on fellow ous L g ulletinH e Volume 11 No. 2 A Newsletter of the Friends of the Longfellow House and the December 2007 Longfellow House Archives CatalogingB Complete At Last fter sixteen years of painstaking and region, has worked to- Ameticulous work, archivists have fin- gether with the Longfel- ished cataloging the multigenerational col- low NHS museum staff lection of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow to complete this monu- and his extended family’s papers in the mental project. The team Longfellow House archives. Skilled profes- combed through un- sionals have examined and organized over sorted and inadequately 700,000 documents – letters, journals, man- stored papers, categoriz- uscripts, and drawings – from the Longfel- ing and filing them in lows, Appletons, Danas, and Wadsworths. acid-free folders. Archi- Twenty-two corresponding finding aids, vists then labeled each most of which are now available on the folder and listed it in a Longfellow National Historic Site website, finding aid. Sometimes provide researchers with an indispensable they cross referenced the Catalogers of the House archives (left to right): David Vecchioli, tool for learning about this extraordinary historic items by listing Margaret Welch, Anita Israel, Jennifer Lyons, Lauren Malcolm, 2007 collection and for locating materials. them in more than one finding aid. Each finding aid includes an overview of its Since 1991, the National Park Service’s Without the cataloging and finding subject, biographical information, and an Northeast Museum Services Center staff, aids, these documents would be lost to index of the particular collection’s con- which catalogs collections throughout the scholars of American culture and history. (continued on page 2) Treasuring Family Heritage: A Brief History of the House Archives uring his lifetime, Henry early seventeenth century. Be- DW. Longfellow and his cause of the House’s connection family treasured their personal to , people documents, and they created an offered Longfellow memorabilia informal archives in their home. associated with the first presi- In addition to collecting books dent. He accepted a lottery ticket for his vast library and preserv- signed by Washington. ing his own papers, the poet After Henry’s death in 1882, saved his children’s, parents’, his daughter Alice Longfellow and other relatives’ letters, jour- remained in the House. She and nals, manuscripts, photographs, her siblings paid homage to and drawings. their father through their stew- Before the twentieth century, ardship of his property. They letter-writing served as the major and their children envisioned form of non-face-to-face com- the House as a museum to edu- munication. Longfellow himself cate and inspire the public. In is said to have written more than Longfellow family members at the dedication of Longfellow Park (left to right): 1913, to preserve and manage the 15,000 letters in his lifetime. Harriet Spelman Longfellow, Elizabeth E. Dana, Edith Longfellow Dana, Mrs. property, they formed the Gathered in the library, the fam- Daniel Chester French, Annie Allegra Longfellow Thorp, Ernest Longfellow, 1914 Longfellow House Trust. They ily often read aloud letters they received, Longfellow and Dana families (which valued the House not only as an excellent such as those they enjoyed from the oldest Henry’s daughter Edith married into) con- example of architecture, but also as a son, Charley, as he traveled through Japan. sciously worked to create their own history. memorial to Henry Longfellow and George Aware of their families’ legacies, both the They kept papers going back as far as the (continued on page 4) 1 - House Archives Cataloging Complete (continued from page 1) tents. The finding aid describes groups of to compete nationally for money by region documents and highlights individual items. and park, since 1991 the House has received of particular interest. Some family mem- funding every year from the National Park VWX bers for whom many records exist, such as Service for cataloging. Approximately $1.5 Friends of the Longfellow House the poet’s son Charley Longfellow and his million in federal funds have gone into the Board of Directors cousin Mary King Longfellow, have find- entire cataloging project. Heather S. Moulton, President ing aids devoted to them. Other finding In 1991, with no idea as to the extent of Barclay Henderson, Clerk aids encompass an entire family, such as the archives, a regional NPS team was hired to Robert C. Mitchell, Treasurer Dana and Wadsworth-Longfellow families. catalog some of the documents at the Hope Cushing All together the extensive House archives House. They first examined and organized Diana Der-Hovanessian – comprised of materials from 1650 to 1972 Alice Longfellow’s papers as well as archi- Maura Graham Edward Guleserian – offer a unique view of eighteenth-, nine- tectural drawings found in the House. Elisabeth W. Hopkins teenth-, and early twentieth-century Ameri- Fanny Longfellow’s correspondence had Sarah B. Jolliffe can history. Through the eyes of various already been