Nantucket Atheneum Podcast

In this season of the podcast, we are going to take a closer look at two families, the Bonds and the Mitchells, and the immeasurable impact they had on our world today. We’ll dive into their personal struggles, the politics and controversies that hindered and helped their work, and we’ll even do a bit of 19th century name dropping. 

But before we get into the juicy details, we need to rewind the clock back to the early 1800s when time was relative and relatively irrelevant.

We’re going to get a bit technical in this episode, but bear with us. It’s important to understand the technology that was available at the time, so you can appreciate the colossal advancements the Bonds and the Mitchells made.

Credits:

This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. 

Written, edited and narrated by Janet Forest 

Special thanks to the Atheneum’s Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri and Historian and Deputy Director of the Maria Mitchell Association Jascin Leonardo Finger for their research and insights.

Resources and additional information:
If you want to know more about this topic, check our this very thorough list of resources that Jim has compiled: FURTHER READING

• Jim refers to 360 degree of longitude. While this is mathematically true, most folks think of Longitude as split 180 degrees East/West at Greenwich.  Before Greenwich was officially recognized as 0 degrees Long, the split could be at any arbitrary point.

• John Harrison developed and perfected the chronometer, but it took a long time for him to receive recognition. Read more here: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/harrisons-clocks-longitude-problem

• More about the founding of the US Coast Survey:
 https://nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/about/history-of-coast-survey.html

The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, MA.

You can visit us online at www.nantucketatheneum.org

In season four of the Nantucket Atheneum Podcast, we take a closer look at two families that had immeasurable influence on how we understand the world around us. But to tell their story, we have to go way back to a time when the question "What time is it?" had a whole different meaning. It was a brief time when the door of opportunity was thrown open to women in science.

In this limited series, Jim Borzillari Reference Library Associate at the Nantucket Atheneum and Jascin Finger Deputy Director of the Maria Mitchell Association peel back the layers of these two extraordinary families and the impact and influence they had then and now.

In celebration of the 15-year milestone, I spoke with Artistic Director Tyler Angle about what it is like to adapt world-class performance for a smaller more intimate stage, and how the festival has evolved during his tenure and how this week-long event has woven itself into the fabric of our island community.

In this episode, Tyler shares what to expect at this year’s festival.

This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was written narrated and edited by Janet Forest. Special thanks to Tyler Angle for bringing the Dance Festival to Nantucket year after year.

The Nantucket Dance Festival will run from July 18 to July 23, and many events are free and open to the public. You can find all the details and where to buy tickets at nantuketatheneum.org.

In celebration of the 15-year milestone, I spoke with Artistic Director Tyler Angle about what to expect at this year’s festival, what it is like to adapt world-class performance for a smaller more intimate stage, and how the festival has evolved during his tenure.

In this episode, Tyler talks about the different ways in which this week-long event has woven itself into the fabric of our island community.

This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was written narrated and edited by Janet Forest. Special thanks to Tyler Angle for bringing the Dance Festival to Nantucket year after year.

The Nantucket Dance Festival will run from July 18 to July 23, and many events are free and open to the public. You can find all the details and where to buy tickets at nantuketatheneum.org.

This July, The Nantucket Atheneum will present its 15th Annual Nantucket Dance Festival, which brings world-class dancers and performers to the island and supports our mission to provide free year-round services and programs to our community.

Artistic Director Tyler Angle took over as Artistic Director of the Dance Festival in 2013, and in this episode, he shares how the Festival has evolved during his tenure.

This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was written narrated and edited by Janet Forest. Special Thanks to Tyler Angle for bringing the Dance Festival to Nantucket year after year.

The Nantucket Dance Festival will run from July 18 to July 23, and many events are free and open to the public. You can find all the details and where to buy tickets at nantuketatheneum.org.

This July, The Nantucket Atheneum will present its 15th Annual Nantucket Dance Festival, which brings world-class dancers and performers to the island and supports our mission to provide free year-round services and programs to our community.

Artistic Director Tyler Angle talks about what it is like for the dancers to make the transition from large prestigious venues to our comparatively small stage at Nantucket High School.

This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was written narrated and edited by Janet Forest. Special Thanks to Tyler Angle for bringing the Dance Festival to Nantucket year after year.

The Nantucket Dance Festival will run from July 18 to July 23, and many events are free and open to the public. You can find all the details and where to buy tickets at nantuketatheneum.org.

In this final episode of season two, Jim and Janet take a look at two authors, who were prolific writers and trail blazers for other women, but, like so many of their peers, have been all but lost of history. 

Sarah Woolsey and Helen Hunt Jackson moved in the same circles as Jane Austin and Emily Dickenson, and yet somehow they have been completely lost to popular memory? 

References and Resources:

• Read more about Sarah Chauncey Woolsey's life and career.
• Read more about Helen Hunt Jackson's life and career.

The Shelves of Yore is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, narrated, and edited by Janet Forest and researched by Jim Borzilleri. 

The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Visit us online at www.nantucketatheneum.org

In this episode, Janet and Jim flip through a book that documented the California Gold Rush in real time and was one of nearly 1000 books included in Frederick Sanford’s personal library, which was gifted to the Atheneum after his death.

They also peruse a 19th century “beach read” by Edward Bellamy set on Nantucket that you may or may not want to add to your summer reading list.

References and Resources:

• Watch Jim Borzilleri's virtual presentation on Frederick Sanford
• Check out a photo of Edward Bellamy's handlebar mustache
• Read an unabridged version of Six to One by Edward Bellamy

The Shelves of Yore is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, narrated, and edited by Janet Forest and researched by Jim Borzilleri. 

The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Visit us online at www.nantucketatheneum.org

In this episode, Jim Borzilleri and I invite back Betsy Tyler author of The Nantucket Atheneum: A History to talk about the Atheneum Museum. What was in it, where the items came from, and where they are now.

References and Resources:

• The Nantucket Atheneum: A History by Betsy Tyler
• "Online Conversation: Nantucket Native Frederick Coleman Sanford" with Jim Borzilleri

The Shelves of Yore is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, narrated, and edited by Janet Forest and researched by Jim Borzilleri. Special thanks to Betsy Tyler for contributing her research and insights.

The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Visit us online at www.nantucketatheneum.org

This week Former Atheneum Librarian Betsy Tyler joins Janet and Jim to talk about the amazing feat of creating the 1900 card catalogue with a cutting edge device called a typewriter and the newly publish method called the Dewey Decimal System.

References and more information:
Check out Betsy's book The Nantucket Atheneum: A History,  and her latest book A Thousand Leagues of Blue.

The Shelves of Yore is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was written, narrated, and edited by Janet Forest and researched by Jim Borzilleri. Voice of Clara Parker by Sammy Aguiar.

The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, Massachusetts.

Visit us online at www.nantucketatheneum.org