on fellow ous L g ulletinH e Volume 2 No. 2 A Newsletter of the Friends of the Longfellow House and the National Park Service December 1998 Congress Approves $1.6 Million for LongfellowB National Historic Site n October 15 Senator Edward pleased that Congress agreed to OM. Kennedy announced that fund this much-needed renovation.” Congress had approved $1.6 million The $1,645,000 in funding will dollars for a major restoration of the cover the costs of rehabilitating the Longfellow House and its carriage House and the carriage house in house. The funds were contained in order to preserve the site’s outstand- the Omnibus Appropriations Act for ing collection of more than 600,000 the fscal year 1999. artifacts and its extensive archives of The approval followed a great letters, books, and documents and deal of eVort on the part of Senator also to make them more accessible to Kennedy. According to the the public. Contractors soon will be Globe, the senator recited Longfel- implementing plans for new fre sup- low’s “Paul Revere’s Ride” to West pression, security, and electrical sys- Virginia Senator Robert Byrd, a his- tems to bring the House up to the tory buV and top Democrat on the necessary standards. The carriage Appropriations Committee, as part house will be renovated to accommo- of a months-long, behind-the-scenes date classroom, lecture, and staV eVort to obtain the funding. Senator work space. Kennedy had memorized the entire “I congratulate the National Park 130-line epic poem as a child. Service staV and the Friends of the “The Longfellow House deserves Senator Edward Kennedy at the House with Deputy Superintendent Longfellow House for laying the this strong federal support,” said John Maounis (left) and Site Manager Jim Shea (right) groundwork for this important under- Kennedy. “It has one of the most extraor- fascinating place for people of all ages to taking,” Senator Kennedy commented. The dinary archives in the nation with thou- learn about our nation’s past. But this senator visited the House on a number of sands of documents on America’s early magnifcent house is in jeopardy and needs occasions to speak with the NPS staV and history and literary development. It is a extensive restoration to protect it. I am assess the situation frst hand. Packing, Moving, and Repairing Recall a Longfellow House Tradition he Longfellow House closed its doors in 1843, worn carpets, outdated wallpapers, during the annual spring and fall house- Tto visitors on October 24 to begin its and peeling paint testifed to its eight keeping rituals, and were carried out by the year-and-a-half-long comprehensive reha- decades of use. Fanny surveyed the “carpet- family’s servants. bilitation. In preparation, the House staV less stairs—and desolate halls” and “could Though a time of relaxation for the will pack all the objects in the House and not get the desolate rooms Longfellow family and their safely stow them out of the way of the con- out of her mind.” Henry “Troubled in mind friends, early summer and struction work. Often considered an art Longfellow confded to his about this old fall were periods of intense form itself, packing museum objects diary, “Troubled in mind castle of a house work for the family’s ser- requires an understanding of points of about this old castle of a and the repairs…” vants. June was a month of stress and fragility of materials, all of which house and the repairs. He great activity, as the Long- the staV studied at a workshop last spring. who undertaketh a great —H. W. Longfellow, 1844 fellows struggled to fnish The packing and moving process has begun house, undertaketh a great care.” spring housekeeping and simultaneously and is expected to take fve months. In the early years of their marriage, pack for their annual summer stay in Packing and moving at the Longfellow Fanny and Henry packed up and moved Nahant. The servants pulled down trunks House have a long tradition. When Henry family bedrooms as the family increased in from the attic and laundered and pressed a and Fanny Longfellow purchased the house number. Periodic refurbishing occurred (continued on page 2) Packing and Moving (continued from page 1) supply of clothes for the journey. In addi- State Funds Earmarked tion, the house had to be preserved for the for Longfellow Park VWX summer, in keeping with standard nine- Friends of the Longfellow House teenth-century housekeeping practices. he Cambridge Historical Commission Board of Directors Ornate gilded frames and light fxtures Tannounced in August that Massachu- Barclay Henderson, President were covered with muslin to protect them setts Senate President Thomas Birmingham Edith Hollmann Bowers, Vice-President from insects and dust since window screens initiated and secured $155,000 for Longfel- Robert Mitchell, Clerk were not commonly used. One time the low Park, formerly part of the poet’s estate Charlotte Cleveland, Treasurer family was so hurried that Fanny Longfel- between the House and the , Frances Ackerly low herself climbed a ladder to “bag” a as part of a $1.95 million