News At The Museum
Summer Folk, Sea Battles Exhibits To Open May 25
Free Reception on Opening Day
Summer Folk: The Tourists of Penobscot Bay explores the history of the region's tourism, including lodging, transportation and, of course, recreation.
May 4, 2012 – Penobscot Marine Museum will open for the 2012 season with two new exhibits featuring regional tourism and marine art. Summer Folk: The Tourists of Penobscot Bay is a campus-wide exhibit exploring the history of tourism from 1890 to 1960. And to commemorate of the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, The Art of the Sea Battle will feature some of the finest marine art in the museum's collection. Both exhibits open Friday, May 25, and a free reception is scheduled at 5 p.m. to celebrate the start of the museum's 75th exhibit season.
Long an economic mainstay of the Penobscot Bay region, tourism became a significant force in the 1890s and evolved through the 20th century with changes in lodging, transportation, recreation, demographics and the social milieu. Summer Folk will explore these changes through recreated hotel and guest house environments, vintage photography, old advertising and marketing materials, steamship memorabilia, postcards, antique sporting goods, clothing, boats, and other artifacts.
Several businesses and organizations are joining the museum in the Summer Folk theme by offering exhibits, events, and "specials" throughout the Penobscot Bay region. A Summer Folk Trails map and dedicated web pages will soon be available with details on these offerings.
The Age of Fighting Sail is the subject of The Art of the Sea Battle, commemorating the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812.
The Art of the Sea Battle celebrates the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, when the United States first became a world-class naval power. Works by Thomas Buttersworth, Robert Salmon, Fred S. Cozzens and others depict warships from the apogee of the "Age of Fighting Sail." Included are "narrative" paintings showing historical battles, ship portraits notable for their detail and accuracy, and a stirring painting depicting the pursuit of a slave ship by a British brig of war.
Both exhibits run May 25 through October 21. At 5 p.m. on opening day, the public is invited to a free reception in the Main Street Gallery to learn more about this year's exhibits and events.
Photo Database Adds More than 20,000 Images
Photographer "Red" Boutilier captured the converted fishing trawler Natalie Todd being rechristened for use as a passenger-carrying windjammer.
February 14, 2012 – Penobscot Marine Museum's Collections Database has just expanded with the addition of four new photo collections, including 20,000 images by well-known Maine photographer Everett "Red" Boutilier. The database now contains more than 50,000 images, making it one of New England's largest online resources for historic photography. It is available free here.
Red Boutilier was a photographer of the Maine waterfront from the 1950s until soon before his death in 2003. His work was published in Downeast, National Fisherman, Sail, Yachting, Soundings and other magazines and newspapers. Boats, fishing, and shipyard scenes from Maine's midcoast area dominate the more than 20,000 photos in the collection, whose acquisition by the museum was made possible by a gift from another frequent publisher of Boutilier's work, Maine Boats, Homes & Harbors.
The other newly-added collections are:
The Lawless Collection contains oddities such as this "tramp chair," an incarceration device that never caught on in its target market of towns that couldn't afford jails.
The Lawless Collection: Jake Lawless, Sheriff of Belfast, Maine, collected images of life in and around Belfast in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Prominent in the collection are group portraits of children's gatherings and other social events. Also included are a number of glass lantern slides depicting Belfast, wilderness areas, and cartoons.
Preston Williams took this circa-1905 image of the steamer Verona being launched into the Penobscot River. From the MacEwen Collection.
The MacEwen Collection: The work of amateur photographer Preston Williams of Bangor is featured in this collection. Included are early 20th-century scenes of daily work, waterfronts, architecture, and important images of Bangor soon after a disastrous fire destroyed 267 buildings in 1911.
This view of Monhegan Harbor, with the northern end of Manana Island in the background, captured by David J. Lindsay.
The Lindsay Collection: Professional photographer David J. Lindsay was active in Damariscotta, Maine, during the first half of the 20th century. His work included school and church groups, wedding parties, social organization events, boats, and shipyards, mostly in Lincoln County, Maine, but also in Massachusetts and Vermont.
Several other collections are already online in the collections database. A search function permits photo searches by collection, location, subject matter and other parameters. There is also a field in which users are encouraged to share information about any image.