Maine Memory Network

Lewiston Historical Commission, 1969

Contributed by: Franco-American Collection, University of Southern Maine Libraries Date: 1969 Location: Lewiston Media: Photographic print

Notice of freight shipped to Washington, 1863

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 1863 Location: Washington Media: Ink on paper

  view a full transcription

Maine Historical Society, Portland, ca. 2015

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 2015 Location: Portland Client: Maine Historical Society Architect: Carol A. Wilson; Carol A. Wilson Architect

Chebeague Island Historical Society, Chebeague Island, 2001

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: 2001 Location: Chebeague Island Client: Chebeague Island Historical Society Architect: Carol A. Wilson; UJMN and Carol A. Wilson Architects

The Sanitary Commission: Meeting Needs of Soldiers, Families

The Sanitary Commission, formed soon after the Civil War began in the spring of 1861, dealt with the health, relief needs, and morale of soldiers and their families. The Maine Agency helped families and soldiers with everything from furloughs to getting new socks.

MHS in Pictures: exploring our first 200 years

Two years after separating from Massachusetts, Maine leaders—many who were part of the push for statehood—also separated from Massachusetts Historical Society, creating the Maine Historical Society in 1822. The legislation signed on February 5, 1822 positioned MHS as the third-oldest state dedicated historical organization in the nation. The exhibition features MHS's five locations over the institution's two centuries, alongside images of leaders who have steered the organization through pivotal times.

Maine Historic Preservation Commission

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Acadian Archives

View collections, facts, and contact information for this Contributing Partner.

Annette Addorio: 100+ years of memories from full life
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center

From 1914 to 2018, highlights from my life in Biddeford

Spiros Droggitis: From Biddeford to Washington DC and back
by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center

A Greek family's impact: from the iconic Wonderbar Restaurant to Washington DC

Longfellow Studies: Celebrity's Picture - Using Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Portraits to Observe Historic Changes

Grade Level: 3-5, 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: Social Studies, Visual & Performing Arts
"In the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book?" Englishman Sydney Smith's 1820 sneer irked Americans, especially writers such as Irving, Cooper, Hawthorne, and Maine's John Neal, until Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's resounding popularity successfully rebuffed the question. The Bowdoin educated Portland native became the America's first superstar poet, paradoxically loved especially in Britain, even memorialized at Westminster Abbey. He achieved international celebrity with about forty books or translations to his credit between 1830 and 1884, and, like superstars today, his public craved pictures of him. His publishers consequently commissioned Longfellow's portrait more often than his family, and he sat for dozens of original paintings, drawings, and photos during his lifetime, as well as sculptures. Engravers and lithographers printed replicas of the originals as book frontispiece, as illustrations for magazine or newspaper articles, and as post cards or "cabinet" cards handed out to admirers, often autographed. After the poet's death, illustrators continued commercial production of his image for new editions of his writings and coloring books or games such as "Authors," and sculptors commemorated him with busts in Longfellow Schools or full-length figures in town squares. On the simple basis of quantity, the number of reproductions of the Maine native's image arguably marks him as the country's best-known nineteenth century writer. TEACHERS can use this presentation to discuss these themes in art, history, English, or humanities classes, or to lead into the following LESSON PLANS. The plans aim for any 9-12 high school studio art class, but they can also be used in any humanities course, such as literature or history. They can be adapted readily for grades 3-8 as well by modifying instructional language, evaluation rubrics, and targeted Maine Learning Results and by selecting materials for appropriate age level.