Tag Archives: Boston

Digging into Funeral Home Records: The Ledgers of J.D. Fallon & Son, Jamaica Plain

Posted on October 7, 2019 by

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 →

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Joe Derrane and his Gaillard Accordion

Posted on April 30, 2018 by

The Irish Music Archives at John J. Burns Library is delighted to announce the acquisition and display of Joe Derrane’s D/C# Gaillard accordion, a gift to the Library from his children, Joseph P. Derrane, Jr. and Sheila A. Harvey. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Acquisitions, Archives & Manuscripts, Exhibits & Events, Irish Music Archives, Irish Studies | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Boston in the Early Republic

Posted on January 22, 2018 by

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 →

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Charitable Irish Society St. Patrick’s Day Dinner, March 17, 1953

Posted on October 16, 2017 by

A January 27, 1953 Western Union Telegram invited the newly elected, Senator John F. Kennedy (D. Massachusetts), to respond to the traditional toast to the United States at the 216th anniversary dinner for the Charitable Irish Society of America. Senator … Continue reading →

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Jane Jacobs Exhibition Explores BC’s Connections to Famed Urban Theorist and Activist

Posted on May 4, 2017 by

Jane Jacobs would have turned 101 today. She died just short of her 90th birthday following tours for her last book, Dark Age Ahead. Yet, as a letter on exhibit from her archives at Burns Library indicates, she had plans … Continue reading →

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Edward Hartwell Savage’s Police Department Questionnaire of 1877

Posted on April 3, 2017 by

Question: Number of miles of streets in your jurisdiction? – Edward Harwell Savage, Chief of Police, Boston, Massachusetts Answer: A Philadelphia Lawyer could hardly answer this interrogatory. –  A. Erickson, City Marshal, Houston, Texas Edward Hartwell Savage (1812-1893) joined the … Continue reading →

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The Golden Cockerel Press

Posted on November 16, 2015 by

Abebooks, an online rare book dealer, identifies fine and private presses in the following manner: “A fine press is a type of publisher that produces books of a high intrinsic and artistic quality…[A] private press…is a type of small press … Continue reading →

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