Current Exhibits
Re/Collected: Great Works and New Discoveries from the Brown Library
Open to the Public: June 26, 2009 – May 30, 2010
Adults: $5.00; Students & Seniors: $4.00; Children 5–17: $2.00
Free for MHS members
Images: MHS Collections; Buglers © Blethen Maine Newspapers/Maine Historical Society
Heralding the Society's commitment to the history and heritage of Maine and its people, this original exhibition celebrates the breadth and depth of the Brown Library collections at Maine Historical Society. Re/Collected: Great Works and New Discoveries from the Brown Library includes: books, manuscripts, maps, broadsides, photographs, ephemera, architectural and engineering drawings, and other holdings.
Re/Collected reveals the range found in this unparalleled collection, the State's most comprehensive source for the study of Maine history. Unusual Maine riches abound, ranging from official boundary maps to intimate family correspondence. Special highlights include items relating to 17th-century Maine settlements, the Civil War, and Portland's Abyssinian Meeting House.
Re/Collected shares such treasures as Giovanni Battista Ramusio's Venetian book of world exploration (1565); an original copy of the Declaration of Independence, printed by John Dunlap on July 4, 1776; Thomas McKenney and James Hall’s magnificent History of the Indian Tribes of North America (1837¬-1844); a unique bookplate design by Winslow Homer; and architectural drawings by John Calvin Stevens.
The exhibition marks the re-dedication of the MHS library as the Alida Carroll and John Marshall Brown Library. The Browns were prominent figures in 19th-century Maine and this dedication honors their devotion to Maine and its history.
The Phineas W. Sprague Memorial Foundation and the BHA Foundation have generously provided funding for the exhibition.