September 2011 News From the NHA

On Sunday September 4 at 3 P.M., one lucky raffle entrant will be selected to win a fabulous trip for four to Cleveland, Ohio, to go to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. This package includes private air travel aboard CitationAir plus lodging at the Renaissance Hotel, and the chance to see the Queen of Soul herself, Aretha Franklin, as she is honored by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame at the 16th Annual American Masters Music Concert. Tickets for this NHA raffle are $100, and may be purchased by visiting the NHA Museum Shop.

New Great Reads

at the Museum Shop

Little Gray Island:

Life Stories From Nantucket

with a Foreword by

Nathaniel Philbrick

This new anthology features compelling first-hand accounts of childhoods and vacations on the island of Nantucket, written by twenty-four senior residents. These true stories vividly bring to life the individual and collective experiences of native islanders and "washashores" alike, and document island living, historic homesteads, and lineages of sea captains. Buy your copy of Little Gray Island.

"These memoirs provide an indispensable portrait of what it's like to live on an island thirty miles out to sea."

-Nathaniel Philbrick

Purchase your

Nantucket DVD today!

Ric Burns' new film Nantucket,

is now available for purchase at the NHA Museum Shop and at select retailers on the island. Purchase your copy today and share Nantucket's unique history with friends and loved ones.

DVDs are $19.95 + tax.

Honoring America's Heroes in Remembrance of 9/11

American Flag

The Blue Star Museums Initiative was established in the summer of 2010 as a way of giving back to those who protect us in our daily lives. Funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Blue Star Program offers free admission to participating museums for military personnel and their families from Memorial Day to Labor day. This year, the NHA is extending the Blue Star Museums program through the end of the year for military families, and for the weekend of September 11, the NHA will honor police and firefighters and their families through this program, as well.

Read information on the Blue Star Museums Initiative here.

Hadwen House

Walking Tour

Historic House

Visit three NHA Historic Houses from the 18^th, 19^th, and 20^thcenturies: Hadwen House, Macy-Christian House, and Greater Light. Get a feel for life on Nantucket across three hundred years on this fascinating one-hour tour.

Departs from the Hadwen House, 96 Main Street, rain or shine.

Daily, 2:15 P.M.

$10 adults, $4 youth (ages 6-17); free for NHA members.

Reserve the NHA for Your Special Event!

Reception Photo

With the fall wedding season upon us, it's natural to begin thinking about your own upcoming special event. The Nantucket Historical Association has a variety of properties and venues perfect for any gathering your family may wish to host, from birthday parties to rehearsal dinners to wedding ceremonies and receptions.

Call NHA Events Rental Coordinator Susan Beaumont at 508-228-1894, ext. 131 for more information.

Collaboration with

N Magazine

This fall, the NHA is proud to continue our collaboration with N Magazine, as both organizations focus on Nantucket history. Each issue of N will include an article by an NHA staff member relating to the activities at the NHA - stories that keep the island's historic past alive, while looking ahead into the future. View the current issue at www.nantucketmagazine.net

Business Members

Please support the businesses that support the NHA.

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MAILING LIST

Thanks From the Executive Director

Bill Tramposch

With Hurricane Irene now a distant memory and our summer winding down, I want to thank you for your support of the NHA. We look back on this 2011 summer season with thankful eyes: For good weather on the evening of the outdoor premiere of our new gateway film Nantucket at Children's Beach; for the opening of the newly-restored Greater Light, the NHA's historic property showcasing the early 20th century artists' colony on Nantucket; for the wildly positive audience response to Nantucket as evidenced by a visitation increase of 12.6 percent since the premiere; and for a very successful August Antiques Show.

Exhibits, openings, acquisitions, and publications have all punctuated a perfectly marvelous season, a sign of the great support of our friends and members throughout.

Many thanks and enjoy these last days of summer!

-Bill Tramposch,

NHA Executive Director

Monday Movie at the Museum:

Monday Evenings in September

Nantucket Film

Due to overwhelming demand, the NHA is proud to add an additional screening of its new film Nantucket on Monday evenings in September.

