A New Year’s Greeting from Merrymount Press, 1918

By Anna J. Clutterbuck-Cook, Reader Services

 

Welcome to the future! In this first week of the new year, I bring you a New Year’s greeting from one hundred years in the past. This illustration by Rudolph Ruzicka (1883-1978) graced the annual greeting to the friends of Merrymount Press, Boston at the dawn of the year 1918. The image is a view of the parade ground at Camp Devens (Ayer, Mass.) and the Latin text at the top of the image is the official motto of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, “Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem,” translated into English as “she seeks with the sword a quiet peace under liberty” — a solemn message for the advent of a year under the shadow of World War One.

The Massachusetts Historical Society holds a collection of illustrations by Ruzicka, himself a member of the Society for many years, as well as many titles printed by Merrymount Press. You are welcome to explore our print holdings through our online catalog ABIGAIL and reach out to the library staff with any questions you have about accessing items in our collection.

We look forward to welcoming you to the library in 2018 and beyond!

 

Posted in From Our Collections Tagged

This Week @ MHS

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We are back to business this week at the Society, thought it appears that Mother Nature may have other plans for us. Without thinking about the weather, here is what is on the calendar for the first week of the new year:

– Wednesday, 3 January, 12:00PM : Derek O’Leary of the University of California, Berkeley, kicks off the year with the first Brown Bag talk of 2018, “Excavating the Western Indian Mound and Building the American Archive.” Settlers and travelers moving westward in the early republid encountered the myriad Indian mounds scattered along the American frontier. These sundry earthworks furnished ample grist for various projects: frontier infrastructure, literary nationalism, the national historical narrative, and – as this talk explores – the emergence of the American archives. This talk is free and open to the public. 

– Saturday, 6 January, 10:00AM : The History and Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society Tour is a 90-minute docent-led walk through our public rooms. The tour is free, open to the public, with no need for reservations. If you would like to bring a larger party (8 or more), please contact Curator of Art Anne Bentley at 617-646-0508 or abentley@masshist.org.

While you’re here you will also have the opportunity to view our current exhibition: Yankees in the West.

Throughout the winter, please keep an eye on our main website and online calendar for information about weather-related closings. 

Posted in This Week @MHS