Material Culture

1954: Archaeologists Find Rare Cufflink at Fort William Henry

October 28, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski 2 Comments

In the autumn of 1954, United Press, a news wire service established in 1907 and later known as United Press International, reported: “Old War Crime Found At Fort.”

The gist of the report capitalized upon Americans’ fascination with The Last of the Mohicans (1826) by James Fenimore Cooper. The news of a discovery made in 1954 of charred bones of two British soldiers uncovered by archaeologists excavating the cellar of the barracks of Fort William Henry at the head of Lake George. [Read more…] about 1954: Archaeologists Find Rare Cufflink at Fort William Henry

How Northern Manufacturing Fueled Slavery

October 15, 2025 by Dr. Liz Covart Leave a Comment

When we talk about slavery in Early America, we often focus on plantations: their large, fertile fields, their cash crops, and the people who labored on those fields to produce those cash crops under conditions of enslavement.

But what about the ordinary objects that made slavery work? The shoes, axes, cloth, and hoes? What can these everyday objects reveal about the economic and social systems that sustained slavery in the early United States? [Read more…] about How Northern Manufacturing Fueled Slavery

Gabriel Wells: Manhattan Bookseller & Biblioclast

September 18, 2025 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in America are often described as a “Golden Age” of book collecting. Driven by a desire for cultural aura, wealthy individuals and prestigious institutions acquired unique manuscripts and incunabula as well as rare printed books. Well-stocked bookcases were considered an emblem of wisdom. Part of Europe’s literary heritage was shifted across the Atlantic to the United States.

The antiquarian book trade flourished; specialist auction houses reflected the spending power of the era’s elite. Some critics have referred to this collecting rage as a “gentle madness.” It was worse than that. [Read more…] about Gabriel Wells: Manhattan Bookseller & Biblioclast

Some Unique National Historical Register Listings in New York

September 15, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The New York State Board for Historic Preservation was established in 1972 and expanded by the New York State Historic Preservation Act of 1980. It works with the State Historic Preservation Office to review nominations to the State and National Registers of Historic Places.

In honor of the milestone 200th meeting of the Board for Historic Preservation (on September 10, 2025), below are some of New York’s most interesting resources in the National Register, either as individual sites or as parts of historic districts. [Read more…] about Some Unique National Historical Register Listings in New York

Circus Broadsides: Preservation of New York History

August 20, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

The New York State Museum’s circus posters, shared as part of their “Look at This” social media series, inspired the State Library to digitize circus-related documents found in their collections.

Their search for NYS Library circus materials began in the Manuscripts and Special Collections Unit, where they found circus broadsides from NYS and beyond. Most of these date back to the mid-nineteenth century and are over 150 years old, making their condition and the vibrancy of the ink all the more striking. [Read more…] about Circus Broadsides: Preservation of New York History

Rare Indigenous Bark Canoes in Lake George

June 30, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

The northeastern Indigenous bark canoe, generally built of birch or elm, but sometimes fashioned of spruce, chestnut, hickory, or basswood, was an efficient vessel. It was lightweight and could be easily portaged from one waterway to another.

A single-bladed paddle was employed to propel the craft. The canoe was a boat in which the paddler, unlike an oarsman, faced in the direction that the vessel traveled. However, the versatile-bark canoe was vulnerable to damage due to its fragility. [Read more…] about Rare Indigenous Bark Canoes in Lake George

Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

June 5, 2025 by Jaap Harskamp 1 Comment

The tradition of freak shows in Europe dates back to the sixteenth century. Medical “monstrosities” became standard components of traveling exhibitions. During the nineteenth century such shows caught the imagination of large viewing (and paying) audiences.

Human exhibits were presented for public entertainment and the parade of “freaks of nature” was a booming business. With the expansion of colonialism, the emphasis changed from physical to racial characteristics. Displays of exotic but “backward” populations (“human zoos”) became common in the 1870s in the midst of imperialist ambitions. [Read more…] about Tales of Early American – Chinese Trade Relations

Objects Collected at New York’s First State Historic Site

May 19, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

In April 1850, the 1750 Hasbrouck House in Newburgh was transformed into New York State’s first state historic site: Washington’s Headquarters State Historic Site.

Since then, New York State has collected objects, archival materials, and other items related to New York’s history. 2025 marks the 175th anniversary of New York’s state historic sites – which now number over 35 locations, over a million historic objects, and over three million archaeological objects. [Read more…] about Objects Collected at New York’s First State Historic Site

The 1973 Heist of Historic Artifacts from Warrensburg’s Richards Library

May 1, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

In early May 1973, the heist of what The Warrensburg-Lake George News described as a collection of “valuable historical items” from the Richards Library on Elm Street in Warrensburg, NY, shocked local residents.

With the Bicentennial of the American Revolution (1775–1783) then only a couple of years away, the relics from the 18th and 19th centuries were highly prized. [Read more…] about The 1973 Heist of Historic Artifacts from Warrensburg’s Richards Library

Rare Documents Highlight Temperance & Suffrage History

April 3, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Two documents which connect Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who helped women organize to secure the right to vote, are being offered for sale.

The newly discovered 1853 documents certify Mr. P.S. Kingsley and Mrs. Angeline Kingsley of Minetto in Oswego County, NY, as members of the first organization founded by Anthony and Stanton, the Women’s New York State Temperance Society, formed in 1852. [Read more…] about Rare Documents Highlight Temperance & Suffrage History

Dead Horse Bay: Polluted and Disgusting, but People Can’t Stay Away

March 17, 2025 by Guest Contributor Leave a Comment

A quick glance at Instagram shows some odd hauls from Dead Horse Bay. They’re not windowpane flounder or diamondback terrapins or cockle clams local to the waters. They’re rainbows of vintage marbles, shards of heirloom ceramics, and even rusted bicycles from the era of black and white television.