Haven't had time to make it to the Whaling Museum during the busy summer days? Join us for special fall EVENING screenings of Nantucket, the latest film by Emmy-winning filmmaker Ric Burns, made exclusively for the NHA. Showcasing the island's natural beauty and its significant role in global history, our 51-minute documentary is a feast for the eyes, offering a transformative experience for islanders and visitors alike.

Showing Monday, September 12, 19 and 26.

(No screening on Monday, September 5)

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street

Movie beings at 7:00 P.M.

Doors open at 6:30 P.M.

Free for NHA members / $10 for nonmembers / $5 for youth

September 2011 | Programs

Saturday, September 3

Tim Eriksen:

An Evening of "Hardcore Americana"

Tim Eriksen

Tim Eriksen, called "the best traditional American ballad singer of his generation" by the BBC, graces the Whaling Museum with his haunting vocals and amazing musical talents on Saturday, September 3, at 7 P.M. His music has been heard on the soundtrack to the Oscar-winning Cold Mountain and on NPR's A Prairie Home Companion. He has appeared at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. And now he's coming to the Nantucket Historical Association.

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street

$10 for NHA members / $20 for nonmembers

Concert begins at 7 P.M.

Tickets available at the door beginning at 6:30 P.M.

Call 508-228-1894, ext. 117 for more information.

Wednesday, September 7

The Hidden Museum:

A Behind-the-Scenes Tour at the NHA

Kids Image Enjoy a behind-the-scenes viewing of the NHA's Gosnold Center (89 Bartlett Road) with an in-depth look at our diverse collections of textiles and other items relating to childhood and schooling. From Nantucket schoolgirl samplers to scrimshaw toys, this intimate tour is sure to have something for everyone, just in time for back-to-school.

NHA Gosnold Center, 89 Bartlett Road

Free for NHA members / $15 for nonmembers

Tour begins at 11:00 A.M.

Tickets available at the door beginning at 10:45 A.M.

Call 508-228-1894, ext. 117 for more information.

Tuesday, September 17

Ira Berlin Lecture:

"Slavery and the Coming of the Civil War"

Join us at the Whaling Museum to re-engage the philosophical and political debates that agitated the nation - and Nantucket - in the years leading up to the American Civil War.

The war remade the nation's economy, rewrote the Constitution, and redefined the meaning of American nationality. In observation of the 150th anniversar Soldier y of the end of the Civil War, the Nantucket Historical Association will be bringing to Nantucket a distinguished group of scholars, artists and historians to provide insight into life during that time in American History.

Ira Berlin, Professor of History at the University of Maryland, will provide insights into the economic changes, social divisions, and political turmoil that sparked the deadliest war in American history.

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street

Free for NHA members / $10 for nonmembers

Lecture begins at 7:00 P.M.

Tickets available at the door beginning at 6:30 P.M.

Call 508-228-1894, ext. 117 for more information.

This program is offered in observation of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Join us for other Civil War programs in October.

Friday, September 23 and

Sunday, September 25

Walden Chamber Players:

Two Concerts at the Whaling Museum

The world-renowned Walden Chamber Players will offer two hallmark concerts at the Whaling Museum.

Join us on Friday, September 23 Walden Players

at 7 P.M. for an unforgettable evening of chamber music set against the majestic backdrop of Gosnell Hall. Drawing from a rich palette of sources and styles, a Walden Chamber Players performance mixes the works of both classical and contemporary composers, with an eye to new understandings and discoveries.

On Sunday, September 25, from 12:00 - 1:00 P.M., the Walden Chamber Players return to the Whaling Museum for an interactive and informative concert focusing on the creative process of composing and selecting works of music, including a performance of Sankaty Dreaming, a string quartet written by Carson Cooman after an inspirational visit to Nantucket's signature lighthouse.

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street

Friday, September 23 concert begins at 7 P.M.

$10 for NHA members / $20 for non-members

Tickets available at the door beginning at 6:30 P.M.

Sunday, September 25 concert begins at 12 noon

Free with Whaling Museum admission

Call 508-228-1894, ext. 117 for more information.

