Nantucket Atheneum Podcast

In this final episode of Season 5, James picks up where we left off in Henry Clapp Jr.'s story. He begins holding court at Pfaff's Beer Hall where aspiring arts and writers vie for a seat at his table. This period is short lived, but it will become a huge part of Clapp's legacy. Sources and references: CLICK HERE to read Henry Clapp Jr.’s Obituary as printed in the Inquirer & Mi...

In this episode, James picks up where we left off with Henry Clapp's return to Paris where experience a person transformation that turns  his world view on its head. With his new found lifestyle, he goes back to the use and eventually finds his way to New York City and rubs elbows with artists and actors and even advocates for the "free love" movement. Sources and references: CLICK...

The last three episodes of this season are dedicated to Henry Clapp, Jr., who was a writer, publisher and activists that moved in circles with William Loyd Garrison, Walt Whitman and other historical figure. He lived large and made a big splash wherever he went but has been mostly lost to history...Until now. In part one, James explains Clapp's early life and his foray into political activism...

In this episode, James describes the mid-19th century crazy of panoramas that tours the country and wowed audiences for a while before fading into the background, so to speak. Notes and References: Read the special notice for the Mammoth Panorama in the Inquired and Mirror on Monday, March 26, 1849 HERE. See photos and more information about the Gettysburg Cyclorama HERE. More on John Banvard from...

In this episode, James and Janet discuss the impresarios who performed in Atheneum Hall and introduced islanders to the world of magic and illusion.   Resources and additional information: Woodcut images from Yankee Hill's book Scenes from the Life of an Actor (1853). http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q6q8FgL3eAA/RrsXpR3WdxI/AAAAAAAAAG8/9TaIPNb2UOg/s1600-h/hiramdodgeyankeepeddler.gif http://2.bp.blog...

James talks about the Lyceum Movement that started with local speakers and then evolved into a speaking circuit that includes great orators including Mark Twain, Frederick Douglass and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Notes and References: Announcement for the Lyceum in the  Nantucket Weekly Mirror  on Saturday, April 17, 1852 This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was hosted and edited by J...

James tells Janet about the family singing groups that dazzled the Atheneum audiences will their close harmonies and impressive musical talents. These 19th century "rock stars" toured the country sharing their music and their political messages. Find out what made them such an attraction and what were the values they were promoting through song. References and Resources: Videos of Harp S...

The stage of the Great Hall has been a treasured feature of the Nantucket Atheneum since its founding nearly 200 years ago. In this season of the podcast, Reference Library Associate James Grieder introduces you to the lesser known performers, speakers and guests that took to the stage in "Atheneum Hall." Find out what drew them to the shores of Nantucket and how they were received by is...

In this Bonus Episode, Jim and Janet take closer look on the themes that run through the story of the Bonds and the Mitchells and dive a little deeper into topics that were just touched upon in the regular season, such as the history of solar noon and why longitude was such a tough nut to crack. Credits: This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum .  Written, edited and narrated by Janet...

In this final episode of Season 4, we conclude our story with Maria Mitchell and Sarah Bond and how they navigated and overcame the expectations of their time.  Jascin and Jim talk about the lasting impact their careers had and contemplate what has changed and what has not. Credits: This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum .  Written, edited and narrated by Janet Forest  Special thanks...

Following the furious writing campaign, Maria Mitchell is finally awarded the Gold Medal from the King of Denmark for discovering a comet. Now with the help of President Edward Everett of Harvard College and Alexander Dallas Bache of the US Coast Survey, the whole world is about to learn Maria’s name.  In this episode, Jascin and Jim discuss what doors the comet discovery opens for Maria and the p...

This week we revisit Season 2, Episode 7 featuring  Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri and Historian and Librarian Betsy Tyler, where they discuss 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. They also discuss Maria Mitchell's and Sarah Bond's involvement in the li...

The Mitchells and the Bonds are following a parallel track of discovery and success, but in the late 1850s, their fortunes diverge. As the Mitchells experience success and longevity, the Bonds face one upset after another.  The term “Black Swan” refers to an event which was unexpected, previously unimaginable, and had lasting consequences. The Bonds would face three black swans inside a decade on...

If you do a Google image search for Maria Mitchell, one of the top results will be a portrait of her elegantly dressed, seated, and looking though a telescope. This image romanticizes and perpetuates the story of Maria as a lone astronomer on a distant island discovering a comet and being the first woman awarded the gold medal from the King of Denmark. But like most success stories, it’s not nearl...

William Mitchell and William Bond were both part of a network of scientific minds, where they shared discoveries and innovation. For both men, this was a family endeavor. Both were teaching and training their children and bringing them into their astronomical and mechanical pursuits. In this episode, we hear about their remarkable children coming into their own on the world stage.  Credits: This h...

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 c...

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...

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 producti...

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 com...

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 durin...

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 sta...

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...

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 Re...

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 i...

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...