Keywords: Decorations
- Historical Items (816)
- Tax Records (2)
- Architecture & Landscape (2)
- Online Exhibits (60)
- Site Pages (43)
- My Maine Stories (5)
- Lesson Plans (1)
Online Exhibits
Your results include these online exhibits. You also can view all of the site's exhibits, view a timeline of selected events in Maine History, and learn how to create your own exhibit. See featured exhibits or create your own exhibit
Exhibit
Art of the People: Folk Art in Maine
For many different reasons people saved and carefully preserved the objects in this exhibit. Eventually, along with the memories they hold, the objects were passed to the Maine Historical Society. Object and memory, serve as a powerful way to explore history and to connect to the lives of people in the past.
Exhibit
A Celebration of Skilled Artisans
The Maine Charitable Mechanic Association, an organization formed to promote and support skilled craftsmen, celebrated civic pride and members' trades with a parade through Portland on Oct. 8, 1841 at which they displayed 17 painted linen banners with graphic and textual representations of the artisans' skills.
Exhibit
Mural mystery in Westport Island's Cornelius Tarbox, Jr. House
The Cornelius Tarbox, Jr. House, a well-preserved Greek Revival house on Westport Island, has a mystery contained within--a panoramic narrative mural. The floor-to-ceiling mural contains eight painted panels that create a colorful coastal seascape which extends through the front hallway and up the stairwell. The name of the itinerant painter has been lost over time, can you help us solve the mystery of who he or she was?
Exhibit
Evergreens and a Jolly Old Elf
Santa Claus and evergreens have been common December additions to homes, schools, businesses, and other public places to America since the mid nineteenth century. They are two symbols of the Christian holiday of Christmas whose origins are unrelated to the religious meaning of the day.
Exhibit
Settlers' clothing had to be durable and practical to hold up against hard work and winters. From the 1700s to the mid 1800s, the women of Maine learned to sew by making samplers.
Exhibit
Gifts From Gluskabe: Maine Indian Artforms
According to legend, the Great Spirit created Gluskabe, who shaped the world of the Native People of Maine, and taught them how to use and respect the land and the resources around them. This exhibit celebrates the gifts of Gluskabe with Maine Indian art works from the early nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries.
Exhibit
A City Awakes: Arts and Artisans of Early 19th Century Portland
Portland's growth from 1786 to 1860 spawned a unique social and cultural environment and fostered artistic opportunity and creative expression in a broad range of the arts, which flowered with the increasing wealth and opportunity in the city.
Exhibit
Drawing Together: Art of the Longfellows
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is best know as a poet, but he also was accomplished in drawing and music. He shared his love of drawing with most of his siblings. They all shared the frequent activity of drawing and painting with their children. The extended family included many professional as well as amateur artists, and several architects.
Exhibit
Northern Threads: Penobscot mocassins
A themed exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads, Part I," about telling stories through Indigenous clothing, featuring an essay by Jennifer Sapiel Neptune (Penobscot.)
Exhibit
Maine's natural resources -- granite, limestone and slate in particular -- along with its excellent ports made it a leader in mining and production of the valuable building materials. Stone work also attracted numerous skilled immigrants.
Exhibit
Bookplates Honor Annie Louise Cary
A summer resident of Wayne collected more than 3,000 bookplates to honor Maine native and noted opera singer Annie Louise Cary and to support the Cary Memorial Library.
Exhibit
Lock of George Washington's Hair
Correspondence between Elizabeth Wadsworth, her father Peleg Wadsworth and Martha Washington's secretary about the gift of a lock of George Washington's hair to Eliza.
Exhibit
Dressing Up, Standing Out, Fitting In
Adorning oneself to look one's "best" has varied over time, gender, economic class, and by event. Adornments suggest one's sense of identity and one's intent to stand out or fit in.
Exhibit
When America entered the Great War in 1917, the government sent out pleas for help from American women, many of whom responded at the battle front and on the home front.
Exhibit
Rum, Riot, and Reform - Drinking Implements
"… English Pearlware with underglaze blue painted decoration Courtesy of W.M. Schwind, Jr. Antiques X Goblet, 1690-1710 England Blown glass…"
Exhibit
Christmas, a Christian holiday observed by many Mainers, has a very public, seasonal face that makes it visible to those of all beliefs.
Exhibit
Most societies have had rituals or times set aside to honor ancestors, those who have died and have paved the way for the living. Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, is the day Americans have set aside for such remembrances.
Exhibit
LeBaron Atherton's furniture empire consisted of ten stores, four of which were in Maine. The photos are reminiscent of a different era in retailing.
Exhibit
The Life and Legacy of the George Tate Family
Captain George Tate, mast agent for the King of England from 1751 to the Revolutionary War, and his descendants helped shape the development of Portland (first known as Falmouth) through activities such as commerce, shipping, and real estate.
Exhibit
Monuments to Civil War Soldiers
Maine supplied a huge number of soldiers to the Union Army during the Civil War -- some 70,000 -- and responded after the war by building monuments to soldiers who had served and soldiers who had died in the epic American struggle.
Exhibit
St-Jean-Baptiste Day -- June 24th -- in Lewiston-Auburn was a very public display of ethnic pride for nearly a century. Since about 1830, French Canadians had used St. John the Baptist's birthdate as a demonstration of French-Canadian nationalism.
Exhibit
Northern Threads: Outerwear, Militia & Cadet uniforms
A themed vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring 19th century outerwear, bonnets, militia and cadet uniforms.
Exhibit
Imagery on letterhead soldiers used, on soldiers' memorials produced after the war, and on many other items captured the themes of the American Civil War: union, liberty, and freedom.
Exhibit
Eternal Images: Photographing Childhood
From the earliest days of photography doting parents from across Maine sought to capture images of their young children. The studio photographs often reflect the families' images of themselves and their status or desired status.