BostomanSociete Social - thereaum Bostonian Society (The) - Old State House Page 1 of 1 Home Visitors Press Tour Planner Meeting Planner Online Reservations SEARCH DETAILS Bostonian Society (The) - Old State House Founded in 1881 to save the Old State House from being moved to Chicago, The Bostonian Society is the historical society for the city of Boston. Through library and museum collections which date from the 1630s to the twentieth century, with exhibitions on the American Theatre, food, Revolution and Boston's neighborhoods, and through programs for wine, adults and children, the Society brings Boston history to life. museums, The Bostonian Society is the first stop for anyone interested in the music, & family fun make city's history. With a museum within the 1713 Old State House, a Jan. to March research library and programs and events for all ages, the Society a BOSTON provides a comprehensive resource. OVERNIGHT getaway. Old State House There's so much to do, 206 Washington Street you have to Boston, MA 02109 stay over. Phone: 617-720-1713 More http://www.bostonhistory.org Email: oldstatehouse@bostonhistory.org Admission:Adults $5.00, Older Adults (62+) $4.00, Students (over 18) Cash in on $4.00, Children (6-18) $1.00.Group rates available with reservation, great savings call 617-720-1713x27. Library open by appointment Tues-Thurs 9:30- all over town - hotels, 4:30 Admission $10; College Students $5; free to high school students. shopping, theatre, tours, dining and more More Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau Two Copley Place, Suite 105, Boston, MA 02116-6501 1-888-SEE BOSTON, fax: 617-424-7664 http://www.bostonusa.com/visitor/resdet.php?seqnum=2850&type=org 1/26/2005 The Boston Historical Society and Museum Page 1 of 1 THE BOSTONIAN SOCIETY SEARCH GENERAL INFORMATION EVENTS SHOP LIBRARY AND MUSEUM GET INVOLVED New Website Feature -- ECOMMERCE! Shop from the comfort of your warm home. This new feature streamlines your purchases from the museum shop and digital reproductions of photographs from our collections. While you're online become a member, make a donation or renew your membership to support our ongoing efforts! ONLINE COLLECTIONS CATALOG These photographs and approximately 3,000 other Boston streetscapes and views are now available in the Bostonian Society's new database of publications, historic photograph manuscripts, broadsides, and ephemera. See how Boston h changed over time by searching the photograph catalog for pictures of streetcars, children at the turn-of-the century, Boston Common in the snow, buildings under construction, buildings that are no longer there including those lost to the Great Fire of 1872. You might particularly enjoy a street na search for images of your home, workplace, or neighborhoo The catalog is updated periodically. Keep your eye out for View of Back Bay from the changes and additions, and please give us your feedback al Massachusetts State House, 1854 this new service. Information about ordering reproductions available from the search page. Go to Online Collections! The 2004 Boston Historical and Museum Newsletter Issue 2 now available. Download Now! The Boston Historical Society and Museum Page 1 of 2 GENERAL INFORMATION EVENTS SHOP LIBRARY AND MUSEUM GET INVOLVED EDUCATION Reference Services THE BOSTONEAN The Bostonian Society has both a Library collection SOCIETY (photographs, books, manuscripts, maps, and ephemera), and a Museum collection (prints, paintings, and historic artifacts). Reference services are handled separately for these two Library And Museum departments. Reference Services Online Catalog Library Collections Library Reference: 2000 Donation Research Guide The Library, located at 15 State Street, across from the Old Ordering Images State House, is open for appointments Tuesday through Letter of Permission Thursday 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. The Library is closed holidays. Call (617) 720-1713 ext. 12, for an appointment to use the Library. Boston FAQ's There is a $10 non-member fee and $5 college student fee for visits to the Library. Fees are waived for use of the Library by Museum of Fine Arts members of the Society; representatives of Boston area non- profit institutions; and high school students. Built in the 1870s, the first Museum of Fine Arts was an impressive structure in For reference requests received online, by mail, or phone, a Copley Square. In 1909, the museum donation is generally requested to support our services. A was moved to its present location on research fee of $50 per hour may be charged for in-depth Huntington Avenue. research depending on staff availability. Advance payment is required for large photocopying orders. Rules for Use of the Library Museum Reference: The Museum collection of prints, paintings, and historical artifacts is housed in the Old State House. Routine reference requests will be handled in the order they are received. A research fee of $50 per hour may be charged for in-depth research depending on staff availability. Visits are by appointment only, and fees for visits will be assessed based on the complexity of the request. Call (617) 720-1713 ext. 24, for an appointment. Online users: Priority is given to requests from members and for photograph orders. The reference staff responds to inquiries in the order in which they are received. Responses should be expected within 7-10 business days. Routine questions and referrals usually receive faster service. Image Order Form: After you have searched the catalog and found the images you are looking for, use this form to place your order for reproductions. Library Request Form: To be submitted by researchers seeking additional information, or wishing to