Announcing our 2023 Exhibitions

Announcing our 2023 Exhibitions

by | Feb 16, 2023 | News

A painting featuring the Portsmouth waterfront with a metal, vertical-lift bridge behind warehouses located at shores edge. "A Sense of Place" is written on the image, denoting the name of the exhibition.

A Sense of Place

This companion exhibition to the recent publication “A History of Portsmouth NH in 101 Objects” encourages visitors to explore our shared past. From the Abenaki, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years, through European settlement, Portsmouth’s generations of families have defined the area in myriad ways.

We challenge visitors to think about the objects that will define “a sense of place” for Portsmouth over the next 400 years.

Learn more about "A Sense of Place"
Exhibition Title "Reinventing Portsmouth" written in a large sanserif font ontop of a recolorized photograph from the 1970s of many young adults standing outside of a brick house painted a darker blue with a sign next to it reading "Matthew Marsh House"

Reinventing Portsmouth

In the late 1960s and 1970s, the landscape of Portsmouth moved in new directions. A new generation with fresh ideas and entrepreneurial energy cultivated a vision that diverged from earlier approaches to the community’s growth and embraced both historic preservation and modern development.

This story is one that still rings true today—how a group of concerned citizens joined together through public and private partnerships to create community. This is a story of civic engagement and a call to action for all.

Learn more about "Reinventing Portsmouth"

Upcoming Programming

Workshop on 4/13 at 7pm Family, Memory, Place: Writing Family Stories for Our Community.
Lecture 5/18 Treasures from the Isles of Shoals: How New Archaeology is Changing Old history. Free to attend, preregistration is recommended. Background image is an isalnd with e white lgihthouse standing about five storeys on the left with a long ramp connecting it to a small keepers cottage on right.
Community Conversation 6/15 Does Truth Matter? Free to attend, preregistration is recommended. Information on a blue background with an image of the presenter Dr. Joshua Tepley at right.
Book Cover for "A History of Portsmouth in 101 Objects" featuring a close up of an ornate metal doorknob on a door with flaking red paint.

Shop the gift store

2023 is the 400th anniversary of European settlement in Portsmouth. Uncover stories of the region through the many books for sale in our gift shop.

Browse the Online Shop

History. Arts. Culture.

Reinventing Portsmouth

Reinventing Portsmouth

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Past Exhibitions

Exhibition Title "Reinventing Portsmouth" written in a large sanserif font ontop of a recolorized photograph from the 1970s of many young adults standing outside of a brick house painted a darker blue with a sign next to it reading "Matthew Marsh House"

April 7- October 9, 2023

Renewal to Renaissance: 1970s

Programs, Events, & Lectures

About the Exhibition

Programs, Events, & Lectures

Events are being added all the time! Please check back in for updates.

 

Exhibition Programs

Connect with Portsmouth and our local community through the collection or workshops, lectures, and community conversations we have planned this season.

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Exhibition Open Seven Days
10:00 AM–5:00 PM

In the late 1960s and 1970s, the landscape of Portsmouth moved in new directions. A new generation with fresh ideas and entrepreneurial energy cultivated a vision that diverged from earlier approaches to the community’s growth and embraced both historic preservation and modern development. Business owners, civil servants, and cultural leaders leveraged the accessibility of the Seacoast offered by I-95, the inheritance of historical architecture, and the availability of federal funds to create an environment that attracted restaurateurs, fine and performing arts, and turned Portsmouth into the destination it is today.

This story is one that still rings true today—how a group of concerned citizens joined together through public and private partnerships to create community. This is a story of civic engagement and a call to action for all.

Market Square Day, 1978.
Colorized reproduction from original photographic negative.
Image courtesy of Portsmouth Athenaeum.

Mary Jane Connor (1921-2010)
Grace Casey, ca.1975.
Oil on canvas. Private collection.

“Jubalay” poster
Produced for Theatre by the Sea
Ink on paper, 1977
Portsmouth Athenaeum, MS056, Box 3 F11

Omer T. Lassonde (1903–1980)
A Time to Celebrate
Oil on canvas, 1975
Collection of Robert S. Chase
Awarded Josie Prescott Bicentennial Award, Prescott Park Arts Festival, 1975.

View Upriverm six figures are seated with thier backs to the photographer. They look upriver at several large homes and a tall telephone tower.

J. D. Lincoln (1933–2022). View Upriver from River House Gallery. Silver gelatin print, 1970s. Grace Casey Collection.

Image of Buddy Haller, holding a ceramic bowl and stirring something with a wooden spoon. Buddy is wearing a button-up shirt with a floral patter. Buddy stands in front of a stovetop with shelving above it.

