the roots actually from that hallowed tree? Are they even from an American elm? In this episode, we set out to solve the mystery. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-9-roots-liberty-mhs-mystery  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests:  Dr. William (Ned) Friedman is the eighth director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University and the Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard.  He is deeply interested in the evolutionary history of plants as well as the intellectual history of evolutionary thought. Dr. Jacqueline Reynoso is a historian of Early America whose research explores processes of geopolitical imagining in eighteenth-century North America. She is an Assistant Professor of History at CSU Channel Islands. This episode uses materials from: Peas Corps by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we are taking a close look at some of the oldest items in the Society's collection. W. Dean Eastman Undergraduate Resident, Erin Olding, takes us along as she examines manuscripts from the Middle Ages that are illuminated with gold and silver.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-8-illuminated-manuscripts Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests:  Erin Olding was one of the two interns for the MHS's innagural W. Dean Eastman Undergraduate Library Residency, working with the Library and Research departments. She is going on to study History at the University of Massachusetts Boston. Dr. Agnieszka Rec is the Early Materials Cataloger at the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University. She is working on the collecting habits of Boston bibliophile Anna Cabot Lowell Quincy Waterston. This episode uses materials from: All the Ways by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we find out what it takes to live like a historical figure and how collections like the Adams Papers can help us rethink daily life in both the past and the present. We sit down with Gwen Fries, the Production Editor of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society, to discuss an experiment she conducted during the lockdown of 2020. Gwen spent a week of her life living like John Quincy Adams. We discuss what daily life was like for the sixth president of the United States and what it was like to emulate him.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-7-to-live-like-john-quincy-adams Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests:  Gwen Fries is the Production Editor of the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Fries holds degrees in history and corporate communications from Elizabethtown College and has been with the Adams Papers since 2016. Neal Millikan is the Series Editor for Digital Editions with the Adams Papers at the Massachusetts Historical Society. She is currently editing the John Quincy Adams Digital Diary, part of the Mellon-sponsored Primary Source Cooperative at the MHS. Laura Rocklyn is an award winning actress, writer, and first person historical interpreter who has performed with regional theaters across the country and worked at museums up and down the East Coast. She is currently an Acting Company Member with the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company and a museum educator at the Paul Revere House Museum. This episode uses materials from: Cases to Rest by Blue Dot Session (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, Danny Bottino, a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University, explains the importance of studying wax seals, objects that accompany but are often overlooked when historians focus on the text of historical documents. As key components of deeds, letters, and other types of papers, wax seals tell important stories that we are just beginning to understand. Dr. Sara Georgini, the Series Editor of The Papers of John Adams, also shows us one of the most remarkable documents in the entire MHS collection. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-6-stories-told-in-wax Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests:  Daniel Bottino is a doctoral candidate in early American and early modern European history at Rutgers University. His dissertation analyzes the interaction of oral and literate culture in the creation of landscapes of colonization in seventeenth-century Maine. Dr. Sara Georgini is the series editor for The Papers of John Adams, part of the Adams Papers editorial project based at the Massachusetts Historical Society. She is the author of Household Gods: The Religious Lives of the Adams Family and Our Library in Paris, coming soon from Oxford University Press. This episode uses materials from: Retrograde by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we are taking a close look at some of the smallest objects in the MHS collection. Inspired by a visit from Dr. Madeline Zehnder, a postdoctoral fellow in the Literary and Epistemic History of Small Forms Research Training Group at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, we first examine small copies of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. In addition, Curator of Art & Artifacts Anne Bentley shows us some of her favorite small artifacts from the collection. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-5-small-objects  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Madeline Zehnder is a Postdoctoral Researcher at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Her current book project investigates relationships between pockets, small print formats, and fantasies of spatial and population control in the nineteenth-century United States. This episode uses materials from: Burned by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

