Fascinating historic photographs taken from 1909 to 1950 of a Maine which has almost completely disappeared are the subject of the new book Maine on Glass: The Early Twentieth Century in Glass Plate Photography by Maine State Historian Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Penobscot Marine Museum Photo Archivist Kevin Johnson, and historian Bill Bunting. The photographs were originally taken to be made into postcards during the postcard craze of the early 1900s when billions of postcards were mailed world-wide. The photographs show Mainers at work and at play everywhere from lobster shacks and wilderness hunting camps, to steam and sailing ships and grand hotels. On Sunday, January 29th at 2:00 pm, Boothbay Railway Village presents an illustrated talk about Maine on Glass: The Early Twentieth Century in Glass Plate Photography with authors Earle G. Shettleworth, Jr., Kevin Johnson, and Bill Bunting. The talk will take place inside the Museum’s 1847 Boothbay Town Hall. Admission is free, suggested donation of $5 appreciated.

Cipperly Good, curator at the Penobscot Marine Museum, will discuss locally built and captained vessels that were involved in the migration of Chinese Coolies to Cuba to work in the sugar industry in the 1860s. This program is offered as a free community event in anticipation of the 30th Annual Camden Conference. The 30th Anniversary Camden Conference Community Events Series is supported in part by the Maine Humanities Council. At Witherle Memorial Library.

Visitors Center, 2 Church St.
Cost: $8, $5 Members
Ralph Stanley, historian and boatbuilder, will present a talk on the mackerel schooner AUGUSTA E. HERRICK. The Swans Island schooner "had the distinction of being the only centerboard schooner ever to be employed in the North American fisheries" according to historian Howard Chappelle.  The Swans Island fishermen, like owner William P. Herrick, led the Atlantic coast mackerel fisheries in catch rates.  Come learn more about the vigorous and hardy men and schooners of Swan's Island.

The topic of the 31st Annual Camden Conference is New World Disorder and America’s Future.  PMM's curator, Cipperly Good, will speak at a Camden Conference-affiliated event about how she understands today's economic globalist from a historic view. 

This presentation will use primary source material, artifacts and images from the Penobscot Marine Museum to track the Maine merchant marine in the global market, when Downeasters were the global shippers. For more information call 207-548-2529.

Ralph Stanley, our beloved historian, boatbuilder, musician, and Board member, will talk about the perils, adventures, and day-to-day work of fishing out of Southwest Harbor, Maine during the War. For more information call 207-548-2529.

At Camden Public Library
55 Main Street, Camden
April 3- April 30
Opening Reception: April 3 at 7:00 pm

April is Maritime Month and Penobscot Marine Museum will once again partner with the Camden Public Library and create an exhibit for the Picker Room. This is the first exhibit of Kosti Ruohomaa's photographs since his archive arrived back in Maine last year. On April 3rd at 7:00 pm there will be an opening reception for the exhibit and an illustrated talk by Kosti's biographer Deanna Bonner-Gantor. 

Cost: Free

Join author Jonathan White as he explores sea level rise, tide-generated electricity, the relation of sea- and land-creatures (including humans) to the tides and the moon, how tides are slowing the earth’s rotation and making the day longer, and why scientists have been maddened by the problem of explaining the tides for thousands of years.

Cost: $5 for members, $8 for non-members

In 2018, we commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the end of the “Great War”. Historian Paul Biddle provides insights into what led the United States to enter the war and how that influenced the outcome of the war.

Thursday, May 30, 6pm
$5 for members, $8 for non-members

Drugs, armed conflict, and free trade. Sound familiar? The First Opium War of the early 1840s, with British and Chinese fighting over the opium trade and Chinese sovereignty, opened up Chinese ports to the world. Maine's merchant mariners aboard Maine-built ships soon thereafter entered the Chinese import and export trade. The trade aboard Maine-built ships lasted into the turn of the 20th Century. In the meantime, Maine sea captains and their families brought back souvenirs, stories, and an economic understanding of China.

Thursday, June 27, 6pm
$8/person, $5/PMM member

Capt. Daniel S. Parrott, Professor of Marine Transportation at Maine Maritime Academy will discuss weather phenomena relating to the operation of tall ships, both from a historical perspective and from personal experience.

Sponsored by Hamilton Marine