Northeast Museum Services Center

10/12/2023

Throwback Thursday!

Generally, collections management is no laughing matter.
But not today! Relive one of our more humorous blog posts from 2015 that will bring a smile to your face while teaching you about collections care. Do you remember Goofus and Gallent? Well buckle up for Nikki and Jess!

NMSC museum specialist Jennifer McCann has been on the road quite a bit this year conducting Risk Assessments at various Northeast Region parks. In this blog post, Jennifer outlines the purpose and…

03/15/2023

"It belongs in a museum [collection]"
-Indiana Jones

Archaeologists don't usually agree with the fictional Dr. Jones, except when it comes to snakes and museum objects. 🐍

Did you know it's illegal to disturb or remove archaeological resources from Federal lands? The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA) imposes fines and/or jail time for violations. No digging, metal detecting, or any other disturbance of resources is permitted at Minute Man. Leave the archaeology to the experts!

Alt text: Image of a rough musket ball on white background. Photo by Norm Eggert.

For more information about ARPA: https://www.nps.gov/archeology/tools/Laws/ARPA.htm

11/10/2022

Project scoping visit to the National Parks of Western Pennsylvania…
Day 1: Johnstown Flood National Memorial and Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
Day 2: Friendship Hill National Historic Site and Fort Necessity National Battlefield
Day 3: Flight 93 National Memorial

03/17/2022

On this date in 1930, construction began on New York City's Empire State Building. The world's first 100+ story building, it was designed by architects Shreve, Lamb, and Harmon and built by Starett Bros. and Eken. The Empire State Building broke records for height as well as speed of construction, which finished on May 1, 1931, forty-five days ahead of schedule. Throughout the 20th century, tourists bought mementos depicting the iconic building, including souvenir thermometers like this one. Now tell us! Have you been to the Empire State Building? Did you buy a souvenir?

03/16/2022

Mikayla's hit the mother lode! Lab archeologists often work with little pieces of things, examining them in detail to decipher form and function. Every now and then we come across whole or nearly whole artifacts that make identification easier and make us love our jobs even more! While processing collections from the African Meeting House, Mikayla got to catalog this gorgeous 18th-century bottle, creamware bowl, and intact clay wig curler. It's been a fun few days around here!
(The African Meeting House is managed by the Museum of African American History, a cooperative partner of Boston African American National Historic Site.)

03/14/2022

What's for dinner tonight? How about some PIE? Years ago, more pies were savory than sweet, and meat-filled pies were a frequent menu item at dinner time. Slip-decorated redware pie plate from the archeology collection at Salem Maritime National Historic Site.

03/10/2022

Do you know the name Lydia Pinkham? If you were a woman living in the U.S. a hundred years ago, you probably would! Pinkham's vegetable compound was ubiquitous in American homes around the turn of the century. The compound, which Pinkham developed in her home kitchen in 1873, was intended to relieve the pain of menstrual cramps and the symptoms of menopause. In 1876, Pinkham established Mrs. Lydia Pinkham's Medicine Company in order to increase production and keep up with demand for her compound. This bottle from the archeology collection at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area once contained her herbal recipe. Today we recognize Pinkham's great success as an entrepreneur in a business world largely dominated by men. Her products also encouraged women to seek relief for conditions once considered taboo.

03/08/2022

It's International Women's Day, and the perfect day to pay homage to an important figure in the history of the National Park Service as well as the field of historical archeology. Virginia Sutton Harrington was the first woman to serve as a Ranger Historian in the NPS, taking on the role in Jamestown in 1937. Along with her husband J.C. Harrington, Virginia excavated important archeological sites at Jamestown and elsewhere and also worked to make archeology and artifacts accessible to the public. We love hearing about her early efforts to get collections out of the boxes and into public education! Read more about Virginia Sutton Harrington here!
https://www.nps.gov/jame/virginia-sutton-harrington.htm
https://www.nps.gov/people/j-c-and-virginia-harrington.htm

(NPS photo)

03/07/2022

Do you love the Gilded Age? Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site has it in real life! Rococo paneling, gilding, and floral embellishments - that's the stuff! Stay tuned to VAMA's page to find out when you can tour this gorgeous room!

03/04/2022

Do you know the name Gertrude S. Cooper? Cooper was the first female superintendent of a national park. She was appointed superintendent of Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site in 1940. Read more about here her!

During we honor the first woman superintendent in the National Park Service, Gertrude S. Cooper, who made history when she was appointed superintendent of Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in July, 1940. For five years, she led the staff and managed 200 acres of the historic New York estate’s property, including elaborate buildings, original furnishings, manicured landscapes, natural woodlands, formal gardens and associated documents. At a place preserving stories of the social and economic change during the Gilded Age, this inspiring woman added her own name to the story of our nation’s progress.

From 1941 to 1943, President Roosevelt's Secret Service was housed in the basement and third-floor service areas, and some of the President's personal White House staff and friends occasionally stayed in the main bedrooms of the house, including those of Mr. and Mrs. Vanderbilt. The core Secret Service detail numbered approximately sixteen to twenty-four men, and when additional security was required for the President and visiting dignitaries, the number of agents housed in the Vanderbilt Mansion was as high as thirty-five.

The agents used the beds that remained in the service bedrooms and additional army cots and bunks were added to the rooms. Agents were given a per diem allowance for food and laundry and ate most meals in the Village of Hyde Park or in Poughkeepsie. They made no use of the mansion kitchen areas and used only the basement service entrance to enter the building. Superintendent Cooper became concerned about female visitors in the summer of 1942 and wrote the White House, "I should like to bring to your attention a policy which I intend to enforce rigidly. . . . No women visitors will be allowed in the mansion after official visiting hours. . . ." Mrs. Cooper eventually took over the agents' housekeeping duties and laundry as well.

Superintendent Cooper maintained records of the agents boarded in the mansion and submitted bills to the Secret Service for $1.20 per man per night for use of the rooms.
(from the Vanderbilt Mansion Historic Resource Study)

National Park Service

03/01/2022

Determining vessel type during cataloging helps us understand historic foodways. And we’ve come to the groundbreaking conclusion that people in 18th- and 19th-century Virginia liked BUTTER! And kept their butter in really cool dishes. This 18th-century Whieldon lid with molded basketweave pattern from the archeology collection at Petersburg National Battlefield probably once topped a butter dish like this one from the British Museum. This ironstone sherd from the archeology collection at Fredericksburg & Spotsylvania National Military Park is the insert to a 19th-century covered butter dish, probably shaped like this one from the MET. Because you needed another reason to love butter...😉

02/25/2022

Have you visited Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site? Maggie Lena Walker was the first African American woman in the United States to found a bank. She was also a newspaper editor, leader of a fraternal organization, and a civil rights activist. A virtual exhibit on the park's website points out "Mrs. Walker was the essence of a successful professional. Her many portraits showcase a variety of contemporary hairstyles, stylish dresses, and fashionable hats. She accessorized with an array of jewelry including a favorite gold cross and strands of pearls." And likely perfume as well! The museum collection at Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site contains bottles of perfume owned by Maggie or her daughter-in-law, Hattie. Other toilet bottles were recovered during an archeological excavation at Walker's home in Richmond, Virginia, and probably also once contained perfume or toilet water.

https://www.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/Maggie_Walker/personal_taste.html