appropriation for Gene A. Blumenreich chandelier. Upholstery textiles were pro- the Historical Commission. Ruth Butler tected from bright summer rays with linen The grant, to be managed by the Cam- LeRoy Cragwell slipcovers, woolen drapes were stored in bridge Historical Commission, is meant to Dick Dober camphor trunks, woolen rugs were rolled enhance the setting of the Longfellow Nancy Fryberger in peppercorns or tobacco to keep out House by improving the landscaping, pro- Diane der Hovanessian Carol Johnson moths, and silver was polished and viding interpretation of the park’s historic Diana Korzenik wrapped in cloth for storage. Fireplaces importance, and recasting a bust of Arthur Loeb were swept and blocked with fre boards; Longfellow sculpted by Cambridge artist Joan Mark andirons were carefully stowed away in Daniel Chester French, designer of the Lin- Stanley Paterson, newspaper wrappings. In September the coln monument in Washington, D.C., and Marilyn Richardson process was reversed: Fanny wrote to her the Minuteman monument in Lexington. Maura Smith sister of the “bustle of getting settled at The park was created in 1883 by the heirs Lynne Spencer home, putting down carpets, getting the of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow as a Charles Sullivan children ready for autumn weather….” means of preserving a view of the river and Catherine Vickery Today’s conservation standards diVer, the meadows, which the poet commemo- Advisory Board but much nineteenth-century wisdom holds rated in his verse. It was originally designed Timothy Anglin Burgard true. The staV will continue to use soft by Charles Eliot, a prominent landscape Dennis J. Carlone laundered muslin to swathe delicate veneer architect. The heirs deeded the park to the Francis Duehay tables, linen tapes to tag oil paintings in gilt city in 1907. Justin Kaplan frames, and acid-free boxes to store textiles. “Longfellow Park is of national signif- Leslie A. Morris However, recent technological develop- cance,” Birmingham said. “With new signs Richard Nylander Stephen D. Pratt ments suggest that, for proper cushioning and renovations, the site will, as Longfel- Marc Shell of delicate museum objects, fragile items be low wrote, ‘summon from the shadowy Judith Tick packed with inert and low-abrasion materi- past, the forms that once have been.’” Lowell A. Warren, Jr. als which don’t absorb humidity. Eileen Woodford Inventorying and packing every piece in Zilpa Longfellow, Henry W. Longfellow’s Newsletter Committee each room will bring great rewards. Ruth Butler, Editor Museum staV will gain comprehensive mother, in a letter, 1843 Joan Mark knowledge of the site’s collections and their [Nathan Appleton] has purchased [the House] Marilyn Richardson preservation needs, and may even make for them, also the lot in front, that their view of Glenna Lang, Designer some new discoveries. As teams of museum the River Charles may not be intercepted. James M. Shea staV move through each room, they per- opq form discrete steps of the project. A regis- tration team tags each artifact, updates all National Park Service catalog records, notes location and any The Longfellow House is Rolf Diamant, Superintendent preservation issues. The next team packs closed for renovations, John Maounis, Deputy Superintendent the museum collections, using archival sup- James M. Shea, Site Manager plies. Finally, as the construction date but you can still visit it at… Paul Blandford, Museum Educator draws near, a security team will shift www.nps.gov/long Nancy K. Jones, Museum Educator museum collections within the rooms, out On our website you can stay up-to-date Lauren Malcolm, Museum Educator Michele Clark, Archive Specialist of the way of construction work. Protec- on the progress of the rehabilitation. Liza Stearns, Education Specalist tive barriers will be constructed to separate Our mail order brochure posted there Kelly Fellner, Education and Visitor Services the museum collections from any dust, will allow you to purchase many items Kathryn Clippinger, Museum Curator sawdust, or harm. previously found in our bookstore. Jude Pfster, Museum Specialist Like the Longfellows at the end of a And if you would like to contact us for Ed Bacigalupo, Chief of Maintenance long summer in Nahant, the Longfellow any reason during this time, simply Pat LaVey, Facility Manager House staV looks forward to “unpacking” E-mail us at: [email protected] in the spring of 2000 and enjoying the new rehabilitated facilities. - 2 Interview with Two Longfellow Descendants…Frankie Wetherell and Edie Bowers by Ruth Butler F.W. I think most of the family was welcomed us in the most extraordinary way. I spoke with Frances Smith Wetherell of pleased it was going to be taken care of. We It’s still a family home for us. And now I Cambridge, a great-grandaughter of Henry all knew the Trust could not cope any more; fnd that my niece and nephews, who are in Wadsworth Longfellow and Fanny Apple- there was just not enough money. But one of their thirties, are coming to share my sense