microfilmed, but her journals Linda Almgren Kime family members, scholars can read firsthand and drawings remained to be sorted. Laura Nash accounts of the Revolu- Based on a year’s work, Elizabeth F. Potter tionary, Barbary, and Civil in 1992 the archivists esti- Lynne Spencer Wars. They can glimpse mated there were 100,000 nineteenth-century Amer- papers. They had found Advisory Board ican art and culture, and some of these documents Ruth Butler LeRoy Cragwell social movements such as stored in boxes in the Diana Korzenik abolition, women’s educa- basement, but most were Richard Nylander tion, , scattered throughout the Stephen D. Pratt and socialism. The collec- House on office shelves Marilyn Richardson tion also illuminates the or in drawers and closets. Marc Shell daily lives of the occu- By 1993 the team had Charles Sullivan pants of the House. moved all family papers Lowell A. Warren Jr. Over the years as the to one central location in Administrator cataloging progressed, the basement, and for the J.L. Bell the archives have attracted first time they had com- increasing numbers of pleted a full inventory. Newsletter Committee researchers. Since the late They increased their esti- Glenna Lang, Editor, Writer & Designer 1980s, the number of re- mate to an astounding James M. Shea searchers using the ar- 678,000 papers. chives has grown from a mere handful each As part of the major House rehabilita- opq month to over 600 so far this year. tion, from 1998 to 2002 the basement was National Park Service In the early 1990s, two notable scholars modernized as a state-of-the art research Myra Harrison, Superintendent came to the House archives seeking infor- and storage facility. Historic furnaces were James M. Shea, Museum Manager mation for their forthcoming books. Diana documented and then replaced. Moveable Lauren Downing, Administrative Officer Korzenik was working on Fanny Appleton and stationary shelves were installed in the Nancy Jones, Education and Visitor Services Longfellow’s interest in art, and Stanley basement vaults to hold museum objects, Paul Blandford, Museum Educator Paterson sought supporting material for his historic books, and acid-free storage boxes. Anita Israel, Archives Specialist transcriptions of Henry Longfellow’s un- New climate controls throughout the col- David Daly, Collections Manager edited journals. During their time at the lection storage areas ensure the preservation Lauren Malcolm, Museum Technician House, they recognized the value of study- of all these materials. Flo Smith, Management Assistant ing documents in situ and the urgent need Yet there is always more to be done. In Liza Stearns, Education Specialist to catalog and preserve the archives. In large additon to the now over 700,000 docu- Scott Fletcher, Facility Manager part to lobby for and raise the necessary ments, the House also holds more than funds, they helped found the Friends of the 35,000 museum artifacts as well as a remark- Printed by Newprint Offset, Waltham, Mass. Longfellow House. able collection of 12,000 historic photos. In the mid 1990s the Friends and Sena- These collections are still in the process of 1234 tor Edward M. Kennedy helped to obtain a being cataloged. Some finding aids created All images are from the Longfellow National Historic base increase in funding from Congress, before 1996 await conversion to an elec- Site collections, unless noted otherwise. allowing the Longfellow NHS to hire more tronic format that will enable them to be museum staff to care specifically for the launched online. When this takes place – collections and cataloging. In 1999 the probably within the year – people all over LNHS hired full-time archives specialist the world can have full knowledge of the Anita Israel. Although the House has had contents of the House archives. - 2 Interview with a Friend…Meet Ann Hitchcock, NPS Curator in Washington In 1980 when the National Park Service 84 million are archival. These include per- pleting the basic finding aid, the collection- first established the chief curator position sonal papers, as you have at Longfellow level catalog record, and automated descrip- in their Washington office, they chose Ann House, as well as manuscript collections tions at series, subseries, and other levels of Hitchcock. Since then she has worked to and organizational records, such as records intellectual control so that the public is develop policy, procedures, strategies, and from ’s laboratory. We also aware of what we have. As researchers use systems to manage the museum collections have resource management records (for the collections and provide more insights, throughout the Park Service. She has an example, field notes, photographs, maps, we add that information to our records. The undergraduate degree in anthropology and archaeological assessments, and historic public becomes part of the process and art history, and a Master’s in anthropology structures condition reports) that docu- actually helps us to refine the information. with a specialization in museum studies. ment work relating to both natural and