enjoying new hampshire treasures collections of the new hampshire historical society

EnjoyingNew Hampshire Treasures

Collections of the New Hampshire Historical Society

Think about the variety of objects

that people collect or save.

What do people collect?

coinscoins

dollsdollsstampsstamps

booksbooks

rocksrocks

butterfliesbutterflies

antiquecars

antiquecars

Hummelfigures

Hummelfigures

bottle capsbottle caps

BeanieBabiesBeanieBabies

matchbooksmatchbooks

vinylrecords

vinylrecords

seashellssea

shells

knickknacksknickknacks

comicbookscomicbooks

baseballcards

baseballcards

vacationsouvenirsvacation

souvenirs

scrapbooksscrapbooks

licenseplateslicenseplates

What do people collect?Entire books are devoted to catalogs, histories, and descriptions of objects people enjoy collecting —

cookie jars glassware clocks quilts and many,

many,many other things!

What do people collect?

The New Hampshire Historical Society collects…

objects printed volumes and newspapers photographs and prints manuscripts and maps and other memorabilia

— all in order to document, preserve, and interpret New Hampshire’s history.

we

Preserving History

The Society’s holdings

offer the most complete

picture of the cultural, social, and economic history of

New Hampshire from colonial times to the present day.

Preserving History

This object is among the first collected by the Historical Society

— in 1825.

The axe is of the sort that Englishmen traded with Native Americans. It was unearthed in Ossipee and dates to 1665 or earlier.

Preserving History

Made by Concord’sWilliam B. DurginCompany, this silverservice is of a morerecent vintage.

It was presented to theU.S. Navy by the Stateof New Hampshirein 1908 to celebrate the commissioning of theU.S.S. New Hampshire.

Preserving History

Limited space, as well as the desire to present artifacts meaningfully, permits the display of only a few of the museum’s 28,000 historical objects at one time…

…as in the Treasures of New Hampshire exhibition shown here.

Preserving History

The museum’s Treasures of New Hampshire exhibition is not the only one by that name.

In 2003, an exhibition at the Society’s library also was called Treasures of New Hampshire.

Preserving History

This earlier exhibition focused on collections at the library, including a number of historic documents…

— some with famous signatures.

Preserving History

Even though only two exhibitions have been labeled Treasures of New Hampshire…

all the holdings of the Historical Society may be considered treasures —

like the original State House eagle on display at the library.

Preserving History

Some items are treasurednot just because they are oldor finely made…

but because they belonged to persons important in the history of New Hampshire.

Preserving HistoryEven New Hampshire’s great Daniel Webster was once a baby…And this is the high chairhe sat in.

Preserving History

This vest belonged to a New Hampshire Revolutionary War hero, John Sullivan.

Preserving History

Important information about history does not come solely from the belongings of famous citizens.

Often, it is ordinary people who help us understand the history of New Hampshire.

Take Philias Napoleon Dubuc, for example…

Preserving History

Society Collections include This photograph of Mr.

Dubuc One of his uniforms from

World War I And tools and books he

used while working at textile mills in Pittsfield, Suncook, and Manchester.

Preserving History

The photograph is justone of over 200,000 photographs stored at the Society’s library.

Preserving History

Photographs, like artifacts, can be treasures of information…about peopletheir pastimestheir professions… and more.

Interpreting History

The Society collects objects made and used by ordinary people to help us understand New Hampshire’s past.

This high chest of drawers created by Bedford farmer John Dunlap in 1782 for his neighbor, Jane Walker, is one of the museum’s prized possessions.

Interpreting History

The Society’s curators suggest that visitors pose questions around several concepts to help them understand objects they look at:

Understanding Form and StyleWhat materials, colors, textures, lines, ornamentation, size, form, and proportion do you see?How did such choices relate to society and culture?

Interpreting History

Making and Marketing ObjectsWho made the object — an artisan, a factory worker or a machine?How did the object reach the consumer?

Owning ObjectsWho owned the object and why? What was the economic and social status of its owner?How rare or common was the object when it was made?

Interpreting HistorySuch questions will help us whether we are looking at an object as large and imposing as John Dunlap’s chest of drawers…

or as small and personal as this belt made byRachel Meloon,a young girlfrom Salisbury whowas taken captiveby Abenakis in 1754,when she wasnine years old.

Interpreting History

Those same questions can help us appreciate artifacts that are…

or homemade.

commercially made

Interpreting History

And they help us appreciate very old artifacts

like this Native American stone bowl that dates back more than 2,500 years…

Interpreting History

…or much morerecent ones

like this Abenaki birchbark basket crafted around 1970.

Documenting History

All the treasures of the Historical Society share a common feature…

They have been carefully documented.

Documenting History

Each item that comes into the possession of the Society is assigned an accession number after it has been checked for its provenance…

to be sure it is an authentic artifact to be sure it is of sufficient historical value to warrant

being added to the collection to be sure that past changes of ownership were legal and to enrich the story behind the object so that we better

understand its place in New Hampshire history.

Documenting History

When an object is placed on exhibition, it is accompanied by a label that attests to its documentation.

EagleLeonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

Documenting History

An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle

Leonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

identification of the object

Documenting History

An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle

Leonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

identification of the object

the object’s creator

Documenting History

An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle

Leonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

identification of the object

the object’s creator

where the object was made

Documenting History

An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle

Leonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

identification of the object

the creator’s name

where the object was made

the date the object was made

Documenting History

An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle

Leonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

identification of the object

the creator’s name

where the object was made

the date the object was made

the materials

Documenting History

An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle

Leonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

identification of the object

the creator’s name

where the object was made

the date the object was made

the materials

the source (how the object came into the museum’s possession)

Documenting History

An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle

Leonard MorseBostonc. 1818Gilded woodGift of State of N.H.1957.54

identification of the object

the creator’s name

where the object was made

the date the object was made

the materials

the source (how the object came into the museum’s possession)

the object’s accession number

Documenting History

An accession number is the Society’s record for an object.It will appear on the label if the object is exhibited.

1947.7.15

1974.35

Documenting History

The first part of the accession number identifies the year the object came into the Society’s possession.

1947.7.15

1974.35

Documenting History

The second part of the accession number traces the consecutive number of acquisitions each year, and identifies which acquisition this is.

1947.7.15

1974.35

Documenting History

If more than one object is acquired in the same transaction, then a third part of the accession number identifies the individual object.

1947.7.15

1974.35

Documenting History

Sometimes, a label will take us more deeply into an object’s provenance, giving us a glimpse of the story behind the artifact.

Hooked RugElsie Tucker Hardy (1831–1920)Manchester, N.H.1876Wool, burlap and cottonGift of Florence Hardy1974.35

Elsie Tucker Hardy (1831–1920) made this colorful hooked rug commemoratingthe centennial of the founding of the UnitedStates in 1876. According to hergranddaughter, the donor, it was made fromscraps of wool gathered at the Amoskeagtextile mills, where she worked.

Enjoying New Hampshire Treasures

We hope that this behind-the-scenes peek at the New Hampshire Historical Society helps you appreciate how we

preserve document and interpret New Hampshire history

…and we hope that you will visit us soon!

© 2008 Christopher MacLeod for the New Hampshire Historical Society