Our Story
Historic New England operates thirty-seven historic properties open to the public. Open hours and prices vary, so please visit HistoricNewEngland.org. Many of our properties also have their own pages, which we invite you to follow.
Comments
December 9 at 7:30pm at Historic New England's Lyman Estate: "A Holiday Toast" includes childhood favorites like "Christmas Time is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas—but you'll hear a tune from another beloved holiday cartoon that our friends in the U.S. might be less familiar with. The 1983 Ukrainian claymation film Padal Proshlogodniy Sneg (Last Year's Snow Was Falling) tells the madcap tale of a man sent to find the perfect New Year's tree. On his way through the forest, the man is distracted from his mission by a series of absurd events and surreal transformations. Sheffield co-founder and violist Alexander Vavilov tells us, "this is one of THE top favorite New Year cartoons for me, and a mega-hit still immensely popular in Ukraine. Celebrating the New Year without watching it at least thrice was unthinkable!"
Check out this short compilation of the most iconic phrase—"That's too little!"—uttered by the greedy man throughout the film.
Last night screening of the film with Historic New England at the Lyman Estate
Thank you Dr. Xena Alqahtani for a rich discussion afterwards.
Enjoy this excerpt from Corelli's "Christmas Concerto," recorded live at last year's "A Holiday Toast," and join us on Friday, December 9 at 7:30pm at Historic New England’s Lyman Estate for what is fast becoming a beloved Sheffield tradition. Tickets are selling fast, so get yours today!
https://www.sheffieldchamberplayers.org/holiday-toast-2022
A joyous program spanning the centuries, "A Holiday Toast" offers peaceful moments of contemplation as well as celebratory numbers sure to get your toes tapping. Along with Corelli's "Christmas Concerto" and other favorites from past holiday concerts, each player will share music that brings them joy during the holidays, including traditional Danish, Irish, and Ukrainian tunes, childhood favorites from "A Charlie Brown Christmas," musical expressions of winter by Vivaldi and Piazzola, and more!
We are EXCITED for this upcoming Christmas in Salem weekend!
We are also excited for support of our advertisers including some Salem institutions. Salem State University, Peabody Essex Museum, Brookhouse Home, Salem Witch Museum and Historic New England. Thank you for your support!
You can get your Christmas in Salem tickets at pre-sale prices until midnight tonight.
www.christmasinsalem.org
(Photo taken by Creative Salem at 2017 tour)
A taste of events at Peabody Essex Museum and Historic New England this December!
We’re so fortunate to be partners with an incredible array of New England’s most gorgeous event venues. Though we could never choose a favorite, here’s a glimpse of five fabulous venues we’ve had the pleasure of working with recently. If you know which gorgeous venues these are, tell us in the comments! ⤵️ To find out why we love them (and see beautiful photos galore), click the link below!
.
https://www.caperscatering.com/post/five-fabulous-event-venues-in-greater-boston
.
.
(No peeking if you're still guessing, but the venues + fantastic photographers + incredible planners for the events featured here are tagged below!)
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Venues:
SoWa Power Station
SoWa Boston
Elm-Bank . Event centre .
9OFS
deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum
decordovaevents
Historic New England
Photography:
Kataram Studios
Zac Wolf
Eric Magnussen
Jill Person Photography
Luis Zepeda photography
Yours Truly Media
Allegro Photography
Event Planners:
Nicole Guilmartin Events
National Association for Catering and Events - Boston
Abi Prodigee Events
Upon A Star Events
K. Kerkorian Weddings & Events
.
.
.
Historic New England's Phillips House has some exciting news from the North Pole! Santa and Mrs. Claus will be visiting Phillips House in Salem on December 17th. More information and reservations can be found here:
On Thanksgiving we posted Medford-born abolitionist Lydia Maria Child's often-misquoted poem about that holiday, and yesterday's post included a review of her new biography by scholar Lydia Moland and a planned book talk this coming week.
This remarkable evening star patterned cradle quilt, believed to have been sewn by Child and sold at an anti-slavery Christmas fair in Boston, is part of Historic New England's extensive textile collection. More photos at
www.historicnewengland.org/explore/collections-access/capobject/?gusn=10459.
"The January 2, 1837, issue of The Liberator, Boston's abolitionist newspaper, described articles that had been for sale at a recent Anti-Slavery Fair. Included was a description of this quilt, 'made of patchwork in small stars' and a transcription of the poem in its center. The Anti-Slavery Fair, held in December 1836, was the third annual fair organized by the Boston Female Anti-Slavery Society, a group founded early in the 1830s to fight for immediate emancipation. Among this group's many activities was the organization of annual Anti-Slavery Fairs. The fairs were intended to raise awareness of the abolitionists' cause, but they also became astonishingly successful fund-raisers."
The hand-inked poem in the center square reads:
Mother! when around your child
You clasp your arms in love,
And when with grateful joy you raise
Your eyes to God above,-
Think of the negro mother, when
Her child is torn away,
Sold for a little slave - oh then
For that poor mother pray!
Finally, this fascinating short blog post describes the quilt's wealthy white abolitionist purchaser and his family's continued anti-slavery activism:
https://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-cradle-quilts-journey.html
Join us on December 9 at 7:30pm for "A Holiday Toast" at Historic New England's Lyman Estate!
Returning for a second year in the Lyman Estate ballroom, "A Holiday Toast" offers peaceful moments of contemplation as well as celebratory numbers sure to get your toes tapping.
Alongside seasonal gems like Corelli’s "Christmas Concerto" and Vivaldi’s "Winter," the players share music that brings them joy each winter, including traditional Danish, Irish, and Ukrainian tunes, and childhood favorites from "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and a beloved 1983 New Year claymation film from Ukraine.
Join us on December 9 at 7:30pm at Historic New England's Lyman Estate for "A Holiday Toast!"
Join Matthew Wittmann, Curator of the Harvard Theatre Collection for a virtual look at the history of drag performance in the United States. 👑👏✨
This program is co-sponsored by Historic New England and tickets are available at:
https://my.historicnewengland.org/16414/am-drag. See you on December 7th!
Thinking about the holidays? This range is perfect for preparing a Thanksgiving feast!
The Walker & Pratt Manufacturing Co. #6 brick-set range was made in Boston in 1879 and remains in its original location in the kitchen of the Eustis Mansion in Milton, MA. This range was ready to prepare any size meal with two ovens, six burners, a roasting tray, and a warming cabinet above the ovens.
Eustis Estate is a spectacular English Queen Anne style house with amazing Aesthetic Movement interiors. It is owned by Historic New England and is architect William R. Emerson's only house open to the public. It will be decorated for a Victorian Christmas and open for tours in December.
I was part of the historic paint analysis team to restore the interior finishes. The work we did is described in "Restoring Your Historic House, The Comprehensive Guide for Homeowners," including before and after photos!
Signed and personalized copies of the award-winning and bestselling 720-page hardcover book are available from the author at YourHistoricHouse.com/shop/ and through the shop on this page.
Our shop also carries select preservation and restoration titles by other authors, including "A Field Guide to American Houses" by Virginia McAlester.
"Restoring Your Historic House is also available in bookstores nationwide and from online retailers.
Eustis Estate Historic New England
So normally today would be Shoreline Saturday. But a week from today I’ll be back at the Eustis Estate in Milton Ma for the Historic New England Holiday Market, my second to last market of the 2022 season. So I thought it fun to revisit a photo I took of the Eustis Estate after the market last year concluded. Can’t wait for next Saturday!
More information about the market can be found on my page!
Photo: Eustis Estate, Milton Ma. November 20th, 2021.
.
.
.
