Enjoying New Hampshire Treasures Collections of the New Hampshire Historical Society

Think about the variety of objects that people collect or save. What do people collect? coins dolls stamps books rocks butterflies antique cars antique cars Hummel figures Hummel figures bottle caps Beanie Babies Beanie Babies matchbooks vinyl records vinyl records sea shells sea shells knickknacks comic books comic books baseball cards baseball cards vacation souvenirs vacation souvenirs scrapbooks license plates license plates

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 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’s William B. Durgin Company, this silver service is of a more recent vintage. It was presented to the U.S. Navy by the State of New Hampshire in 1908 to celebrate the commissioning of the U.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 treasured not just because they are old or finely made… but because they belonged to persons important in the history of New Hampshire.

Preserving History Even New Hampshire’s great Daniel Webster was once a baby… And this is the high chair he 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 just one of over 200,000 photographs stored at the Society’s library.

Preserving History Photographs, like artifacts, can be treasures of information… about people their pastimes their 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 Style What 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 Objects Who made the object — an artisan, a factory worker or a machine? How did the object reach the consumer? Owning Objects Who 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 History Such 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 by Rachel Meloon, a young girl from Salisbury who was taken captive by Abenakis in 1754, when she was nine 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 more recent 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. Eagle Leonard Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H

Documenting History An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle Leonard Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H identification of the object

Documenting History An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle Leonard Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H identification of the object the object’s creator

Documenting History An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle Leonard Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H identification of the object the object’s creator where the object was made

Documenting History An exhibition label supplies the following information: Eagle Leonard Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H 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 Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H 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 Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H 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 Morse Boston c Gilded wood Gift of State of N.H 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

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

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

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

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 Rug Elsie Tucker Hardy (1831–1920) Manchester, N.H Wool, burlap and cotton Gift of Florence Hardy Elsie Tucker Hardy (1831–1920) made this colorful hooked rug commemorating the centennial of the founding of the United States in According to her granddaughter, the donor, it was made from scraps of wool gathered at the Amoskeag textile 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 SocietyChristopher MacLeod