Portrait of Chef James “Buddy” Haller from the Blue Strawbery Cookbook.

Image of Buddy Haller, holding a ceramic bowl and stirring something with a wooden spoon. Buddy is wearing a button-up shirt with a floral patter. Buddy stands in front of a stovetop with shelving above it.

J. D. Lincoln (1933–2022). Actors of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Carousel” along the Prescott Park riverfront. Grace Casey Collection

Thank you to our generous sponsors

✻

Anonymous
Ed & Fran Mallon
McNabb Properties
Thoresen Werner Families Fund

✻

A Sense of Place

A Sense of Place

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Past Exhibitions

A painting featuring the Portsmouth waterfront with a metal, vertical-lift bridge behind warehouses located at shores edge. "A Sense of Place" is written on the image, denoting the name of the exhibition.

April 1- October 28, 2023

An exhibition to accompany The History of Portsmouth in 101 Objects

Programs, Events, & Lectures

About the Exhibition

Programs, Events, & Lectures

Events are being added all the time! Please check back in for updates.

 

Exhibition Programs

Connect with Portsmouth and our local community through the collection or workshops, lectures, and community conversations we have planned this season.

There are no upcoming events at this time.

Exhibition Open Seven Days
10:00 AM–5:00 PM

This companion exhibition to the recent publication “A History of Portsmouth NH in 101 Objects” encourages visitors to explore our shared past. From first being the home of the Abenaki, who have inhabited the area for thousands of years, through European settlement, Portsmouth’s generations of families have defined the area in myriad ways.

This exhibition includes dozens of objects featured in the book, as well as providing its own episodic glimpse into the shadows of our past. From maps to landscape paintings, commemorative items and objects of daily life, our exhibition demonstrates Portsmouth’s history in expressive ways that expand on the typical historical narrative.

We challenge visitors to think about the objects that will define “a sense of place” for Portsmouth over the next 400 years.

“Brotherhood of Piscataqua Bucks” certificate to commemorate Portsmouth’s 350th anniversary, ca. 1973. Gift of Robert Philbrook, 2021.

Portsmouth Burying Ground by Gertrude Fiske ca. 1925. Oil on canvas. Gift in memory of Harold B. Willis, Jr. 2022

Ruth Blay Quilt Fragment, c. 1735-1768.

Wooden rocking chair.

“Rock Rest” rocking chair, possibly Grand Rapids, Michigan, ca. 1910; retailed by Margeson Brothers, Portsmouth. Gift of Bob Shouse, 2014. Photo, Ralph Morang.

Oil painting of Old Houses Near Vaughan St. Portsmouth, NH by Daniel Atwater.

David Atwater (1901-1981), North End, Grey Day, 1971. Oil on canvas board. Private collection.

Brown wooden sign for an Antiques dealer with an artists palette underneath.
Book Cover for "A History of Portsmouth in 101 Objects" featuring a close up of an ornate metal doorknob on a door with flaking red paint.

Get Your Copy of “101 Objects”

As a memento of the 400th anniversary, this volume gives readers a sense of “who we are” and “where we are” as Portsmouth continues its journey from our past before 1623 to our future beyond 2023. Each object is depicted with a full-page photograph accompanied by an essay by a local author – 80 different writers who are the historians, experts, participants and observers of Portsmouth history best able to explain how each object’s story offers a path into our bigger 400+ year history.

Visit “A Sense of Place” to see some of the many objects included in this volume.

Buy A Copy

Behind the scenes during the off-season

Behind the scenes during the off-season

by | Feb 2, 2023 | News

Get an idea of just some of the projects Portsmouth Historical Society staff have been working on while our doors are closed to the public.
Two museum professionals remove a rectangular plexiglass bonnet from a display case using suction cup grips.
Saying goodbye to the 2022 exhibitions

Almost all of the artwork from “Show + Tell” has gone back to the artists. This means object lists and floor plans for the 2023 exhibitions have also begun. Follow our social channels to keep up-to-date on our upcoming exhibitions.

Cleaning up at John Paul Jones

While cleaning out a closet across the street, our curatorial staff found the old linoleum or oil cloth flooring that we believe pre-dates the Historical Society’s founding in 1917.