 In this episode, we examine an object from the first diplomatic mission between the United States and India. We learn more about an unassuming but truly marvelous piece of furniture that once accompanied the United States's first consul, Benjamin Joy, back from India. MHS Reading Room Supervisor, Rakashi Chand, joins the conversation to discuss Joy's role and this unique item. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-4-benjamin-joys-sea-chest Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Rakashi Chand is a member of the Reference Staff at the Massachusetts Historical Society and oversees the Society's Reading Room. She served two terms as the President of the United India Association of New England and is a member of Attorney General's Advisory Council for New Americans representing the Indian Community in Massachusetts. Rakashi takes pride in advocating for her community and promoting Indian culture, heritage and traditions in America. This episode uses materials from: Blue Blanket by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we explore the story of Thunderbolt, a dog who served as a companion to an American bomber pilot and POW, Lieutenant Robert Payne, during World War II. Research Department Intern Ian Morrison guides us through this story by highlighting the letters and photos that he discovered in the MHS collection. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-3-thunderbolt  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: Ian Morrison, a Boston-area native, is a Junior at Bowdoin College where he is studying History and Francophone Studies. He first interned with us to learn more about curation and library science, and has since confirmed his desire to continue on in the field. Lorien Foote is the Patricia & Bookman Peters Professor of History at Texas A&M University. This episode uses materials from: Cloudbank by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we closely examine one of the most noteworthy items in the MHS collection: the Bucks of America flag. The flag is one of the only remaining artifacts of the Bucks of America, an African American militia based in Boston during the Revolutionary era. There is very little known about the unit with no official military record of their service. We discuss the few pieces of evidence that we have including the flag presented by Governor John Hancock after the end of the Revolutionary War.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-2 Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guests: J. L. Bell is the author of The Road to Concord: How Four Stolen Cannon Ignited the Revolutionary War and proprietor of the Boston 1775 blog. An MHS Fellow, he helped to design the society's online exhibit “Thomas Nast: A Life in Cartoons.” Ben Remillard is a PhD candidate at the University of New Hampshire. His research interests include the study of war and society, memory, and digital pedagogy. His dissertation examines the lives of New England's Revolutionary War soldiers of color. This episode uses materials from: Great Egret by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we examine the career of Daniel Webster, a 19th century political figure and nationalist from New England. We look at objects that give a glimpse into the rural and political life of this legendary individual. We shall also learn about Webster's connection to the MHS, his understanding of the term “Union,” and consider why some view him as a controversial figure. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/season-2-episode-1 Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Michael Larmann is a PhD student in the History Department at the University of Montana and a 2022-2023 Benjamin F. Stevens Fellow at the MHS. This episode uses materials from: Big Feelings by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we are exploring the life of Margaret Fuller, the extraordinary 19th century intellectual who played a central role in the transcendentalist movement. We'll learn about a recovered parcel of Fuller's letters to her close friend, James Freeman Clarke. The letters had been lost for more than a hundred years before they were discovered carefully preserved in an ornate folio in the home of Clarke's descendants. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode-11  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Megan Marshall is the Charles Wesley Emerson Professor at Emerson College and is the author of Margaret Fuller: A New American Life. This episode uses materials from: Pounded Piano by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we are examining a group of letters written by the poet Phillis Wheatley to her friend Obour Tanner. These documents provide a window into a relationship between two young Black women during the age of the American Revolution. In Phillis' letters to Obour, we catch a glimpse of their spiritual lives, their joint efforts to publish Wheatley's books of poems, and the support they provided one another through hardship.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode-10  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Tara Bynum is an Assistant Professor of English & African American Studies at Iowa University. Dr. Bynum is the author of Reading Pleasures: Everyday Black Living in Early America. This episode uses materials from: Psychic by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Curious Nature by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Relinquish by Poddington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

In this episode, we are examining several medals produced when a German U-boat torpedoed a civilian British ocean liner during the First World War. The medals became the center of a propaganda campaign that spanned the Atlantic. Originally created by a German artist, the medals quickly became tools for the Allied propaganda machine and a nightmare for the German government.  Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode-9  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: David Silbey is Adj. Associate Professor at Cornell University and Associate Director Cornell in Washington. This episode uses materials from: Psychic by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Curious Nature by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Small Bummer by Poddington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License)

In this episode, we are taking a close look at an artifact known as the casket of hair. Join us as we speak with MHS president Catherine Allgor about this little wooden box displaying the hair of First Lady Dolley Madison and Presidents George Washington, James Madison, and John Quincy Adams. We'll also learn about the larger collection of hair held at the MHS and explore what is like to encounter hair in the archive. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode-7  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Catherine Allgor is the president of the Massachusetts Historical Society and is the author of Parlor Politics: In Which the Ladies of Washington Help Build a City and a Government (University Press of Virginia, 2000) and A Perfect Union: Dolley Madison and the Creation of the American Nation (Henry Holt, 2006). This episode uses materials from: Psychic by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Curious Nature by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Exlibris by Kosta T (Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike)

