Historic Deerfield

The deadline to register for our upcoming museum course is March 12 at 7 a.m. Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to learn about the history of music from Historic Deerfield's musician-in-residence Dr. Tim Eriksen in "One Hundred Years of Song: Singing Early New England Music for Science, Memory, and Abolitionism, 1770–1870." Join us Wednesdays, March 12, 19, and 26, for a fascinating exploration of early New England music, available both virtually and in person. Register now and learn more: https://lnkd.in/eZM3AN4N

Eighteenth-century British hunting parties frequently included an alcoholic toast to success in the pursuit of their quarry. These drinks were often served in a "stirrup cup" designed without a stem, foot, or handle, so that the rider could grasp the vessel while clutching the horse's reins. Cups were molded in the shape of both hunters (greyhounds, fox hounds, and terriers) and prey (foxes, hares, salmon, and stags). Over time, more elaborate designs appeared, occasionally bearing inscriptions connected with the chase, such as “Tally-ho” or “Success to the Hunt.” We are rooting for the fox! Historic Deerfield has an extensive collection of British ceramics that will be on view in the Flynt Center of Early New England Life when it reopens May 3rd. Some objects are just curious and completely absent from our daily lives such as these stirrup cups. __ Stag-Head Stirrup Cup, Staffordshire or Yorkshire, England, ca. 1780. Lead-glazed, cream-colored earthenware (creamware). OH: 3 ? in. (9.52 cm) OW: 5 1/8 in. (13.02 cm) OD: 4 3/8 in. (11.11 cm). Historic Deerfield, Museum Purchase with funds provided by Ray J. and Anne K. Groves, 2006.33.31.

Historic Deerfield is proud to announce the upcoming hybrid conference, “Engaging with the Legacies of Northern Slavery,” in partnership with the Witness Stones Project. This one-day event will mark the completion of the second phase of installing 35 Witness Stones Memorials?, which honor the lives of enslaved individuals who lived and worked in Deerfield, Massachusetts. In the eighteenth century, over a third of the households along Deerfield's mile-long street included enslaved people, and these memorials are part of an ongoing effort to recover and share their stories. Join us on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Deerfield Community Center (16 Memorial St. Deerfield, MA) or virtually via Zoom as we hear from insightful speakers exploring the profound legacies of slavery in the north. Don't miss out on this important conversation—whether in person or online! Registrants will also receive access to recorded presentations. Register at https://lnkd.in/erMCx4ZM.

Last Sunday, as part of our free virtual winter lecture series, Historic Deerfield hosted a fantastic talk by Dr. Alexandra M. Macdonald, which covered how embodied knowledge—in this case, Dr. Macdonald used period-specific ingredients and methods to recreate historical craft and culinary recipes, such as indigo vats and preserved food—to assist in understanding the sensory ways people engaged with time during the eighteenth-century Atlantic world. If you weren't able to make it, recordings are available for everyone who registers! The next lecture in our series will be by Dr. Sara J. Schechner entitled, "Marking Time during the American Revolutionary Period: Sundials and Clocks." This lecture will be on Sunday, March 30th from 2–3 p.m. We look forward to seeing you there! Register here: https://lnkd.in/eHD9Stzf

Lauren D. Whitley, Curator of Historic Textiles and Clothing at Historic Deerfield, is hard at work putting the final touches on a collection of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century fashions for the upcoming exhibition, "Body By Design: Fashionable Silhouettes from the Ideal to the Real." Don’t miss this exciting exhibition, opening on May 3 in the Flynt Center's Textile Gallery! https://lnkd.in/eERC9ZSm

This weekend is your last chance to visit the Flynt Center this winter! We'll be open Saturday and Sunday, 9:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. with free admission for all! Three great exhibitions await—plus our visible storage area on the second floor, where you can get lost (in a good way!) exploring thousands of collections objects! https://lnkd.in/eMeFUYgr After this weekend, the Flynt Center will be closed for a couple of months as we get ready to present exciting new exhibitions! We will reopen for the main season on May 3rd.

Have you been to the History Workshop at Historic Deerfield? The History Workshop is a hands-on play and activity space located in a renovated 1870s barn. It offers a drop-in space where children and adults alike can have fun in a variety of history-themed activity areas. The History Workshop features rotating educational themes and make-and-take crafts inspired by Historic Deerfield’s collections, exhibitions, and aspects of daily life in Deerfield over the centuries. Recent themes have included ceramic surface design, needlework, drawing and making pastels, chasing and repoussé on metal, almanacs and orreries, and tavern games. Today and tomorrow (Feb. 20 & 21) the History Workshop is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for February school vacation! The next time the History Workshop will be open is for April Vacation Week (April 21–25). Come and play at the History Workshop!

Our Collections Care Technician, Samantha Frost, recently returned from the “Handling and Maintenance of Historic House Collections” workshop in Baltimore, Maryland! The week-long workshop took place at the Homewood Museum and Evergreen Museum & Library on the Johns Hopkins University campus. Participants from house museums across the country attended several training sessions on historic housekeeping, mold remediation, integrated pest management, environmental monitoring, condition reporting, and creating storage solutions for different types of objects. This training will help Sam and the Curatorial department as they care for our 12 historic houses and 32,000 objects! Thank you to the American Institute for Conservation & Foundation for Advancement in Conservation for providing museum professionals with wonderful professional development opportunities like this!

The Deerfield Collectors Guild helps preserve the rich history of our region by acquiring and protecting rare objects that tell our story. Right now, two amazing Guild-funded acquisitions are on view at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life—but only until February 23! Too Rainy for School, Just Enough for Fishing (1875) by James Wells Champney, part of In Pursuit of the Picturesque, shows a whimsical rainy-day adventure, with a hand-carved border by the artist himself. A beautiful cherry and brass Lowboy (c. 1905), crafted by Dr. Edwin C. Thorn, is featured in Building A Collection: Recent Acquisitions. Thorn, one of Deerfield’s two doctors, was also a talented woodworker and key figure in the Deerfield Arts and Crafts movement. Visit before February 23 to see these rare treasures! And if you care about preserving Deerfield’s artistic and cultural legacy, consider joining the Collectors Guild. Gifts of $500+ get exclusive event access, but any donation helps! Plan Your Visit: https://lnkd.in/ecapikfc Support the Collectors Guild: https://lnkd.in/efFakFw5

This March, take a musical journey through the history of New England in our new museum course, "One Hundred Years of Song: Singing Early New England Music for Science, Memory, and Abolitionism, 1770-1870" with Dr. Tim Eriksen. Explore how music shaped social and political movements, from groundbreaking “scientific” singing practices to the powerful role of song in the fight for freedom. In this unique course, you’ll learn about three key areas of early New England music as a scientific experiment, local history, and a tool for Abolitionist social justice. Join us on Wednesdays (March 12, 19, and 26) for this 3-session course, available in-person or virtually. Instructor: Dr. Tim Eriksen, Ethnomusicologist & Historic Deerfield’s Musician in Residence Register today at https://lnkd.in/eZM3AN4N.