ton, and Edith Hollmann Bowers of the requirements set down by the Park Ser- of excitement about it. It’s very satisfying. Boston, a great-great-grandaughter. All vice was that money come with the donation q Fanny and Henry’s descendants are from of the House. So we all signed oV on our Ruth Butler. Edie, how did you become their two youngest daughters, Edith [Dana] rights to any money that was in the Trust. part of the Friends? and Anne Allegra [Thorp], and, therefore, R.B. Did you always have a sense of your Edie Bowers. I was sitting in the base- none bear the Longfellow name. special heritage? ment of the House reading my great- Ruth Butler. Did you know the F.W. Oh, yes! We were brought up with grandmother Edith’s letters when Jim Shea Longfellow House before you moved to that. And we were brought up with the mentioned that a Friends group was form- Boston at age seven? poetry. My father read us the poems, espe- ing.—would I be interested? Frankie Wetherell. Oh yes! I can’t re- cially Hiawatha. It’s perfect for a child—so R.B. Why were you reading your great- member when I didn’t know the House musical. When I was in school, they were still grandmother’s letters? because my mother talked about it a great E.B. At the annual wreath-laying cer- deal. Also, I was named Frances Apple- emony at Mt. Auburn Cemetery on ton and was brought up to know the his- Longfellow’s birthday, Jim told me he tory of that name and be proud of it. We had recently uncovered watercolors by would come to stay with my aunt Alice Edith Longfellow. Being a painter, I was Thorp at 115 Brattle Street—two doors naturally interested in seeing what she from the Longfellow House on the other had done. When Jim mentioned he had side of the Dana House—so it was easy Edith’s letters, I became interested in to go over and visit. When I was very fnding out whether art had been a spe- small, I remember my mother, born cial focus for her. Was this just some- Priscilla Alden Thorp, giving me a pair thing women were supposed to learn, or of silver sauce boats that she said her was it something of deeper value for grandmother Fanny wanted me to have. Frankie Wetherell (left) and Edie Bowers her? There are so many letters. I am still R.B. That must have been when Harry reading Longfellow’s poems, but by the time in her teenage years. Dana was living in the house. Did you know I got to high school, his place was defnitely R.B. So this is an ongoing project? him very well? Did he live there alone? on the decline. Kids would say, “Oh, him,” E.B. In a way. I want to know what kind F.W. No, not well. He was quite formal but he remained treasured in the family. of person she was. I also should read things and not at all comfortable with us children, R.B. Speaking of treasures, what did you written to and about her. But mostly I have but he certainly knew who we all were. He eventually come to own? taken this on as a golden opportunity, a way rented rooms to students from the neigh- F.W. Odds and ends—some china, a to be connected to my past. Also,I hope that boring Episcopal Theological School. couple of rugs, a table. Now that the Park my children will come to have a greater sense R.B. But you felt this was a family house? Service has decided to interpret the House of the House and the family. They think it’s F.W. Defnitely—everyone stayed there. through Alice Longfellow’s day, I’m going sort of fun, but their interest isn’t that Members of the family who came to Cam- to see if they want these things back. I strong. I am not an ancestor worshiper at all, bridge regularly stayed there. If someone already gave Alice Longfellow’s damask but I do not want this heritage to die out. was studying in college for a term, they dinner napkins. I was thrilled to see them R.B. How many letters of Edith Long- would live at the house. It was wonderful. on the dining table at the Christmas open fellow do you think there are in the House? R.B. What do you remember of the house. I also gave Fanny’s journal and most E.B. Hundreds—no, thousands. I was period when the family was considering giv- of the things that dated back to her time— reading letters from a summer Edith spent ing the house to the National Park Service? like the wonderful silver and coral rattle in Nahant. She must have written to every F.W. A great deal since my mother and that was a copy of Charley’s as a child. friend back in Cambridge and to her sisters her sister Anne Thorp worked very hard R.B.What do you think of the Park Ser- and to cousins, someone every day—a huge once it was agreed that the Park Service vice as custodians of the House? number of letters in a short period. would take it. They went over everything in F.W. I think they are wonderful. They R.B. What did the House mean to you the House and decided what should have done a great job bringing out the best when you were growing up? remain, sorting out what had been added in the House, working with the archives, E.B. Well, I had mixed feelings about it. by Alice Longfellow or Harry Dana. We making it all more accessible, and