cul- LH: Absolutely. We learn so much about Now both a curator and a special assistant tural resources on NPS land. our archives from researchers and visitors. in cultural resources, she spoke to us via LH: Not all these archives are still at AH: One of my main visions is that the telephone from Washington, D.C. their original sites. In 1972 when the NPS finding aids for all NPS archival collections Longfellow House: How did you come as well as the collection-level catalog records to this work? What were your interests? will be available on the web. Ann Hitchcock: As an undergraduate at LH: Since we put our finding aids Stanford, I volunteered at the Stanford online, international research requests have Museum, cataloging Cypriot pottery collec- increased dramatically. tions. I went on to train in archaeological AH: The internet is key to providing field work and particularly enjoyed the information on park collections. My hope related laboratory activities. After graduate for the future is that more and more parks school, I worked at the Museum of North- will put their collections data on the NPS ern Arizona for six years and interned at the Web Catalog. The virtual exhibits that the Smithsonian Institution and the British NPS museum management program cre- Museum. Then I moved to Canada where I ates in cooperation with parks also raise was assistant chief curator at the Manitoba public awareness of the collections. What Museum of Man and Nature and con- you’ve done in putting finding aids on the tributed to the development of the national web is extremely important, as is posting catalog system in Canada. Next, I moved to them with NUCMC [the National Union Washington to be chief curator of the NPS. Catalog of Manuscript Collections oper- LH: What exactly does the chief cura- ated by the Library of Congress]. Provid- tor do? took over the Longfellow House, there was ing cross-references to finding aids on AH: In 1980 NPS had curators in the less emphasis in keeping all archives at their related non-NPS websites helps to dissem- parks and supported park museums through sites. What has changed since then? inate the information as well. For example, the regional offices and the interpretive AH: Manuscripts and historic pho- you could link your finding aids with the design center at Harpers Ferry. However, the tographs were included in park collections Longfellow papers at Harvard. I also hear field curators had asked for a curatorial from the beginning, but in 1972 NPS policy from other parks that posting collections leader in the Washington Office – a chief advised parks to deposit large manuscript information on the web results in more curator. As chief curator, I established a and photographic collections in archives or informed research questions from the pub- museum management program in headquar- libraries outside the parks. By 1978, however, lic, making the research process more effi- ters where we coordinated policy, provided policy encouraged acquisition of large cient. Researchers really know much more technical guidance to the parks, and devel- archival collections that supported the about what they are seeking and what they oped a strategy to address the most urgent park’s mission if the park could provide can expect to find at a particular site. collections management needs in parks, such appropriate housing and staffing for the col- LH:Yes, the internet helps us serve peo- as backlog cataloging and improving stor- lection and ready access for research. ple better. age and exhibit conditions. Congress sup- LH: What’s the next step for the NPS AH: This is why NPS created the Web ported the strategy and provided funding regarding archives and how they are used? Catalog. I hope more parks will participate for parks to catalog their backlogs and AH: NPS plans to increase efficiency in and post their finding aids here and on address preservation and protection defi- processing archival collections servicewide their own websites. The ultimate goal is to ciencies. We revised and automated the cat- and to continue to refine the information provide information about NPS collec- aloging system, increasing public access, and about these collections and make them read- tions to the public for research, exhibits, made other improvements. ily available to the public. The Longfellow education, and school programs. All our LH: Tell us about the NPS’s museum House staff has taken this approach in cat- effort to preserve and document park col- collection. What portion is archives? aloging archival collections and creating lections is justified when it leads to that AH: The general public often doesn’t finding aids so that the public has access. important part of our mission – to provide realize that the NPS has one of the largest LH: We’ve certainly seen the number of these resources for the benefit of future museum operations in the world. We have researchers grow because of our cataloging. generations, adding to their knowledge of over 124 million museum items, of which AH: The emphasis needs to be on com- the world and their enjoyment of it.

