Webinar Explores ‘New England Stone Carving and its Symbols’
Historic New England presents “Graven Images: New England Stone Carving and its Symbols” on Wednesday, Oct. 13, at 5:30 p.m.
In Puritan New England, with its abiding concern for things not of this world and its distrust of ceremonies, one symbolic art form flourished as a means of aesthetic-spiritual expression: mortuary monument stone carvings. Join Dr. Allan Ludwig as he redefines the historically distorted image of puritanism in favor of a people who drew their vision of the spiritual world with an intensity of expression and dignity and with an unexpected capacity for stylistic innovation.
Tickets are free; donations are encouraged. Become a member at www.historicnewengland.org today to help us continue to offer free programs for all to enjoy.
Call 617-994-6678 or visit https://my.historicnewengland.org/11338/gravenfor more information.
The link for the webinar will be included in the order confirmation for this program.
Book Club to Read and Discuss ‘Frankenstein’
The Nichols House Museum and Gibson House Museum’s 2021-22 season of Read the Room – a book club inspired by the literary salons of the 19th century – kicks off with a discussion on “Frankenstein” on Wednesday, Oct. 20, at 6 p.m.
`The first science fiction novel was written more then 200 years ago but its legacy and relevance continues today. Discuss the context and implications of Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein “(1818) just in time for spooky season.
Participants will be provided with a list of discussion questions the week prior to the event, and each event will highlight particular objects or spaces at the host museum that connect to the book. Some programs will take place on site; others will happen virtually, so that we can welcome everyone to an experience that feels comfortable for them.
The Read the Room program continues on Wednesday, Dec. 8, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with “North and South” (1854) by Elizabeth Gaskell; on Wednesday, Feb. 9, 6-7:30 p.m., with “Wuthering Heights” (1847) by Emily Bronte; on Wednesday, April 6, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with a Special Read the Room meeting for Poetry Month with “Lyrics of Life and Love (1904)” by William Stanley Braithwaite; and Wednesday, June 15, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., with “Deephaven” (1900) by Sarah Orne Jewett Stay tuned for related Pride Month events.
Admission is free for members, $12 per meeting, or $45 for the entire season
Space is limited, and advanced registration is required through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/x/read-the-room-book-club-frankenstein-1818-by-mary-shelley-tickets-169542733881. Registration is free for Nichols House Museum and Gibson House Museum members. For non-members, registration is $12 per meeting or $45 for the entire season.
History of the Nichols Family Silver Collection
The Nichols House Museum will host “What can a teapot teach us?,” a free virtual lecture highlighting the Nichols family silver collection through a social history lens, – on Thursday, Oct. 14, at 6:30 p.m.
This program will discuss the ways in which important issues in American society, like immigration and domestic service, can be interpreted through the Nichols family silver collection. This summer’s Julie Linsdell and Georgia Linsdell Enders Research Fellow, Kayli Rideout, will showcase collection objects from spoons to salvers and explore how these examples of decorative arts held social meaning for both the Nichols family and American society at large. This conversation will draw from Kayli’s summer research project, a social history of the Nichols family’s silver collection from the colonial period to the 20th century.
This program is free and will take place virtually via Zoom. Registration is through Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/x/what-can-a-teapot-teach-us-social-history-of-the-nichols-silver-collection-tickets-173764784147.
Visit www.nicholshousemuseum.org for further information.
Halloween Talk at WEM Recalls History of Leverett Street Jail
The West End Museum presents “Ghosts in the Museum: The Leverett Street Jail,” a Halloween talk presented by Duane Lucia, the museum’s president and curator, on Wednesday, Oct. 27, at 150 Staniford St., Suite 7.
Located approximately where the West End Museum is today, the Leverett Street Jail served as the city and county prison for some three decades in the mid-19th century (1822–1851). Admission to the event is free with a costume, and tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ghosts-in-the-museum-the-leverett-street-jail-tickets-182922735827