Tuesday, September 27

NHA Acquisitions Night:

Civil War Objects

Civil War Painting

Ben Simons, NHA Robyn & John Davis Chief Curator, together with the NHA curatorial team, will share some of the behind-the-scenes stories of NHA acquisitions related to the American Civil War. Discover the many connections between Nantucket and the events of the Civil War, and experience first-hand the objects, artifacts, and relics of a brutal and heartbreaking time in our nation's past.

This is a free event and is open to the public.

Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street

Lecture begins at 7:00 P.M.

Doors open at 6:30 P.M.

Call 508-228-1894, ext. 117 for more information.

This program is offered in observation of the 150th anniversary of the American Civil War. Join us for other Civil War programs in October.

Fall Offerings at

the NHA 1800 House

The NHA 1800 House is dedicated to celebrating and reviving Nantucket's rich tradition in historic decorative arts and crafts. Immerse yourself in history at the NHA 1800 House, a restored nineteenth-century dwelling located at 4 Mill Street. Indulge your artistic side and learn centuries-old techniques taught by artists from Nantucket and throughout the nation.

2011 marks the second year of the NHA 1800 House's Fall Series Classes, which are generously underwritten so as to encourage maximum participation in the course offerings. Each class is set up to allow attendees to create a finished product within the three-hour timeframe. Classes are 4 - 7 P.M.; all supplies and materials are included.

Fall Series Classes include:

September 27: Mini Valentine Ornaments
October 4: Quilling Ornaments
October 11: Nantucket Basket Pin Cushions

For prices and registration information, please visit the

NHA 1800 House.

Friends of the NHA Aquire

1825 William Morris Watercolor

Whaleship "Washington"

William Morris

Watercolor and ink on paper, 1825

The Friends of the NHA have acquired a very early watercolor and ink portrait of the Nantucket whaleship Washington, dated and signed 1825 by William Morris. The 309-ton Washington was built in 1818 on North River Plymouth in Plymouth County by John B. and Elijah Barstow and owned by Zenas Coffin and Reuben Swain. In 1819, Captain Thomas Barstow Donnell, a cousin of Elijah Barstow, took the Washington on her first voyage. In 1825, while whaling under Captain Reuben Swain in the Pacific, she lost her first mate, David Starbuck. She was condemned at Oahu in 1849.

The watercolor portrait of the Washington demonstrates particular charm, with a sailor fishing off the jibboom, whales spouting on the horizon, and the individual sailors busy about the deck. Written on the backboard is "Mathew Macy, Kendal, Ohio," indicating its descent in the Macy family through Nantucket-born Matthew Macy (1792-1856), who gave up the sea after a crippling injury after a fall on a whaleship. He was employed as a school teacher, then a clerk in Thomas Rotch's Kendal, Ohio, store. After Thomas Rotch's death, Macy became the Kendal Postmaster.

According to Robyn & John Davis Chief Curator Ben Simons, "Painted in 1825, it ranks among the earliest depictions of a Nantucket whaleship, from the same decade as the paintings of the whaleship Spermo, which were also gifts of the Friends of the NHA. We thank the Friends once again for their visionary work in acquiring important Nantucket art and artifacts."

Friends of the NHA Purchase Rare

Early Nantucket Scrimshaw

Sarah Coffin Clothing Stick

Sarah Coffin

Scrimshawed whale bone, 1819

The Friends of the NHA were able to purchase the Sarah Coffin clothing stick from Nantucket-based antiques auctioneer and NHA supporter Rafael Osona using the NHA's Waggaman Acquisitions Funds. The instrument, used to measure fabric, is signed and dated "Sarah Coffin 1819," which qualifies it as one of the earliest dated pieces of Nantucket scrimshaw (the same year as the 1819 Josiah B. Whippy measuring stick that is pictured in The Carpenters' Decorative Arts and Crafts of Nantucket on page 168). It is also elaborately stippled with fanciful imagery that includes whales, turtles, trees, and many other lovely images. It is highly possible that the Sarah Coffin in question was the wife of famous whaling master Frederick Coffin, instrumental in opening up the Japan Grounds in 1819. "This is a very exciting addition to the NHA holdings," said Ben Simons, Robyn & John Davis Chief Curator.

Plan your next special event at an NHA property.