letting My father was a professor at Princeton, so used to go down there and sit around the the public know what is there, not to men- I grew up in New Jersey. At diVerent times dining table and look at things. I would say, tion the concerts and public programs. various family members spent summers at “I want those wine glasses,” and my mother And they have been marvelous with the the House. When I was frst married, we would reply, “You can’t have them.” family. We thought when it went to the lived north of Boston; when we wanted to R.B. How did family members feel about Park Service, “Too bad, we’ve lost the fam- spend a weekend in Boston, we stayed at the turning the House over to the Park Service? ily home,”but right from the beginning they (continued on page 4) 3 - Interviews with Two Longfellow Descendants (continued from page 3) Longfellow House in Print House, which we, of course, called the it. One memory that stands out is a visit Recently, the Longfellow House has been Craigie House. We had cocktail parties with my parents. Frank Buda was there with the subject of several articles in the Boston there after football games. his daughter. She and I went to the basement Globe. On September 4, 1998 it ran an edi- R.B. What a wonderful idea! It’s such a to explore and found a diary. It was very old, torial supporting necessary federal funding warm house. I can imagine entertaining there. and I felt no one but me had ever read it or for rehabilitation of the House. On Sep- E.B. It’s not only warm, I fnd it full of even knew it existed. That was my frst per- tember 5 Michael Kenney wrote an in- ghosts—happy ghosts. But it was simply our sonal sensation of there being something depth piece for the Living Section entitled house, and that is how we used it. My special about the House. “Face Lift for Longfellow: Work Planned brother told me that Frank Buda, the major- R.B. How idd oyu eelfwhen theTrust nego- on Poet’s Full House of History.” Follow- domo for such a long tiated with the Park Service? ing approval of federal funding, on Sep- period [see Longfellow House E.B. I didn’t think too tember 16 the front-page story “Personal Bulletin, June 1997] used to much about it. I was mar- Touch Pays OV for Bay State Delegation” point us out as descen- ried with two small chil- described the hard work to secure funding dants to people on tours. dren—my interests were for Massachusetts. R.B. Harry Dana lived elsewhere, but other family l in the house until he died members were very con- The New York Times’s editorial of May 25, in 1950. How well did you cerned about what the gov- 1998 calling for more federal money for our know him? Did your fam- ernment would do, how national parks mentioned the Longfellow ily, as Danas, feel a special they would maintain it, and House as a case in point: “…a gorgeous claim on the House? whether we would be wel- Georgian mansion stuVed with priceless E.B. He was my great come. Over the years I have artifacts and archival treasures.” uncle, but I don’t remember become more and more l him well. I have a vivid pleased about what has An article by Christine Guth in the Decem- memory from childhood, a Edie Bowers “descending the broad hall happened to the House. I ber 1998 issue of Orientations Magazine dis- breakfast with him on the stair” of the Longfellow House, 1939 am thrilled with Jim Shea, cusses the attitudes of early American col- corner porch on the second foor oV the his sensitivity to the House and its contents, lectors—including Charley Longfellow— Japan room. As for special claim—no, any of his making it available to researchers, and his towards Japan and its culture. the Longfellow descendants were free to use warm response to family members. l the House. My memories are vague because R.B. Besides reading in the archives and Christine Wallace Laidlaw is the editor of I was quite rebellious and had no interest in working as a Friends board member, how Charles Appleton Longfellow: Twenty Months in Longfellow’s poetry and wasn’t interested in is the House important in your life? Japan, 1871-1873 published in July by the the fuss made about the House. But as I got E.B. My daughter is Allegra, my son Friends of the Longfellow House. (See older, I became interested and began to Charles. These are Longfellow names. It is “Publication Party” on page 6.) understand how unusual the whole thing was. their heritage. I can imagine that one day l R.B. When do you think you frst Allegra will bring her daughter, Natalie As part of theirWorldWriters series, Mor- became aware of your heritage? Dana, to Brattle Street and begin to explain gan Reynolds Inc. of Greensboro, North E.B. I don’t remember ever not knowing to her where she came from.This pleases me. Carolina, has just published a young adult biography called Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: America’s Beloved Poet, which is illustrated Appleton Descendants Visit Longfellow House with photographs. n October 18, descendants from Three-year old Andrew Knight and his ONathan Appleton (Fanny Longfel- baby sister