I feel so grateful to the Alliance Française de Philadelphie for hosting my first public event associated with "Portrait of a Citizen" on Friday night. I'm also grateful for the +/- 25 history enthusiasts who showed up on a Friday evening for a local history program!
#books #portraitofacitizen
Many of the prints I encountered in New Bedford, including this one, were printed by Charles Taber & Co., a prominent local firm at the end of the 19th century.
#prints #printculture #NewBedford #whaling #PortraitofaCitizen
When purchased from the Girard estate by George Howland for whaling use, the pious Howland had the ROUSSEAU's figurehead of Jean-Jacques Rousseau removed (and decapitated!), replacing it with this billethead.
#maritimehistory #Rousseau #PortraitofaCitizen #StephenGirard #whaling #materialculture
The problem with historical research is that one inevitably discovers many other topics that one wants to research. This happened to me in New Bedford: I fell quite in love with the works of Lemuel David Eldred (1848-1921).
#NewBedford #Fairhaven #PortraitofaCitizen #whaling #maritimehistory
One of my favorite photos of the whaling bark ROUSSEAU (left) with the DESDEMONA at New Bedford, ca. 1893. The photo is by Edwin Hale Lincoln and titled "Their Last Port." New Bedford Free Public Library, 2010.007.012.019j.
#NewBedford #maritimehistory #StephenGirard #whaling #PortraitofaCitizen
New Bedford Harbor, seen here at the end of the 19th century. The whaling bark ROUSSEAU sailed out of New Bedford for decades following the death of #StephenGirard. This photo is from the collection of the New Bedford Free Public Library.
#maritimehistory #NewBedford #whaling #PortraitofaCitizen
There are times I feel I've gotten to know #StephenGirard a bit too well. Behold Stephen's stockings! These are wonderful survivals, notable because of the darning on them, indicative of the multiracial female labor present in Girard's household.
#PortraitofaCitizen #materialculture
Founder's Hall at #GirardCollege, one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the country.
#Museums #PortraitofaCitizen #StephenGirard
Stephen Girard's surviving library at Girard College is home to many impressive cartouches, including this one, which I believe is from his copy of the "Pilote Americain Septetrional" of 1778.
#rarebooks #prints #specialcollections #StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen
The entombed, and emmarbled, Stephen Girard in Founder's Hall at Girard College, which opened its doors and began operations on New Year's Day 1848.
#StephenGirard #GirardCollege #PortraitofaCitizen
Another fun #GirardCollege photo, showing the "Memorial Room" in 1893.
#StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen #research #archives #museums #specialcollections
This is one of my favorite historic photos I've encountered during research for #PortraitofaCitizen, showing the "Memorial Room" in Founder's Hall at Girard College in 1893.
#materialculture #decorativeart #museums #specialcollections #StephenGirard
Stephen Girard's top hat! Perfect for a New Year's outing, I think.
#StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen #materialculture #museums
An outcome of my research into the #PhilosopherShips of #StephenGirard is that I now get very excited about little chunks of wood in various museum collections. Here's an example: a piece of the ROUSSEAU at Girard College.
#PortraitofaCitizen #maritimehistory #Rousseau #NewBedford
Stephen Girard maintained an interest in politics and the life and work of Founding Fathers and other leaders. One gets the sense that he modeled his philanthropy and civic engagement on ideals of service embodied in national leaders.
#rarebooks #specialcollections #libraries #PortraitofaCitizen
Stephen Girard was a meticulous record-keeper, as evinced by these wooden chests in which he stored financial records associated with all of his vessels' voyages. Here you see the chest for the MONTESQUIEU.
#StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen #archives #specialcollections #libraries #museums
A very Merry Christmas to all from some singing Girard College students, ca. 1920s.
#GirardCollege #FoundersHall #PortraitofaCitizen #Christmas #MerryChristmas
In December 1922, these students enjoyed some Christmas festivities at Girard College.
#GirardCollege #StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen
Here's another Christmas lantern slide from the Girard College Historical Collection: Evangeline Wilbour Blashfield's "Christmas Chimes." Manufactured by the Keystone View Company.
#lanternslides #magiclantern #StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen #GirardCollege #FoundersHall
For some holiday cheer, let's contemplate this magic lantern slide of Steinle's "Christmas of St. Francis," from the Girard College Historical Collection. Note the angels floating above Francis, including one playing my favorite instrument.
#PortraitofaCitizen #StephenGirard #lanternslides
Another ROUSSEAU-related treasure from the New Bedford Whaling Museum: a logbook kept aboard the bark in 1866.
#manuscripts #libraries #archives #specialcollections #PortraitofaCitizen #whaling #maritimehistory
One of the fun things about researching the #materialculture of #StephenGirard is that so many objects have been preserved at Founder's Hall Museum. Early photos help us understand how the first generations of stewards of the Girard collection displayed the material.
#PortraitofaCitizen #museums
More trinkets and treasures from the New Bedford Whaling Museum collection: a ruler made from ROUSSEAU salvaged wood, as well as a little ROUSSEAU and DESDEMONA souvenir cup.
#materialculture #collectivememory #whaling #maritimehistory #StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen
New Bedford artist Arthur Gordon Grinnell (1854-1924) crafted this stunning chest from wood salvaged from the whaling vessel ROUSSEAU in 1894. The wonderful object is now on display at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.
#whaling #maritimehistory #NewBedford #StephenGirard #PortraitofaCitizen
Artist Lemuel David Eldred (1848-1921) loved documenting the declining whaling industry in his home of Fairhaven and New Bedford, as these prints at the New Bedford Free Public Library reveal.
#whaling #prints #printmaking #PortraitofaCitizen
Most of my energies focused on the vessel ROUSSEAU of #StephenGirard, of course, but here's some WANDERER material from the New Bedford Free Public Library.
#PortraitofaCitizen #publiclibraries #libraries #maritimehistory
An important character in #PortraitofaCitizen is Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, a fellow Francophone of #StephenGirard. We see him here in a portrait by Thomas Worthington Whittredge, National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C., NPG.76.34.
One of the most charming little trinkets I encountered during my #PortraitofaCitizen research is this coin box at Mystic Seaport, fashioned from salvage wood from the whaleship ROUSSEAU.
#materialculture #collections #maritimehistory #whaling #memory
Part of my research for #PortraitofaCitizen involved establishing the context of genteel libraries in early America. Where better to go than Monticello and Mount Vernon?
#rarebooks #libraries #libraryhistory #specialcollections #PortraitofaCitizen #museums #housemuseums
In #PortraitofaCitizen, I undertake the challenging yet fascinating task of considering the personality of #StephenGirard as compared to other Philadelphian merchants of his era. What motivated his ambition? This means thinking not just about him, but about other merchants as well.