NPS photo by Rosa Wilson 3 - History of the House Archives (continued from page 1) Washington, who used the House as his and Richard Henry Dana Jr, as well as his- will be able to give the place the impress home and headquarters from July 1775 to toric artifacts from the House during the that you want before you cash in your chips April 1776. American Revolution. He also employed a … get good and busy on the matter….” Three trustees managed the Longfellow newsclipping service. In 1945 Harry Dana hired Thomas de House Trust, which allowed any family From the time he took up residency in Valcourt to serve as librarian and curator member alive at the inception of the trust the House, Harry received requests from of the House, a job he would hold for the to live in the House. In 1917 Alice Longfel- writers and scholars to come to the House next twenty years. Frank Buda, who had low’s nephew Henry (Harry) Wadsworth to research. With his cousin Anne Longfel- worked as Harry Dana’s chauffeur, assisted Longfellow Dana, grandson with researchers and gave of the poet, moved in and tours of the House. When made the yellow house on Harry died in 1950, the Brattle Street his home for House continued to serve as the rest of his life. an active archives for many In 1919 Harry convinced scholars from across the family members to change United States and around the provisions of the trust so the world. that the House would stay as In 1956, in a move that it was when the poet lived Harry Dana would not have there. Not only the historic approved, the Longfellow home and grounds, but also House Trust deposited a the furnishings, personal portion of Henry Longfel- items, the library, papers, low’s papers at Harvard photographs, and Henry University. Sixteen years Longfellow’s correspondence later the trust officially sold would all remain intact. them to Harvard for one In essence, Harry Dana dollar. All the other family became the House’s first papers, however, remained curator. He took a particu- Harry Dana in the basement archives, Longfellow House, 1942 in the House. lar interest in organizing his In 1972 the Longfellow grandfather’s papers and library. To build low Thorp as a fellow gatekeeper, he en- House Trust donated the House with all its the archives, Harry encouraged members of forced strict rules and asked researchers to furnishings, objects, library, and family his extended family to deposit their per- sign an agreement stating that anything papers to the National Park Service. When sonal papers, books, special clothing items, they published from their research at the the NPS took over, staff members began and photographs at the House. House would first be approved by Thorp to prepare the House for the public. They Harry also added to the archives by pur- and Dana. Harry kept careful records of started by cataloging objects on exhibit in chasing objects and papers related to the who came to research, where they were the furnished rooms and inventorying House’s history. From auctions and anti- from, and the subject of their study. Henry Longfellow’s family library. The quarian dealers such as Goodspeed’s, he In the 1930s and 1940s, Harry corre- trust gave the NPS $200,000 as an endow- bought materials originally belonging to sponded frequently with his cousin ment, which was spent on the most critical his two grandfathers, Henry Longfellow regarding vari- conservation needs. ous objects from the Longfellow, Appleton, Finally, in 1991, the Northeast Museum and Dana families. As the founder in 1910 Services Center staff arrived to help cata- Alice. Longfellow to Harry Dana, of the Society for the Preservation of New log the documents that Harry Dana and his March 15, 1917: Antiquities (recently renamed His- family had preserved and collected. (See “...and have been over all the loose papers. toric New England), Appleton cared for top story on page 1.) They are now all sorted, labelled, and tied other historic properties. Acquiring items up with stiff board, so they can be easily through auctions, gifts, and family estates, looked over. When you come on, we can he offered papers, photographs, and other Edith. Longfellow to Charles Longfellow, decide on the best forms of permanent cases. historic artifacts to Harry for the House. January 19, 1872: I have also had a shelf made for the card Appleton worried about what would “...That was a splendid letter of yours. How catalogue in the passageway, and hope the become of the House when Harry died. good it was of you to write so much, and it books can be settled, and the catalogue com- On June 25, 1934, Appleton wrote to Harry: was so interesting. It took the better part of pleted before long. I am anxious to have “You may remember that you have on occa- an evening for Alice to read aloud to Papa, everything in good order as possible, as the sion