Inside Andersonville
The Object of History
In a recent episode of The Object of History, titled "", 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: Email us at . Listen to "". Episode Special Guest: Brandon McGrath-Neely is a current student at Simmons...
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Eben Horsford's Nordic Nostalgia
The Object of History
In a recent episode of The Object of History, titled "", 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: Email us at . Listen to "". Read , , and of Hannah's blog post on "Horsford's Vikings of New England". Episode Special Guest: Hannah Goeselt joined the MHS as a Library Assistant...
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The Mortal & Everlasting Life of Frederic Augustus James: Enduring Life Behind the Deadline of a Civil War POW Camp
The Object of History
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...
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Events That Did Not Happen
The Object of History
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: Email us at . Learn more about the Lusitania Medal . Episode Special Guest: Mary Yacovone, Curator of Rare Books & Visual Materials, has been at the MHS since 1994, after beginning her...
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Relics, Part 2: One of a Kind
The Object of History
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 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...
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Relics, Part 1: Corporeal Remains
The Object of History
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: Email us at . 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...
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Egyptomania and the Art of Egyptian Revival
The Object of History
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: Email us at . Episode Special Guest: Lea...
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The Branded Hand
The Object of History
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: Email us at . Episode...
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Gouverneur Morris and the History of Disability
The Object of History
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: Email us at . Episode Special Guests: Jennifer W. Reiss is a fifth year Ph.D. candidate in History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is...
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“Holding the Atlantic World In His Mouth”: George Washington, an MHS Portrait, and the Culture of Teeth in the 18th Century
The Object of History
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. Learn more about episode object here: Email us at . 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...
info_outlineIn 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 [email protected].
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)