Hands-On History, an ongoing exhibition in the Special Collections Department lobby of the Central Library in Copley Square, showcases select projects from the Boston Public Library’s Conservation Lab.
The Long Wake of Sacco & Vanzetti
Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were electrocuted at midnight on August 22, 1927. Sacco was a 36 year old husband and father of two living in Stoughton. Vanzetti was was a 39 year old single man living in Plymouth. Both were Italian immigrants who identified as anarchists...
Paul Wittgenstein and Music for Piano One Hand
Paul Wittgenstein (1887-1961) was an Austrian pianist from a prominent family that included his more famous philosopher brother, Ludwig. While serving in the army during World War I, his right arm was shattered by a bullet and the doctors had to amputate it. Rather than giving up a promising career as a concert pianist that he'd been planning before the war, he embarked on doing the same but with only his left arm.
Creative Entrepreneurship Resources
Not only are you designing and making your product, you are responsible for market research, product photography, pricing, marketing, sales, taxes, shipping, grant and residency applications, contracts, and more. Here are some resources to help you feel a little more prepared to tackle the business side of your creative practice.
Queer Lit Review: August 2025
Hello and welcome to the August edition of the Queer Lit Review! This month, we have an immortal ghost hunter finding new friends, a grotesque mermaid helping a young high schooler after she loses her family, and a gay antique dealer falling for a closeted detective during a murder investigation. These titles may be available…
After Bunker Hill
About nine months after the Battle of Bunker Hill, British military forces were finally persuaded to leave Boston by the installation of cannons on Dorchester Heights in what is now South Boston. Thus ended the Siege of Boston and years of British occupation. But what happened in those months between Bunker Hill and the evacuation…
Tiny Worlds: Dioramas at the Boston Public Library
On the third floor of the McKim building at the Central Library in Copley Square, there’s a small, dark room where tiny scenes come to life in the shadows. You’ll see fighters in a boxing ring, a cozy kitchen where two friends chat over a meal, a group of dimly lit circus performers, an artist’s printmaking studio complete with miniature printing press. Little figures travel through deserts and shipyards, run to seek shelter from the rain, and float down rivers in small boats.
Influencer: The Alice Jordan Story
In a time when library schools were all but nonexistent, Alice Jordan embraced incoming youth services librarians and championed youth patron services. The Boston Public Library defined children as ages twelve to fourteen and considered them a nuisance, interfering with library services for adults. There were no books for children nor a way for them…
Pickwick Club Disaster
July 4, 2025, marks the 100th anniversary of one of Boston's greatest tragedies: the Pickwick Club Disaster. In the early morning hours of Independence Day 1925, a five-story building collapsed upon itself entombing and crushing to death the many celebrants inside. The Pickwick Club collapse left Bostonians shocked and appalled at the many layers of…
Donna Summer, Boston’s Own Disco Queen
The Early Years The star we all know as Donna Summer was born as LaDonna Adrian Gaines on New Year's Eve, 1948 in the Boston neighborhood of Mission Hill. Her family's address at the time was listed as 25 Woodrow Wilson Court in the 1948 Boston City Directory, putting the home by Orchard Park in…
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