Maine Historical Society - Programs Podcast

In person program; Recorded January 26, 2023 - Built between 1858-1860, Victoria Mansion is a National Historic Landmark in Portland, ME, known widely for its architecture and stunning intact interiors. The question of who "built" Victoria Mansion tends to surface the same few names: Henry Austin, the architect, Gustave Herter and Giuseppe Guidicini, the interior designers, and Ruggles and Olive Morse, who commissioned the house and its contents. Ruggles Morse amassed a fortune as a proprietor of luxury hotels, in part at the expense of enslaved labor in New Orleans. Ongoing research has led Mansion staff to discover more than two dozen enslaved Black and mixed-race individuals who had been purchased and/or sold by the Morses. In 2021, Victoria Mansion launched the Unwilling Architects Initiative, through which staff endeavors to learn more about and interpret the lives of the individuals who were impacted by the Morses' decisions and who unwillingly assisted in underwriting the construction of this palatial Portland mansion. Victoria Mansion staff member Brittany Cook and the initiative's DEI consultant Anisa Khadraoui came to MHS for a discussion about their research into histories that occurred offsite, placing the mansion in the greater context of the United States in the 19th century, faithfully interpreting narratives for historically underrepresented and excluded populations, and how new research impacts and informs the everyday interpretation at a small historic house museum. Funding for The Unwilling Architects Initiative has been provided by The Maine Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

In partnership with Victoria Mansion; Recorded September 8, 2022 - Built and furnished between 1858 and 1860, Victoria Mansion was remarkable from the day it was created. It stands today as the final unaltered and fully intact example of the work of three of 19th-century America's towering creative talents, architect Henry Austin, interior designer Gustave Herter, and decorative painter Giuseppe Guidicini. Authors Thomas B. Johnson and Timothy Brosnihan take a look at a collection of photographs that documents the building’s beginnings as a lavish private residence for the Morse and Libby families, its decline and near loss during the early 20th century, and its resurgence and restoration since becoming a museum in 1941.

Recorded June 1, 2022 - During the 18th century, patterned silks were some of the costliest fabrics available. Hand-woven on complex drawlooms, patterned silks worn for dress could be highly decorative, featuring designs that changed not just yearly, but seasonally. With no large-scale weaving in the colonies, a select group of New Englanders imitating the sartorial tastes of England and Europe’s elite adopted imported examples. Not surprisingly, however, the absence here of an aristocracy and its attendant, complex wardrobe requirements created an entirely different context for ownership. In this talk, Ned Lazaro from Historic Deerfield looks at New Englanders who chose to wear this luxurious dress fabric during the early and middle years of the 18th century and explores issues of consumption, availability, preferences, and symbolic legacy.

Recorded June 21, 2022 - Fashion choices can tell us a lot about a person and the world they lived in, but did you know that historic textiles can also reveal hidden stories of ordinary people and how they made use of their material goods' economic and legal values? Historian Laura F. Edwards discusses her book Only the Clothes on Her Back: Clothing and the Hidden History of Power in the 19th-Century United States , exploring long-forgotten practices that made textiles—clothing, cloth, bedding, and accessories—a unique form of property that people without rights could own and exchange. These stories are about far more than cloth and clothing; they reshape our understanding of law and the economy in America. Purchase the book from our museum store .

Recorded May 17, 2022 - Whether you're a sailor, a singer, or just a lover of New England lore, you'll love the ballads and broadsides featured in Bygone Ballads from Maine Vol.1--Songs of Ships & Sailors. Julia Lane & Fred Gosbee of Castlebay spent over a decade researching and found a wealth of songs, stories and folkways from the Celtic tradition here in Maine archived in collections, recordings and even genealogies across the state. In this program they discussed their research and how they uncovered several thousand songs and ballads from Maine’s past and performed a few of their favorites. Purchase their book from the Castlebay website .

Recorded April 26, 2022 - Between 1783 – 1850, the newly constituted United States emerged as a fragile, internally divided union of states contending with European empires and other independent republics on the North American continent. Native peoples sought to defend their homelands from the flood of American settlers; the system of American slavery grew increasingly powerful and expansive separating Black American families; and bitter party divisions pitted elites favoring strong government against those espousing a democratic populism for white men. Alan Taylor’s history of this tumultuous period looks at key characters involved and captures the high-stakes political drama as leaders contended over slavery, the economy, Indian removal, and national expansion. A ground-level account of American industrialization conveys the everyday lives of factory workers and immigrant families, while the immersive narrative puts us on the streets of Port-au-Prince, Mexico City, Quebec, and the Cherokee capital, New Echota.

Recorded April 13, 2022 - Dress codes are as old as clothing itself. For centuries, clothing has been a wearable status symbol; fashion, a weapon in struggles for social change; and dress codes, a way to maintain political control. Even in today’s more informal world, dress codes still determine what we wear, when we wear it, and what our clothing means. In his book Dress Codes: How the Laws of Fashion Made History , law professor and cultural critic Richard Thompson Ford presents a thought provoking history of the laws of fashion to uncover and examine the canons, mores, and customs of clothing--rules we often take for granted.

Recorded February 8, 2022 - Peaks Island: Past and Present brings to light the island's rich and diverse--yet largely hidden--past as a fishing village, a bustling summer resort, and an important military base during World War II. It is the story of a unique Maine island community rooted in its past but very much part of the modern world. In this talk, Kimberly Erico MacIssac as discusses her new book and the island she calls home. Purchase a copy of this book from the MHS Store.

In partnership with Longfellow House Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site; Recorded February 23, 2022 - February 2022 marked the 215th birthday observance of famed 19th century poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. To mark the occasion, Maine Historical Society and Longfellow House Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site hosted a panel of experts to discuss the stories and people from history that inspired some of Longfellow's best-known poems: "Paul Revere's Ride," "Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie," and "The Song of Hiawatha." What motivated Longfellow to write these poems? What history did he draw upon--and ignore--when writing them? In what ways might the poems be problematic, and how are they looked upon and studied today? Watch to learn more and reflect on the life and work of Maine's Fireside Poet. Purchase Longfellow, Poems and Other Writings from our MHS Store.

Recorded December 14, 2021 - Sarah Farmer, a visionary pioneer and transcendentalist, was the daughter of electrical genius Moses Farmer and humanitarian Hannah Shapleigh Farmer. At Green Acre – A Baháʼí Center of Learning, she had the first known Peace flag flown, and in 1905 she was the only woman to witness the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty. Today, Green Acre remains committed to world peace, race unity, gender equality, and social justice and hosts many programs, including art presentations and exhibits. In this talk, author and artist Anne Gordon Perry tells stories of the early days at Green Acre, where swamis, scientists, transcendentalists, reformers, society folks, philosophers, musicians, mystics, and others mingled—to the surprise and sometimes consternation of the small town of Eliot.