wondered what would become of this Annie and me, while we followed you up on next generation will have less time and society after my death. Let me return the the map from place to place, which made it a patience for this wearisome work....” compliment by saying that I have often great deal more interesting....” wondered what would become of the Craigie house after your death. I hope you - 4 Some Treasures from the House Archives o convey an idea of the variety and ter after letter of mysterious origin hidden importance to Congress. I therefore request, Textent of the holdings in the Longfel- in the stairs leading to the basement. Even- that you will give him positive orders, to low House archives, here are a few samples tually, he discovered a box stuffed into a avoid going by any rout, where there may be of its many treasures. compartment above the the least danger Letters of , in the basement stairs with more of his being in- Henry W. Longfellow Family Papers than one hundred letters tercepted by the Annie Fields (pic- addressed to Andrew enemy.” tured here), wife of Craigie (see image be- Report publisher James T. low), the earliest of cards of Henry Fields, became cen- which was dated Jan- W. Longfellow, tral to literary uary 1797. Appar- age eight, from circles. She wrote ently, these often Portland Acad- about many of her affectionate letters emy, in the lifelong friendships detailing the writer’s daily life were Henry W. Longfellow Family Papers with various literary written by Polly Allen (who some- Issued on April 18, 1815, one of eight- personages, including times called herself Mary). Allen year-old Henry’s school report cards (see Henry W. Longfel- appears to have been Craigie’s eighteen- bottom right): “This certifies that H.W. low. After her hus- year-old illegitimate daughter. Longfellow has, this week, distinguished band’s death, she had a Boston marriage George Washington’s last letter writ- himself by correct deportment and an ac- with author Sarah Orne Jewett, which lasted ten in the House, in the Henry W.L. Dana curate recitation of lessons.” Several excep- for the remainder of her life. Annie Fields Collection tions were listed, however: one in Bible, one corresponded with a number of Longfellow Until a few years ago, this particular let- in grammar, and two in spelling. and Dana family members, such as Henry, ter – one of many that Washington wrote On September 30th of that same year, Alice, Edith, Annie, Ernest, during his nine-month occu- Henry’s teacher, N.H. Carter, wrote to him: and . pancy of the House – was both “To Master Henry W. Longfellow this cer- Letters of Mary (Polly) unpublished and unknown. Re- tificate is presented, as a memorial of his stu- Allen, in the Mary Allen- searching at the house for his dious habits in school, his respectable rank Andrew Craigie Corre- book 1776, David McCullough in scholarship and his respectful, obedient spondence discovered this oversight. Written and affectionate conduct towards me during Henry Longfellow first from “Headquarters ” the term he has been under my instruction.” lived in the House in 1837 as and dated April a boarder of Elizabeth Crai- 1776, the letter gie, the widow of Andrew (see top right) to Craigie who had bought the Nicholas Cooke, House in 1791. Elizabeth the Governor of Craigie died in 1841, and in the Colony of 1843 Henry and Fanny Longfellow received Rhode Island, reads: “The the House as a wedding gift from the bride’s post which conveys this to father. Years later, Henry began finding let- you carrys letters of

Recent Visitors & Events at the House People from all walks of life have always come to the Longfellow House for cultural activities. Today the House continues to host numerous people and events. The following items represent only a small portion of what has taken place here recently.

Helen Vendler, Harvard professor and author of numerous books on poets and poetry, taught a summer seminar on poetry. It was sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities.r Four teen teachers from around the country attended. Thanks to an ongoing partnership between the House and the Simmons College Graduate School of Library and Information Sci- ence Archival Management program, Amanda Bushnell workedr on the Pratt research papers for an internship at the House archives. Friend of the Longfellow House, retired librarian, and recent graduate of the bookbinding program of the North Bennet Street School, Barbara Halporn is volunteering and constructing rare-bookr boxes for the House’s historic book collection. Peter Hatch, Director of Gardens and Grounds at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, toured the house, archives and, of course, the garden. He later spoke to the Cambridge Plant and Garden Club at the Hooper-Lee-Nichols House on Brattle Street in Cambridge.