were the youngest members of low’s father) and his second wife, Harriet the party touring the House. Henry W. Longfellow’s CoVin Sumner, paid their While in the archives, the Inaugural Address at Bowdoin College, frst visit ever to the house descendants viewed family (where he taught from 1829-35) their ancestor purchased as a journals as well as photos of wedding present for Henry ,. Wadsworth Longfellow and Jr., founder of the Society for I regard the profession of teacher in a far his new bride, Fanny. the Preservation of New Eng- more noble and elevated point of view than The visitors included sev- land Antiquities (SPNEA), many do. I cannot help believing that he eral generations who could and his sister Dorothy Apple- who bends in a right direction the pliant claim a direct relation to the ton. They saw paintings that disposition of the young, and trains up the poet’s wife as descendants of had once belonged to Fanny’s ductile mind to a vigorous and healthy her half-brothers and -sisters, brother Thomas Gold Apple- growth, does something for the welfare of since Fanny’s mother was Nathan Appleton portrait ton, who bequeathed many his country and something for the great Nathan Appleton’s frst wife, Maria works of art to the House, among them interests of humanity. Theresa Gold. Weld Coxe, whose grand- paintings by George Healy, the artist who mother Dorothy Appleton was Nathan’s painted the portrait of Nathan Appleton granddaughter, organized the gathering. which hangs in Longfellow’s bedroom. - 4 Women Artists at the Longfellow House lthough often overlooked in art his- hangs in the dining room. Carlotta was mar- sional artist. In 1866 she studied painting and Atory, nineteenth-century women artists ried to Henry’s friend, a diplomat named drawing in the House along with Henry’s fgured prominently in the Longfellow Greene, whose bust is three daughters. Later she studied with Ross home. Henry Longfellow, a great apprecia- in the Longfellow study. In June 1846 Henry Turner, a student of William Morris Hunt. tor and collector of art, noted in his journal that he Besides working on theatrical productions and his family acquired was lending the painting to and developing her own photographs, she works from many contem- the Boston Athenaeum for painted prolifcally. In 1885 she exhibited porary women artists, an exhibit—a strong en- twenty paintings in various museums. which are on view in the dorsement of the artist by Other women artists represented in the House or stored in its a famous man. Longfellow collection include Jane Stuart archives. Nancy Jones, In 1870 a group of (1812-1888), who helped her renowned por- Museum Educator at the Henry’s friends and admir- taitist father, , by painting Longfellow House, has re- ers presented him with a bodies and backgrounds, and copying her searched some of the marble bust of “San- father’s portraits to help support her fam- women artists connected dalphon” by Florence Free- ily. She received some training in her with the House and put man (b. 1836). Freeman father’s studio, but he refused to give her together a special tour studied in Florence with formal lessons. “When they want to know introducing these women Richard Greenough and if a puppy is of the true Newfoundland and their works to visitors. “Sandalphon” by Florence Freeman Hiram Powers, two well- breed, they throw him in the river; if true, The poet’s wife, Fanny Longfellow, known nineteenth-century American sculp- he will swim without being taught,”Gilbert much preferred painting, reading, and writ- tors. Longfellow had written a poem called said referring to his daughter Jane. ing to managing the household. Like many “Sandalphon” about the In April 1858 Henry women of her time, Fanny studied art as angel at the foot of the Longfellow recorded in part of her genteel education but never stairway to heaven. The his journal, “At the Exhi- practiced it professionally. Women were bust of the angel holds a bition of English Pictures often excluded from art schools completely position today in the with Fanny. Delighted or—if they did attend—from sketching Longfellow’s back hall. with the watercolours. the nude fgure. Many of Fanny’s sketch- Of Henry’s daughter Buy ‘Lake of Killarney’ by books still survive in the archives today, Alice Longfellow’s gener- Fanny Steers.”The poet including one flled with landscape and ation, Anna Klumpke did indeed purchase this architectural drawings from her trip to (1856-1942) was not al- watercolor, which occu- lowed (because she was a pies a place of impor- woman) to enroll at the tance in the second foor École des Beaux Arts in front hall. Paris. However, she was In the back hall hangs accepted at the Académie Rose Lamb’s (b. 1842) 1886 Julian where she was the “Child with a Doll” by Anna Klumpke portrait of Henry’s grand- frst woman to win a frst prize in 1888. She sons H.W.L. Dana and R.H. Dana IV. became a good friend of the most famous From a prestigious Boston family, she woman artist of her time, Rosa Bonheur. mainly painted portraits of children. Through- In