The vast majority of participants in the military events of the long 18th century left no written traces of themselves. Fortunately for scholars, and the public, evidence of their presence survives in material form. [Read more…] about Military Material Culture Conference Call for Papers
Material Culture
JFK Assassination Records Transcription Opportunity
President John F. Kennedy was killed on November 22, 1963. Nearly 30 years after his death, Congress enacted the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection Act of 1992. The Act mandated that all assassination-related material be housed in a single collection in the National Archives and Records Administration. [Read more…] about JFK Assassination Records Transcription Opportunity
Understanding Wax Seals
In the latest episode of the Massachusetts Historical Society podcast The Object of History, Danny Bottino, a Ph.D. candidate at Rutgers University, explains the importance of studying wax seals, objects that accompany but are often overlooked when historians focus on the text of historical documents. [Read more…] about Understanding Wax Seals
Antiques Appraisal Fair in Bennington April 29th
The Bennington Museum has announced an Antiques Appraisal Fair set for Saturday, April 29th from 1 to 4 pm. [Read more…] about Antiques Appraisal Fair in Bennington April 29th
Arts and Crafts Movement in America’s Northeast
Artists and architects in America’s Northeast were significant contributors to the burgeoning Arts and Crafts Movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, producing work that is still keenly studied. [Read more…] about Arts and Crafts Movement in America’s Northeast
Saratoga Battlefield Acquires Stolen Surrender Cannon
The National Park Service’s Saratoga National Historical Park has accepted a donation of a light six-pound British cannon from the Department of the Army. The park will permanently preserve Cannon #102 as a part of its museum collection. [Read more…] about Saratoga Battlefield Acquires Stolen Surrender Cannon
The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag
If you walk into the Vermont Historical Society’s museum in Montpelier, you’ll a flag hanging from the wall behind the admission desk: the blue and green Green Mountain Boys flag.
It’s a flag that’s been wrapped up with a hefty dose of legend and mythology. [Read more…] about The Green Mountain Boys & The Evolution of Vermont’s State Flag
The Mystery of Joseph Brant’s Watch
![Evening journal (Wilmington, Del.), 1888-07-14, [p ]](https://www.newyorkalmanack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Wilmington-Deleware-Evening-journal.-volume-July-14-1888-Brants-watch.jpg)
There was a story that had been passed down in the Minthorn family for generations. It told of how an ancestor had hidden her two infants under the roots of a tree to save them during the Revolutionary War attack on Cherry Valley, NY, in 1778. It was said that in her zeal to quiet her children, the youngsters were rendered unconscious, being revived only after the attackers had departed.
While this story is most likely fiction, there is some truth mixed in. [Read more…] about The Mystery of Joseph Brant’s Watch
Henry Cabot Lodge’s Bronze Hot Dog
In the mid-20th century, Americans had a great enthusiasm for all manner of keepsakes and mementos cast in bronze. On October 17, 1960, the National Hot Dog Council presented a life-size hot dog cast in bronze on a marble base to Republican vice-presidential candidate Henry Cabot Lodge Jr (1902-1985).
In the blur of events during the hard-fought presidential campaign, Lodge came to mistakenly believe that he had received the unusual gift during a visit to Nathan’s, the famous hot dog emporium in New York City. [Read more…] about Henry Cabot Lodge’s Bronze Hot Dog
PAFF! Becomes the International Museum of Comic Art
PAFF! (Palazzo Arti Fumetto Friuli) in Italy has announced it is becoming the International Museum of Comic Art. This innovative cultural hub based in Pordenone organizes, promotes and hosts national and international temporary exhibitions featuring the great masters of comic art from around the globe. [Read more…] about PAFF! Becomes the International Museum of Comic Art