5 - H.W. Longfellow Family Papers Finding Aid Longfellow House in the Media lthough many of Henry Longfellow’s members’ papers, including those of Ernest The August 2007 issue of Old-House Interiors Apapers moved from the House to Har- Wadsworth Longfellow and his family, magazine featured two articles by Regina vard University’s Houghton Library, a sub- Edith Longfellow Dana, Anne Allegra Cole about the House. Numerous color stantial number still remain in the House Longfellow Thorp and her family, Stephen photographs by Eric Roth illustrated both archives. The finding aid for Longfellow and his family, Eliza- “Longfellow’s House” and “Alice’s Garden.” the Henry Wadsworth beth Longfellow, Anne Longfel- l Longfellow Family Papers low Pierce, Mary Longfellow In Schoolroom Poets: Childhood, Performance, and describes and locates the Greenleaf and her family, Ellen the Place of , 1865-1917, Angela items in this exceptional Longfellow, and Anne Sophia Sorby, a recipient of a research fellowship set of documents. Longfellow Balkam, among oth- from the Friends of the Longfellow House, This collection con- ers. All in all, this finding aid included a chapter on Longfellow. The tains not only diaries and represents more than twenty-one book was published by the University of correspondence of H.W. Longfellow relatives. New Hampshire Press and was a Children’s Longfellow, but also his Many of these documents Literature Association honor book in 2007. children’s and siblings’ rem- have stayed in the House since l iniscences of him. The pa- Longfellow’s death in 1882, but Hugh Howard and photographer Roger pers, in addition, give in- Harry Dana brought the ma- Strauss III combined biography and archi- sight into the daily life at jority of these papers to the House tectural history in their Houses of the Founding both his home at Craigie House in Cam- archives in the twentieth century. Through Fathers: The Men Who Made America and the Way bridge, Massachusetts, and his boyhood his cousin Mary King Longfellow, he likely They Lived. Washington’s Headquarters in home in Portland, . acquired the papers of Longfellow’s sister Cambridge (now LNHS) is one of the The Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Anne Longfellow Pierce from the Wads- eighteenth-century houses they portray. Family Papers include over three hundred worth-Longfellow House in Portland. l letters the poet received from his family and Dana brought together his mother Edith’s Based partly on research as a fellow at the such literary figures as Bronson Alcott, papers and his father Richard Henry Dana House archives,The Hispanic World and American Edward Everett, James and Annie Fields, III’s legal files. The descendents of Longfel- Intellectual Life, 1820-1880 by Ivan Jaksic de- Sophia Hawthorne, Oliver Wendell low’s daughter Anne Allegra Longfellow votes two chapters to Longfellow’s experience Holmes, James Russell Lowell, Alfred Ten- Thorp donated a portion of her personal in , his writings on Hispanic issues, and nyson, and John Greenleaf Whittier. papers. Dana and his research associates his Iberian and Latin American contacts. This finding aid covers other family arranged the papers and added their notes. l Diana Korzenik in the New England Quarterly September 2007 reviews the Maine Histor- Complete List of Finding Aids for the Archives ical Society’s exhibit called “Drawing Together” and discusses family art making • Richard Henry Dana III Papers, 1797-1947 in the nineteenth century in her article enti- • Elizabeth Ellery Dana Personal Papers, 1829-1940 tiled “That Is Best Which Liest Nearest: • Dana Family Papers: Collected Manuscripts, Genealogies and Research Longfellow Family Art, 1804-1924.” Material, 1661-1960 • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Dana Papers, 1744-1972 l Cambridge Forum, a weekly public radio • Wadsworth-Longfellow Family Papers, 1610-1971 show recorded live in Harvard Square, pre- • Alice Mary Longfellow Papers, 1855-1965 sented a program on Longfellow. Dana • Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Sr. Family Papers, 1730-1950 Gioia, director of the National Endow- • Mary King Longfellow Papers, 1855-1946 ments for the Arts, spoke on “Public Poet: • Washington Allston Materials, 1798-1966 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow,” and John • Frederick Haven Pratt & Stephen D. Pratt Research Papers, 1783-1996 Barr of the American Poetry Foundation • Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Family Papers, 1768-1972 gave introductory remarks and moderated • Alexander Wadsworth