the early 1890s, Klumpke returned to out the House and in the archives are works Boston where she set up a professional art by numerous other women artists. Their studio—unusual for a woman then—on careers and relationships to the House should Beacon Street. During her frst year, she be of great interest to future researchers. received seventeen portrait commis- sions and earned $5000. Many of her portraits were of women involved in “The Violin Player” by Maria Carlotta Greene the suVrage movement, educational Switzerland during which she met her reform, or other social causes. Her future husband. pastel “Child with a Doll” hangs in In 1844 Fanny received, as a birthday pre- Alice’s study. In a 1909 letter to Alice’s sent from their friends the Greenes, a small sister Allegra she wrote, “You and oil painting on cardboard by Maria Carlotta your family have always been so cor- Greene. Entitled “The Violin Player, the dial towards me and I shall never for- “charming miniature,” as Fanny referred to get those delightful weeks spent in it in a letter to her brother Tom, was a copy your family….” of a painting by the sixteenth-century Mary King Longfellow, (1852-1945) Venetian artist Sebastiano del Piombo. It Henry’s niece, also became a profes- “A Calm Day,” watercolor by Mary King Longfellow 5 - Summer Festival Highlights Publication Party for Charley Longfellow Book he summer series of concerts and ne hundred ffty people gathered at Shinichi Kitajima, the new Consul General Tpoetry readings on Sunday afternoons Othe Longfellow House on Sunday of Japan in Boston, noted that the poet took place once more on the House’s east afternoon October 4 to celebrate the pub- Longfellow was well-known in Japan in the lawn. “The ambiance makes it so special,” lication of Charles Appleton Longfellow: Twenty nineteenth century so his son was cordially an attendee observed. “The trees, the grass, Months in Japan, 1871-1873, edited by Chris- received and given entry into circles to the sunshine, the architecture—it is like Seu- tine Wallace Laidlaw and published by the which few Westerners had access, including rat’s painting, “Sunday on the Grande Jatte.” Friends of the Longfellow House. The an audience with the young Meiji emperor. Leading the series, the popular Lydian book compiles personal journal entries and Susan J. Pharr, Edwin O. Reischauer String Quartet played Mozart, Brahms, letters home by Charles Longfellow, the Professor of Japanese Politics at Harvard and Duke Ellington to an audience of 300. poet’s eldest son and one of the frst Amer- University, described Charley’s expeditions The following week an international poetry icans to explore through the Ainu reading featured Grace Paley, Claribel Ale- Meiji Japan, with country and from gria, YouseV Komunyaka, and John Deane. many previously Hakodate to Tokyo Several programs showed infuences unpublished his- as well as his from New England’s past. The New toric photographs. repeated requests Mendelssohn Quintet Club of Boston per- The publication to his family to formed music popular in the nineteenth party began with send him some century, including works by Ludwig Spohr tours of special more money. Tom and Louis Moreau Gottschalk. The quin- exhibits from the Woodward, a pro- tet takes its name from an“artistic” cham- Longfellow House gram analyst with ber music group that performed through- archives of numer- the National Park out the and Europe between ous furnishings Service, dressed in 1849 and 1895 and was considered among and decorative arts a Japanese haori the foremost chamber ensembles of its day. that Charley Long- Charley’s “Japanese Room” in the House, 1899 and read excerpts “The Holy Land of Song” program fellow had shipped home from Japan. from Charley’s writings. Christine Laidlaw took its title from Longfellow’s poem “Pre- Among his acquisitions on display were silk discussed her work on the book and high- lude.” Musicologist and guitarist David kimono with designs of oyster shells and a lights of her recent journey following Farewell with Marlies Kehler, soprano, Jane leaping carp, a wood and paper screen Charley’s route in Japan. Levin, harp, and Victoria Kehler, violin, painted with a scene of a river boatman, Charles Appleton Longfellow: Twenty Months in refected Longfellow’s love of German lit- and works in bronze including a whimsical Japan, 1871-1873 is currently available erature and music in nineteenth-century monkey with an extended palm serving as through the Longfellow House’s website at: German folksongs, ballads, and musical a candle holder. [email protected] for $19 ($15 for settings by Beethoven, Schubert, and oth- The guests, including many from the Friends). This is the frst in a series of ers of poems by the German Romantics Japan Society of America, gathered in the books produced by the Friends in an ongo- Goethe, Schiller, and Heine. garden for sushi and Japanese music fol- ing project to publish some of the docu- At the annual “Poets who Edit” session, lowed by brief remarks. The Honorable ments in the House archives. Peter