Feel the Burn

As we begin the season of celebrating Gaspee Days (6 May to 13 June)—complete with children dressed as gravediggers—, here’s an item from a past celebration: a commemorative banner from the 50th anniversary of the Gaspee burning.

In 1772 the Gaspee, a British schooner focused on countering smuggling—and therefore much hated by enterprising Rhode Islanders—was lured into shallow water near Warwick, where it ran aground. Later that night a group of men rowed out from Providence and set fire to the ship in the early hours of the morning. It was one of the early acts of violence against Great Britain in the lead-up to the Revolutionary War.

This banner focuses not only on the burning of the boat, but also on the still-living (as of 1826) participants in the event: Benjamin Page, Ephraim Bowen, Turpin Smith and John Mawney, whose names are featured in scrolls surrounding the image of the Gaspee.

Anyone interested in more background on the events of 1772 can find it at Gaspee.org. Those looking for ways to celebrate can check out the events listing.

The Third Dimension

The visual splendor of James Cameron’s Avatar might seem to occupy the cutting edge of entertainment, but in fact 3D has a long history.  And on June 19th, you can get a taste of the early days of that history at an exciting event: The Third Dimension: Rhode Island in 3-D.

From 7:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at the Aldrich House at 110 Benevolent Street, you can view stereoview images of Rhode Island—from black-and-white images taken in the 1890s to dramatic views of the 1955 Blackstone River flood—as few ever have the chance to see them: on the big screen in all their glory (3D glasses provided). Narration of the events will be provided by local historian Ned Connors.

Not only is this a chance to see a rare visual performance, it’s also a chance to help the Historical Society preserve Rhode Island’s heritage. All proceeds from the event will support our Graphics Inventory Project, an ongoing effort to catalog materials like photographs and stereoviews and make them available for use.  You can find out more about the project at its new blog.

Tickets are $75 and seating is limited. To reserve your seat please contact Natasha Brooks at the RIHS Library, by phone (401) 273-8107 x12, by email programs@rihs.org, or in person at the RIHS Library at 121 Hope Street, Providence, RI 02906.

You can get a sense of the stereoview effect with these Animated Stereoviews of Old Japan.

Celebrating Preservation

This is the start of Preservation Week*, and we wanted to highlight one of our most recent efforts to ensure our materials stay as healthy as possible.

The clothing book** of the Third Regiment, Rhode Island Heavy Artillery is one of a number of Civil War ledgers held by the Historical Society, and it documents one of the essential, but generally overlooked, elements of waging a war: making sure that soldiers have pants and shirts and everything else they need to fight.

Years of use had worn the volume tremendously: the red-rotting spine was no longer intact, making it a difficult volume for researchers to use. But thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, we were able to send the clothing book to the conservators at the Northeast Document Conservation Center.

The $3,000 conservation job brought the volume back to a condition that will make it much more useful to researchers and will keep it healthy for years to come.

Here are a few images of the process:

The volume before conservation work

A conservator cuts the stitching to disbind the volume

The individual signatures loose from the binding

Cleaning the signatures

The text block being placed in its case

Getting ready to letter the spine

The final product, ready to be used

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* Or Preservation Month, if you prefer.

**Third Regiment, Rhode Island Heavy Artillery
Volume 32.      Clothing book, Company A.
August 1861 – September 1865
Cols. Nathaniel W. Brown, Edwin Metcalf, Charles R. Brayton.
Served at Pocotaligo, Morris Island, Fort Wagner, Petersburg, etc.
RIHS Accession #1947.32.17, gift of the National Archives

Independence Day

It’s that time again, time to celebrate Rhode Island’s declaration of their independence from Great Britain. Last year we posted images of the broadside announcement of the breakup.

More information about RI Independence Day is available at the History Channel’s website, among other places.