make an http://www.bostonhistory.org/refserv.php 1/26/2005 The Boston Historical Society and Museum Page 1 of 5 GENERAL INFORMATION EVENTS SHOP LIBRARY AND MUSEUM GET INVOLVED EDUCATION THE Library Collections HOSTONEAN SOCIETY Created when The Bostonian Society was founded in 1881, the Library is an important research facility for persons studying all aspects of Boston's history. Towards that end, the Library collects and conserves material about Boston's history, provides Library Collections reference services in person, online, by telephone and by mail, Directions actively promotes the collections to interested scholars, and Collections supports staff research projects. Book Collection View of Back Bay from the Massachusetts State House, 1854 Scrapbook Collection Directions Vertical Files Visual Collections 15 State Street, directly across from the Old State House at the Map Collections corner of State and Washington Streets, 3rd floor. Adjacent to Manuscript the State Street station on the MBTA Orange and Blue lines and Collections one block from the Government Center station on the Green line. Online Catalog Reference Services Collections Photo Digitization Grant The Library collects material in a wide range of formats and media, including books, newspapers, magazines, broadsides, maps, printed ephemera, sheet music, manuscripts, paper currency, architectural drawings, and proclamations. Of particular importance are the Library's visual collections, which include over 30,000 photographs. Book Collection The Library contains over 7,000 books and serial publications, including general works on Boston history, Boston city directories dating from 1789 to the present, and government documents. Particularly valuable resources include inventories of the city's historic burial grounds, completed by the Historic Burying Ground Initiative, and inventories of historic Boston buildings, compiled by the Boston Landmarks Commission. Other resources include a comprehensive collection of older guides to the city, regimental histories and 19th-century biographies and biographical directories. The Library also has valuable material documenting Revolutionary War-era Boston, including many 18th-century books and documents such as the first printed account of the Boston Massacre. Another valuable resource for the study of Boston history is the Society's own Publications and Proceedings, which include published articles on Boston history, as well as reprinted lectures delivered at Society events. TOP http://www.bostonhistory.org/libcoll.php 1/26/2005 The Boston Historical Society and Museum Page 2 of 5 Scrapbook Collection The Society has a growing scrapbook collection. The most significant part of this collection contains newspaper clippings from the late 19th and early 20th century on a wide variety of topics related to Boston's history, many from the Boston Evening Transcript. The collection is fully indexed by subject. More narrowly focused collections include a set of four oversized scrapbooks documenting the activities of the Boston Housing Authority between 1957 and 1963, and 61 volumes focusing on the Boston City Council between 1957 and 1979. There is also a scrapbook of early baseball history in Boston, compiled by James D'Wolf Lovett, himself an active ballplayer in 19th-century Boston, as well as a scrapbook on George Washington's tour of New England in 1789. The Society's own archives also contains three scrapbooks relating to the history of The Bostonian Society and the Old State House from 1879 to the present. Vertical Files The Society has long maintained a sizable collection of vertical files, which can be a very valuable source of material often not readily available elsewhere. The collection contains news clippings, brochures, pamphlets, annual reports, arranged alphabetically by topic. The Library has a number of small, in-house indexes to Boston history, including an index to The Bostonian Society's Proceedings and Publications, an index to older published articles on Boston history, and a small index to articles on Boston in Gleason's and Ballou's magazines in the 19th century. Visual Collections The Society's visual collections are a significant resource for studying the history of Boston, particularly the history of how its built environment--its streets, buildings and squares-- developed and has changed over time. The collection includes 30,000 photographic prints, 1,200 stereographs, 2,200 postcards, and four binders of slides. There are also 800 engravings as well as numerous lithographs and other drawings. The photograph collections have a particular strength in documenting the downtown commercial and financial districts, as well as neighborhoods such as the South End, the West End, and Beacon Hill. Similarly, the collections are strongest for the period from 1850 to 1920. However, 20th century collections and photographs of all of Boston's neighborhoods, are steadily being added through recent donations. http://www.bostonhistory.org/libcoll.php 1/26/2005 The Boston Historical Society and Museum Page 5 of 5 Other important collections include Fire Societies and the records of different social clubs, both collections total approximately eight feet. There is also the records of the New England Guards. Personal papers include the papers of Charles Theodore Russell, Boston Mayor Hugh O'Brien, and the Don Juan Stoughton Family Papers, both of which are approximately one linear foot. TOP The Bostonian Society © 2005 Nothing from the site can be reproduced without specific written permission issued by: The Bostonian Society I 206 Washington Street I Boston, MA 02109 - 1773 Any questions, call (617) 720 1713 http://www.bostonhistory.org/libcoll.php 1/26/2005