Davison engaged the audience in a lively discussion on the processes of edit- ing and writing poetry. Davison, poet and poetry editor for the Atlantic Monthly, read Recent Discoveries in the House from his Collected Poems a poem dedicated to While cataloguing the Dana family papers in the archives, staV members came Charles Hopkinson, a one-time resident of upon a letter dated March 11, 1828 from President to Richard the Longfellow House. Davison recalled his Henry Dana, a well-known poet of his times, thanking him for sending a book frst visit, as a Harvard freshman, to the of his poetry. “I have perused this little volume with pleasure with an interest House and tea with the Hopkinsons. enlivened by the consideration of the relation of its author to my old friend…” The Longy School of Music organized wrote President Adams referring to the author’s father, Francis Dana, an ambas- three programs, including the early music sador to Russia under whom Adams had served. vocal group Liber unUsualis which sang l music from the Italian Renaissance, the New In a box of uncatalogued books in the attic were discovered two family Bibles, World Guitar Trio which played twentieth- one from the Longfellows and one from the Danas. The Dana Bible had entries century classical guitar music ranging from as far back as 1722 and was signed by Elizabeth Dana in 1793. Villa-Lobos and Manuel de Falla to a piece l by David Leisner, and a Woodwind Quintet. Behind a bell pull in Henry Longfellow’s bedroom, the staff uncovered five well- More than 2000 people enjoyed this preserved layers of wallpaper which it was then able to separate. These tangible lay- year’s Summer Festival, sponsored jointly by ers of history date from the late eighteenth through early twentieth centuries. This the National Park Service, the New England is the only place in the House where so many wallpaper layers have been found. Poetry Club, the Longy School of Music, and the Friends of the Longfellow House. 6 - Hiawatha’s Wedding Feast Performed nder the striking headline, “Stirring celebrity in his day, and a number of Henry W.Longfellow ‘s Journal, UStrains of Coleridge-Taylor Revis- Coleridge-Taylor Choral Societies were September 14, 1850 ited,” Boston Globe music critic Richard Dyer formed specifcally to perform his music. The day has been blackened to me by reading hailed the October 25th performance by the Among the more notable was a 200-mem- of the passage of “The Fugitive Slave Bill” Cambridge Community Chorus of Anglo- ber African-American group organized in in the House, Eliot of Boston voting for it. African composer Samuel Coleridge-Tay- Washington, D.C., in 1901. They sponsored This is a dark disgrace to the city. If we lor’s musical settings of Henry Wadsworth the composer’s frst visit to the United should read in Dino Campagni that in the Longfellow’s poetry. States where he conducted them in a con- 10th century a citizen of Florence had given The concert at Sanders cert at Constitution Hall such a vote, we should see what an action he Theatre celebrated the one in Washington, D.C. had done. But this the people of Boston can- hundredth anniversary of The Cambridge Com- not see in themselves.They will uphold it. the choral masterpiece by munity Chorus, under May 8, 1862 Coleridge-Taylor (1875- the direction of William Of the Civil War I say only this. It is not a 1912) called Hiawatha’s Wed- Thomas, also performed revolution, but a Catalinian conspiracy. It is ding Feast, a work for chorus, two ballads, “The Slave Slavery against Freedom; the north wind tenor soloist, and orchestra Singing at Midnight” and against the southern pestilence. I saw lately at with text from Longfel- “The Quadroon Girl,” a jeweller’s, a slave’s collar of iron, with an low’s renowned 1855 epic based on selections from iron tongue as large as a spoon., to go into the poem The Song of Hiawatha. Longfellow’s Songs of Slavery mouth. Every drop of blood in me quivered! Composed when the written in 1842 . The world forgets what slavery really is! prolifc young graduate of Prior to the concert, Britain’s Royal College of many copies of a twenty- Music was only twenty- page centennial-concert three, Hiawatha’s Wedding Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, c. 1899 booklet with informative Feast, his most famous work, was an immedi- essays on Longfellow and Coleridge-Taylor e Upcoming Event f ate success in his native England and in the as well as the texts of the poems the com- HenryWadsworth Longfellow Birthday United States. Its Boston premier was in poser set to music were distributed to Cam- Celebration. On Saturday eFbruary 28, 1900 by the Cecilia Society (now the Boston bridge schools. During October, the main 1999 at 10:00 a.m., celebrate the poet’s Cecilia). Dyer described it as “a stirring branch of the Cambridge Public Library 192nd birthday with a wreath-laying and work, rhythmically alive and a ‘big sing’ for displayed memorabilia and material pertain- reception at . choral musicians” with “a beautiful wedding ing to the lives and