Scour Reddit from the past year alone and find posts about Dead Horse Bay mudlarking — that is, scavenging the shore for interesting, possibly valuable items. [Read more…] about Dead Horse Bay: Polluted and Disgusting, but People Can’t Stay Away

Collecting for Posterity: America’s First Curators

March 13, 2025 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Curators are the keepers or custodians of a museum, library or other collection. The term is derived from the Latin curare, meaning to take care. Its linguistic history is intriguing, but the connotation of “guardianship” was maintained throughout.

In Ancient Rome, curatores were civil servants in charge of public works, overseeing the Empire’s aqueducts, bathhouses and sewers. From the early fifteenth century onward to the medieval period, the curatus was a parish priest devoted to the care (cura) of minors, “lunatics,” and other vulnerable people. During the 1660s, individuals charged with the care and preservation of precious collections of art, books and artifacts (initially at private estates) were referred to as curators. [Read more…] about Collecting for Posterity: America’s First Curators

Military Road: The Old Trail to Lake George

February 9, 2025 by Joseph W. Zarzynski Leave a Comment

Over the many years since the French & Indian War (1755–1763), workers digging around Lake George occasionally have found historical treasures. One of those discoveries came in late September 1924, when a road crew employee unearthed an unusual iron object during construction of the state road from Glens Falls to Lake George., New York, now Route 9.

Parts of this 20th century-built roadway run along or next to what back in 1924 was called the “old military trail.” [Read more…] about Military Road: The Old Trail to Lake George

The ‘Society of Negroes Unsettled’ Bounty Hunters Agreement

February 7, 2025 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

Garret DuBois and Lilly DuBois, two formerly enslaved “people of couler,” were married at the Reformed Church of New Paltz in 1828 and purchased three acres a year later, making them the earliest known African Americans to own land in what was then New Paltz, in Ulster County, NY.

Garret’s story is illuminated by several documents from the period, most notably in a manuscript entitled the “Society of Negroes Unsettled,” also known as the Bounty Hunters’ Agreement. [Read more…] about The ‘Society of Negroes Unsettled’ Bounty Hunters Agreement

Ticking Through Time: Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America

January 22, 2025 by Dr. Liz Covart Leave a Comment

Do you know what time it is? In early America, this question wasn’t as simple to answer as it is today.

Urban dwellers in cities like New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston often wondered about the time — but few owned their own watches or clocks. So, how did they keep track of the hours? [Read more…] about Ticking Through Time: Clocks, Watches, and Life in Early America

Walter Lippmann’s Stereotype: From Printing to Politics

November 25, 2024 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

William Bradford (1663-1752) was born in village of Barwell, Leicestershire, where his father was a printer and a member of the Society of Friends (Quakers). As a youngster, he was apprenticed to Andrew Sowle, London’s foremost Quaker printer, and subsequently married his master’s daughter. In 1682, the couple joined William Penn’s new North American colony.

Eight years later Bradford set up Pennsylvania’s first printing press, but continuous interference by the authorities and attempts to curb his independence made him decide to move to the city of New York. In 1693 he was appointed official printer to the Colonial government. He settled in Pearl Street, Manhattan; his offices were located at Hanover Square. [Read more…] about Walter Lippmann’s Stereotype: From Printing to Politics

New Virtual Access Project at Genesee Country Village & Museum

October 3, 2024 by Editorial Staff 1 Comment

Genesee Country Village & Museum near Rochester has announced an innovative project that provides virtual access to historic 19th-century buildings and exhibits currently on view (as well as past exhibits) in the John L. Wehle Gallery.

Utilizing state-of-the-art Matterport technology, the Museum is making these structures and exhibits accessible to a global audience, offering virtual tours that provide an in-depth look at the past. [Read more…] about New Virtual Access Project at Genesee Country Village & Museum

Printing Machinery & Bibliophily: A New York History

September 26, 2024 by Jaap Harskamp Leave a Comment

Twenty-five miles north of New York City on the eastern shore of the Hudson River lies Tarrytown in an area called Tappan Zee (Tappan for the local people of the Lenape; zee is Dutch for sea) in Westchester County, NY. It was home to the Weckquaesgeek who cultivated the land, fished and hunted there. [Read more…] about Printing Machinery & Bibliophily: A New York History

Variety Abounds at Antiques by Packer’s Pond in Saratoga County

September 11, 2024 by Wendy Hobday Haugh Leave a Comment

Ten years ago, when Bob Wemple was hired to fix up an old general store in the town of Providence, Saratoga County hamlet of Barkersville, he had no idea that he and his wife, Sue, would soon be operating that quaint storefront as a business of their very own: Antiques at Packer’s Pond.

The store, which dates back to 1893, is part of the Packer Farm and Barkersville Store, a historic site which includes a 19th century farmhouse, the store, two barns, an old mill pond, dam, and waterfall. [Read more…] about Variety Abounds at Antiques by Packer’s Pond in Saratoga County

Revolutionary Things: Material Culture and Politics

August 7, 2024 by Dr. Liz Covart Leave a Comment

When we think about the American Revolution, the French Revolution, or the Haitian Revolution, we think about the ideals of freedom and equality.

These ideals were embedded and discussed in all of these revolutions. What we don’t always think about when we think about these revolutions are the objects that inspired, came out of, and were circulated as they took place.
‌ [Read more…] about Revolutionary Things: Material Culture and Politics

Material Culture

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