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Our copy of A description of the Island of Jamaica with the Other Isles and Territories in America to which the English are Related (1678) was very well loved. Almost every blank page or half-blank page is filled with writings from prior owners. #handwriting #marginalia #WriteInBooksYouOwn #WeAdmireTheDoodles300YearsLaterLovely inscription in a copy of Graham Green’s Our Man in Havana which was read in outer space, given to Greene by Soviet cosmonaut Georgy GrechkoSpotted on our hold shelves: Philosophia magnetica in qua magnetis natura (QC751 .C32 1629 Jesuitica) which includes this early map of the world #maps #EarlyMapsOfEarth #AustraliaMeetsAntarticaBreaking out our beloved Book of Kells facsimile for Nancy Netzer’s Early Medieval Art in Ireland and Britain seminar today. The students take an intensive dive through our Irish manuscript facsimiles over multiple class sessions. #bookofkells #irishmanuscript #arthistory #facsimilesFollow us on Twitter!
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Category Archives: Boston History
The Changing 20th Century: A Look into the Margaret M. Fitzgerald Papers
While Burns Library has papers from notable figures such as Tip O’Neill and W.B. Yeats, there is still much to discover in the collections about those who may not be in history textbooks or literary canons. Margaret Mary Fitzgerald is one … Continue reading
Posted in Archives & Manuscripts, Boston History
Tagged department stores, Filene's, labor history, minimum wage, retail workers, suffrage
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Digging into Funeral Home Records: The Ledgers of J.D. Fallon & Son, Jamaica Plain
Funeral practices in the United States moved from personal residences to funeral homes in the late 19th century. Until that period, families laid out their own dead, wakes were held in houses, and burials — by necessity — swiftly followed … Continue reading
The Avatar and Fort Hill Community
When we think about the history of cults and communes in the United States, we often jump to the big names: The Manson Family, Jim Jones’ People’s Temple, the Branch Davidians, the Ragjneeshpurams. What we may not consider is that … Continue reading
Sounds of Mid-20th Century Irish America: Irish Traditional Music in Boston and New York
Two collections of open-reel tapes of Irish traditional music in Boston and New York (1950s-1960s) have been digitized by Boston College Libraries. Continue reading
Posted in Archives & Manuscripts, Boston History, Digital Projects, Irish Music Archives, Irish Studies
Tagged Ireland, music
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In His Own Grave: Undertaker Thomas Murray’s Record of St. Augustine Cemetery Burials, 1833-1839
1840 Janury 7 Thomas Murray 59 yrs in his own grave Buried from South Boston ~~ Final entry in Thomas Murray’s record ~~ In 21 pages of closely written entries in a slim 8″ x 10” notebook, undertaker Thomas Murray … Continue reading
Boston in the Early Republic
The John J. Burns Library’s Boston collection houses approximately 4,500 works about the city and its neighboring municipalities. While the majority of this collection encompasses material from the 19th and 20th centuries, as a result of the remarkable growth in … Continue reading
Fenway Park: Boston’s Bandbox
Fenway Park is one of the long-standing treasures of New England, that contains within it the history and tradition of many generations and their beloved baseball team, the Boston Red Sox. Nestled on the intersection of Lansdowne and Yawkey Way, … Continue reading
