Lucky for us, Luna Luis Ortiz has a passion for history. A native New Yorker, he’s been a fixture on the house and ballroom scene since the late 1980s as a performer, photographer, and activist. So, when New-York Historical Society curator Rebecca Klassen was looking for advisers to help develop our exhibition Letting Loose and...

The post Stonewall 50: Meet Luna Luis Ortiz, One of New-York Historical’s Experts on House and Ballroom Culture appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

One of the signature elements of New-York Historical’s exhibition Hudson Rising is the imposing, elegant slabs of white pine and red oak that greet visitors. The live-edged trunks evoke the forests of New York State’s Adirondacks and help make the presence of nature palpable. Hudson Rising—closing on Sunday, August 4—presents the Museum’s stellar collection of Hudson River School landscape...

The post Hudson Rising: The Man Behind the New-York Historical Exhibition’s Trees appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

John Hancock needed a check-up. New-York Historical’s portrait of the famed signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first governor of Massachusetts is on view as part of the exhibition Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere. However, before it gets installed, the Museum’s Paintings Conservation Lab wanted to learn more about it. New-York Historical actually knows very...

The post John Hancock Gets an X-ray: Inside the New-York Historical Conservation Lab appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

On the evening of July 9, 1776, downtown New York City was in a rebellious mood. The Declaration of Independence had been read aloud that day in lower Manhattan for the first time, announcing to the city that the Revolution against British rule had begun. That night, 40 colonial soldiers and sailors under the command...

The post A Horse’s Tail: How a Legendary Piece of a King George III Statue Landed at the New-York Historical Society appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

The New-York Historical Society Museum wants a wedding cake topper. Not just any cake topper: a same-sex version with two men or two women that speaks to the titanic shift in American culture that happened when gay marriage was legalized at the federal level in 2015. So if we’re so eager, why not just buy...

The post Want to Donate an Object to New-York Historical? Here’s How it Happens appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

When Ulysses Grant Dietz’s older brother gave him a wedding cake topper for Christmas in the early 2000s, he meant it mostly as a gag gift. Made of molded plastic, the topper features two tuxedo-clad men linking arms under a flower-bedecked bower. On the underside, it’s stamped with the words “Adam & Steve.” The topper’s...

The post The Love Story Behind New-York Historical’s New Wedding Cake Topper appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

April 22, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was a remarkably non-partisan affair that brought an estimated 20 million people out into the streets, parks, and beaches across the United States. In New York alone, Earth Day celebrations, rallies, and teach-ins shut down 5th Avenue...

The post Earth Day Turns 50: How to Participate Online and Get Free Posters from New-York Historical appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, perhaps it’s no surprise that alcohol sales are booming. With many of us confined to our homes (if we’re lucky), braving commutes to carry out essential work, or simply trying to figure out how to make a mask out of your last pair of clean underwear, there seems to be no...

The post Cocktails in a Crisis: New-York Historical’s Iconic Barware and a History of Happy Hours in Dark Times appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Lewis Library - ML128.A7 P28 2019

Historic farming retains a connection to field and yield that modern farming does not. Farmer Ed Shultz describes the animals and methods he uses at Great Hopes Plantation.

Intelligence born of practice combines with the study of science to complete the historic tradesman’s store of knowledge. There was no better spokesman for the Historic Trades program than Director Jay Gaynor. Jay recently passed away and we miss him. This encore podcast is dedicated to him.

Technologies that used to be beyond reach for museum professionals now can lend new insights into the hidden compositions of materials, metals, and paints. Conservator Kirsten Moffitt explains how a spike on a screen can spot a fake or reveal a discovery.

Online Resource

Rotch Library - NA680.B533 2019

Barker Library - TH3301.R59 2019

The archive features more than 800,000 pages of brand-new, full text searchable, scans of the complete run of the Mirror from 1903-2000, including the Sunday Mirror. This is one of many e-resources we currently have on trial. You can see the complete list and gain access via our trial e-resources page. Please remember to leave feedback – your opinions help shape our collections. See what other newspapers and news services are available via Durham University Library and Collections