Longfellow Jr. Papers, 1864-1979 discussion afterwards. WGBH Network • Charles Appleton Longfellow Papers, 1842-1996 Forum offers the September 26th event • Longfellow House Trust Records, 1852-1973 online at www.cambridgeforum.org/cfweb. • Appleton Family Papers, 1752-1962 • Patricia R. Pratt Papers, 1759-1994 l Colleen Glenney Boggs’s book, Transnation- • The Reverend Samuel Longfellow Papers, 1792-1963 alism and American Literature: Literary Translation • Dana Collected Correspondence, 1808-1938 1773-1892, was published this spring by • Frances Elizabeth Appleton Longfellow Papers, 1825-1961 Routledge (Taylor and Francis). Examin- • Postcard Collection of the Longfellow Family, ca. 1870-1970 ing Longfellow as a translator and in trans- • Collection of Architectural Drawings, 1847-1936 lation, Boggs, now a professor at Dart- • Mary Allen–Andrew Craigie Correspondence, 1797-ca. 1941 mouth, researched at the House as a Korzenik/Paterson fellow in 2005. - 6 A Public Resource: How the House Archives Are Used Today n keeping with the tradition of Harry Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House. They including visitors, family gatherings, the IDana and the Longfellow family, the staff perform their pieces at summer and holi- pets, maintenance of the house and at the Longfellow NHS continue to wel- day programs at the House. grounds, servants, and more. The staff come the thousands of visitors who come Teachers, too, come to the House ar- incorporate quotations and evocative infor- to the House from around the world. The chives in search of material for their cur- mation from family journals and letters. building, landscape, and collections serve riculums. As part of a professional devel- Enthusiasts from outside the NPS cre- not only as an attraction for tourists, but opment program called Teachers as ate special themed tours and programs as also as a resource and research center for Scholars, groups of teachers attended sem- well. Art historian Deb Stein has produced scholars, students, teachers, and museums. inars at the House on Longfellow and his a tour of the House’s significant art collec- To assist all who come to research at the work. Anita Israel guided participants tion. Musicologist Deborah Goss struc- House archives, the NPS makes available tured her program Sweet Songs of Free- the expertise of their full-time archives spe- dom, performed in September as part of cialist, Anita Israel. With her extensive the Summer Festival, from materials in the knowledge of the collection and her enthu- House archives. Author Matthew Pearl gave siasm, Anita Israel is an indispensable his Dante Club tour to high school stu- resource herself. dents from Manchester-by-the-Sea and Many of the distinguished scholars who surrounding towns, and later to senior citi- have used the archives have written books zens from Brandeis University’s Lifelong and articles based largely or in part on their Learning Institute. All had read The Dante findings here. David McCullough used the Club, which made for lively discussion with archives for his book 1776. Charles Calhoun the author afterwards in the carriage house. and Christoph Irmscher have each recently Important museums borrow documents published important books about Longfel- NPS curator David Daly in the House archives for their exhibitions from the Longfellow low. Matthew Pearl wrote his bestselling through the archives and described the House archives. Most recently, Houghton work of historical fiction, The Dante Club, resources and research possibilities. Library at and the with the help of material from the archives. The LNHS interpretive staff regularly Maine Historical Society displayed fasci- Since 1999 the Friends of the Longfel- scour the House archives to enhance their nating family papers from the archives for low House have awarded two annual daily tours and to create special themed their Longfellow bicentennial shows. research fellowships, the Diana Korzenik tours, programs, and exhibits. Many stories The archives continue to build and and Stanley Paterson Fellowships. These emerge from the family papers, which grow. The NPS still accepts donations of fellowships provide funding to travel to and record aspects of daily life in the House, relevant material connected to the House. spend time in the archives, and have helped to reestablish the House as an important destination for scholars. Many of these fel- Recent Research at the House lows have published or are in the process of The Longfellow House archives contain over 700,000 manuscripts, letters, and