careers of the poet and This annual event is co-sponsored with song for solo tenor.” the composer and included reproductions of the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery. Coleridge-Taylor was an international items in the Longfellow House collection. Historian Pauline Maier Speaks at Lyceum Honoring Diana Korzenik lyceum evening to honor Diana Kor- year the soldier called them simply “the Longfellow House and the Friends. House Azenik, frst president and founding enemy.” Friends board member Frances Site Manager James Shea, Friends board member of the Friends of the Longfellow Ackerly had transcribed the diary from member Stanley Paterson, former Longfel- House, was held in the Longfellow House diVicult-to-read eighteenth- low House staV person Sally library on October 29. In the tradition of century script. At the conclu- Sapienza, archivist Anita the nineteenth-century lyceum, the evening sion of the talk, she revealed Israel, and Evy Davis, a per- featured poetry, music, and a lecture. that, through birth and death sonal friend of the guest of Pauline Maier, Professor of History at records, she had identifed honor, all paid tribute to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology the soldier as Moses Sleeper Diana Korzenik’s inspiring and author most recently of American Scrip- of Newburyport, Massachu- work and leadership. ture:The Making of the Declaration of Independence, setts who probably moved to Liber unUsualis, a three- read and analyzed passages from the diary after the person vocal ensemble in of an anonymous soldier in the Revolu- Revolution. Victorian-style dress, gave a tionary War. Using the diary found in the The evening began with virtuoso performance of Longfellow archives, Professor Maier set readings and recitations of Pauline Maier at the lyceum early Renaissance songs by forth a common soldier’s experience of the Longfellow’s poetry by National Park Ser- Heinrich Isaac, Costanzo Festa, and others. war and traced the slowly developing sense vice interpreters Paul Blandford and Nancy The full sound created using only their of nationalism in the American colonies Jones. NPS Deputy Superintendent John voices flled the high-ceilinged library, during the crucial months of 1775-76. At Maounis welcomed the nearly ffty guests which, appropriately, was also the music frst the soldier referred to the British as the and expressed his thanks on behalf of the room in Longfellow’s day. James Shea con- “regulars” or “Gage-ites” (a reference to Park Service to Diana Korzenik for her cluded the event with the promise of many General Thomas Gage), but by the next enthusiasm and tireless work for the more such lyceum evenings in the future.

- 7 " dopt-an-Object rogram Join us as a Friend and help support an international collection of A elp us tend to our mostP critical pri- Fine & Decorative Arts, Rare Books, Letters, and Historic Photographs Horities by donating specifcally to an object in need—the argand chandelier representing three centuries of American History… (an oil-burning lamp with a tubular q $1000 Benefactor q $100 Supporter wick) that hangs in the parlor archway. q $ 750 Donor q $ 60 Contributor Recent fnds completed this rare fxture q $ 500 Patron q $ 30 Family whose history is now better understood. q $ 250 Sponsor q $ 20 Individual Searching through unexplored cup- q boards in the attic, a visiting cataloging $ 15 Student team found several unusually shaped Make checks payable to: gilded metal and glass pieces. Mean- Friends of the Longfellow House while, staV researchers studying lighting 105 Brattle Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 fxtures in the House identifed another For more information, call (617) 876-4491 piece of the high-style argand chandelier and dated it from the 1820s or 30s. All Name the pieces were reunited at last to form a Address complete chandelier. City Photographic evidence shows that the chandelier may not originally have hung State Zip in the House. Its earliest recording is in Telephone an 1886 photograph of the “girl’s bed- Special area(s) of interest in the Longfellow House: room” at 39 Beacon Street, the childhood home of Fanny Appleton Longfellow. q But photographs from the early 1900s on I would like someone to call me about volunteer opportunities. show the chandelier—without its multi- Contributions are tax deductible to the extent provided by law. tiered crystals and argand fxtures—in its familiar place at the edge of the parlor. Further research is underway to deter- mine the provenance of this highly pre- served piece and the only one of its kind to hang in context. Friends of the Longfellow House However, this chandelier’s gilt fnish is 105 Brattle Street dulled and faking, its oil-stained fxtures Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138 need cleaning, and the wires holding its Irish crystal pendants need stabilizing. Repairs will cost in the thousands. Won’t you help restore this fne example of early nineteenth-century lighting?

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