In today's bonus episode, we are introducing you to another object in our collections related to the Salem Witch Trials – the so called Witch's Bureau. You'll hear from Chief Historian Peter Drummey and MHS Curator Anne Bentley as they explain how the bureau came to the MHS, the documents that link the furniture to the 1692 trials, and the clue that led them to unravel the bureau's mysterious origins. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/bonus-witchs-bureau  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. This episodes uses materials from:  By the Pond (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch, (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License)  Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we are looking at the documentary record of the Salem Witch Trials. This disturbing tale of early America has fascinated generations and become a familiar story to many. But what it was like to witness this history firsthand? We'll take a close look at the story of Rebecca Nurse, a respected woman in her 70s who was accused of witchcraft. Through original petition documents and printed trial records held in the MHS collections, we'll explore Rebecca's individual experience and the role her community played in both persecuting and defending her. Learn more about episode objects here: https://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode-6  Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Elyssa Tardif is the Director of Education at the MHS and an early American literary scholar.  This episode uses materials from: Psychic by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Curious Nature by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Nocturne by Kai Engel (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International)

Welcome to The Object of History – a podcast where we unravel the stories behind historical objects held at the Massachusetts Historical Society. Join us as we take a close look at a letter written by Paul Revere, the revolutionary patriot famous for his "midnight ride." We'll learn how Revere authored his account of that pivotal night at the request of MHS founder, Jeremy Belknap. We'll explore how this letter was lost for decades before its rediscovery, and how it ultimately became a precious artifact in the MHS collections. Learn more about episode objects here: http://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode1 Email us at podcast@masshist.org. This episodes uses materials from:  By the Pond (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch, (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License)  Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we're exploring a set of items related to the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, the first African American regiment raised in the North during the American Civil War. We'll learn about the once lost sword of Robert Gould Shaw – the young white colonel who died leading the 54th into battle. We'll also look beyond this famous artifact at the ordinary men who served in the 54th. In remarkable numbers, they answered the nation's call to service. Despite unequal pay, discrimination, and the threat of enslavement and death, they fought for the hope of building a better, freer, and more just republic. Learn more about episode objects here: http://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode2 Email us at podcast@masshist.org. This episode uses materials from: New England is Interesting by BOPD (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License).  Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we're looking at the papers and artifacts of Nora Saltonstall, an adventurous young American who volunteered with the Red Cross in France during the First World War.  As a driver for a mobile hospital unit, Nora transported supplies and taxied wounded soldiers across the war front. For her services she received the Croix de Guerre – the highest honor given by the French government to volunteers. After returning safely to Boston in 1919, Nora embarked on a camping tour of national parks in the American West, where she met an unexpected fate. Learn more about episode objects here: http://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode3 Email us at podcast@masshist.org. This episode uses materials from: Out Notes (Instrumental) by Chad Crouch (Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International) Psychic by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk)

In this episode, we are looking at the story of Elizabeth Freeman, a woman born into slavery in the 18th century who successfully sued for her freedom and helped bring about the end of slavery in Massachusetts. Leaving the house of her enslavers John and Hannah Ashley, Freeman took up paid work within the household of the lawyer who represented her in court, Theodore Sedgewick. We'll take a close look at a miniature portrait of Freeman, a gold bead bracelet that once belonged to her, and a brief biography of Freeman, written by Catherine Maria Sedgewick. Learn more about episode objects here: http://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode4 Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode special guest: Felicia Thomas, Assistant Professor at Morgan State University This episode uses materials from: Psychic  by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Curious Nature  by Dominic Giam of Ketsa Music (licensed under a commercial non-exclusive license by the Massachusetts Historical Society through Ketsa.uk) Theme in G by Podington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 International License.)

In this episode, we are examining a few 20th century political campaign objects from the remarkable, but little known career of Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Chances are that if you have heard of Lodge, Jr., you likely remember his involvement in the Vietnam War. But in today's episode, we're exploring Lodge's earlier political career. We'll look at an undelivered speech drafted for Senator Joseph McCarthy, an unusual pair of campaign mugs, and a peculiar bronzed hot dog paperweight. Learn more about episode objects here: http://www.masshist.org/podcast/episode6 Email us at podcast@masshist.org. Episode Special Guest: Luke Nichter is a Professor of History at Chapman University and the author of The Last Brahmin: Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. and the Making of the Cold War This episode uses materials from: Psychic by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Curious Nature by Ketsa (Commercial non-exclusive license through Ketsa) Elephant Walk by Poddington Bear (Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported)

Join us Oct 4 for The Object of History - a podcast produced by the Massachusetts Historical Society. The extraordinary collections of the MHS tell the story of America through millions of rare and unique documents, artifacts, and irreplaceable national treasures. Each episode of the podcast takes you on a behind the scenes tour of that vast collection.