signed documents and publishing their scholarly books. are used extensively by researchers from around the world. Here are a few recent researchers from Numerous groups of schoolchildren among the several hundred who use the archives annually. make use of the archives: Some come with their class to tour the House and receive a To study the effect of Chinese trade upon American writers and artists, Hsiu-ling special glimpse at samples from the ar- Lin, Professor of English at National Taiwan Normal University, examined all chives. Others will experience Historic objects at the House with a Chinese connection as well as photographs of China. House Explorers, a forthcoming program In the process, she helped the NPS by translating Chinese texts and providing back- to engage eighth graders in studying history ground information about the items. through web-based research. NPS’s Liza l Stearns and Celena Illuzzi have developed Andrew Higgins, Assistant Professor of English at SUNY New Paltz, consulted a unit called “Charley Longfellow and the the Wadsworth-Longfellow papers for a study of Longfellow’s use of American his- Civil War: Coming of Age in a Time of tory in his works and for Longfellow’s sense of his ancestor’s participation in the Turbulence” to teach students through Acadian dispersion. Higgins read the comments of Longfellow’s mother, Zilpah, analysis of original sources from the House and gathered information about William Longfellow (the original emigrant from and its archives, and from the Longfellow England) and his role in the attacks on Canada in the 1690s as well as information collection at Harvard. about , the first ancestor to move to what is now the state of For several years now, highly motivated Maine. Higgins sought comments they might have made about Acadia or the French. seventh- through twelfth-graders from the l Boston area who love history participate in For her dissertation on souvenir photography of the Meiji period, Mio Wakita came an extracurricular group called the Concor- from the University of Heidelberg to search for photographs of Kusakabe Kimbei, dant Volunteers. Based on their research at a native Japanese photographer. She discovered two and possibly another in the the House archives, they reenact various Charley Longfellow photo collection at the House. characters from the many occupants of the 7 - potlight on an bject nS each issue of the newsletterO , w e Longfellow National Historic Site, National Park Service Ifocus on a particular object of inter- Longfellow National Historic Site joined the national park system in 1972. Its est in the Longfellow House collection. many layers of history, distinguished architecture, gardens and grounds, and exten- This time our spotlight shines on a sive museum collections represent the birth and flowering of our nation and con- carved ivory page cutter, which belonged tinue to inspire school children and scholars alike. The Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. House most notably served as headquarters for General George Washington in the In the days before newly printed early months of the Revolutionary War. It was later the home of Henry Wadsworth books arrived with cleanly separated Longfellow, one of America’s foremost poets, and his family from 1837 to 1950. pages, Longfellow kept this objet d’art on his desk to cut the outer edge of the pages of a new volume or perhaps For information about the Longfellow House and a virtual tour, visit: to open a letter. The ten-inch long www.nps.gov/long cutter bears Henry’s initials. The page cutter came from Annie Longfellow Thorp, the poet’s youngest s daughter, who bequeathed it, in turn, Friends of the Longfellow House to her daughter Priscilla Thorp Smith. Priscilla always kept it on her desk and Since 1996, the Friends of the Longfellow House, a not-for-profit voluntary group, eventually gave it to her daughter has worked with the National Park Service to support Longfellow National Historic Frankie Smith Wetherell. Site by promoting scholarly access to collections, publications about site history, This year in honor of Henry W. educational visitor programs, and advocacy for the highest quality preservation. Longfellow's two-hundredth birthday, Frankie generously donated the ivory To find out more about the Friends of the Longfellow House, visit: page cutter to the Longfellow NHS, www.longfellowfriends.org where it is on permanent exhibit on Longfellow's table in his study.

Friends of the Longfellow House 105 Brattle Street Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138