Linoleum or oil cloth flooring from sometime before 1917 with a golden and red pattern of geometric flowers at the center of ornate squares.
Small dog with grey and white hair and perky ears sits in front of a computer with email pulled up.
Restocking the Gift Shop

As we join the city in celebrating Portsmouth’s 400th anniversary, we are stocking the gift shop items that commemorate 400 plus years of history and showcase the many talented artists who live in and around our great city. Be sure to say hi to Lluvia, our shop dog, when you come in.

Making it easier to find your way

With all of our new staff settling in, it’s time to update our office signage! Despite being spread out over several offices we hope that our new wayfinding signs help visitors know where the exhibits end and where to go for meetings.

Museum employee in a burgundy shirt faces awat from the camera as they hang up a blue and white office sign on a door.

From the collection

Small, four-legged, wooden table made out of maple with a warm, slightly orange finish.
While you shouldn’t scratch your name onto the table, every now and then historians get excited about a little graffiti.

Thanks to an inscription on this table we know a bit more about its owner Molly Miles (ca. 1718-1829) of Kittery Point, Maine. Molly was enslaved by members of the Pepperrell family and we do not know much about her life before she gained her freedom in 1783. We can imagine Molly sitting at this modest table, reading and writing, or eating and working.

“Molly’s table,” more broadly, reminds us of the daily lives of many African Americans, enslaved and free, whose very existence on the Seacoast has long been overlooked and undervalued.

Table (“Molly’s table”), ca. 1750 with later additions. Maple; two replaced legs, oak. Gift of Alan and Anne Cutter (2017.2).

Join the Team

The Portsmouth Historical Society in Portsmouth, NH seeks an engaging and knowledgeable individual to assist in our Welcome Center & Gift Shop.

Two Front Desk Assistants

April 1 – December 30, approximately 20 hours/week

See Full Job Listing and Apply
Image of the Portsmouth Historical Society building, a two story brick structure with white windows and doors. A blue semi-transparent highlighter is scribbled over the image of the building and "we're hiring" is written in white text.
Book Cover for "A History of Portsmouth in 101 Objects" featuring a close up of an ornate metal doorknob on a door with flaking red paint.

Shop the gift store

2023 is the 400th anniversary of European settlement in Portsmouth. Uncover stories of the region through the many books for sale in our gift shop.

Browse the Online Shop

History. Arts. Culture.

January at Portsmouth Historical Society

January at Portsmouth Historical Society

by | Jan 20, 2023 | News

Welcome our new staff members!

 

You’ve probably already seen them in the museum hard at work or smiling in photos, but we would like to formally introduce you to our new staff members:
Sabina Ion, Marketing Manager

Sabina is a trained archeologist with a long history in public outreach. She most recently worked at the American independence Museum and loves translating the work that happens inside the museum into the digital world to share with a broader audience.

Sarah Robbitts-Terry, Volunteer and Program Coordinator

Sarah has enjoyed a career as an educator in schools as well as museums. She is passionate about lifelong learning and can’t wait to bring all kinds of new programs, workshops, and activities to the Portsmouth community.

Molly Liolios, Collections Manager and Registrar

Molly has her masters in History and Archives from U Mass Boston and has previously worked at the Heritage Museum and Gardens. She looks forward to sharing objects that have not been on display.

Kim Simmons, Development Manager

Kim comes to us from just across town, having most recently worked at Albacore Park. She has a passion for all things maritime and is particularly excited when the tall ships come to town. She plans to use her enthusiasm for community history to broaden engagement with the Historical Society.

A successful end to the 2022 season

Show+ Tell Exhibition featuring Greater Seacoast Illustrators. Image has a green background and several characters featured in these illustrated books below.
Bonus Gingerbread, exhibition extended until December 30. Written on a snowy backdrop with an adorable cartoon penguin wearing a pink sweater.

From the collection

Season Ending Soon text over an image of the Historical Society building
In an era before supermarkets where would you go for foodstuffs? Your local grocers or merchants who sometimes styled themselves as “West India Goods” retailers. This jug was made for Alfred Tucker who sold foodstuffs, including imports from the Caribbean such as rum and molasses from his shop in Spring Hill (the area where Market, Bow, and Ceres streets meet). This bustling area is now home to restaurants, ice cream emporiums, and a variety of retail shops, as well as apartments, and private dwellings.

Tucker’s jug reminds us of the area’s previous incarnation and enhances our understanding of the West India grocers’ important role in the mid-nineteenth century.

🏺Jug, New England, ca. 1849–56, Stoneware with cobalt-blue decoration, Gift from the estate of Edward and Florence Morrison (2019. 003).

History. Arts. Culture.