07.31.2024

Only at the Athenaeum: Hawthorne’s friendly ghost

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Ghost of Dr. Harris” is a tale of his experiences with the ghost of Reverend Doctor Thaddeus Mason Harris at the Boston Athenaeum.

As the story goes, Hawthorne claims to have seen Dr. Harris reading in the same spot in the Athenaeum, day after day, only later to have learned Dr. Harris had died days prior.

Hawthorne wrote the story for a friend, but it wasn’t published until Hawthorne passed himself. When we moved to 10½ Beacon Street, the ghost of Dr. Harris did not come along, although a portrait of him did – which you can see displayed on our first floor.

07.31.2024

Only at the Athenaeum: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Excuse

Where’s Ralph Waldo Emerson? Ralph Waldo Emerson was a frequent visitor to the Boston Athenaeum, even as late as 1875.

Often accompanied by his daughter Miss Ellen Emerson, who carried his papers and books in her satchel, they would settle into chairs by one of the windows overlooking the Granary Burying Ground. Here, they would plan their day in the city, with Miss Emerson occasionally persuading her father to join her on social calls.

He declined often, saying there were things he needed to look up at the Athenaeum. Feel free to use the same excuse!

07.31.2024

Only at the Athenaeum: When Alexander Bell Rang In

Alexander Graham Bell gave his first public demonstration of the telephone at the Boston Athenaeum on May 10, 1876, for members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Bell wowed the audience by transmitting music tones over the telephone with a wire running from his office down the street. This demonstration was a ringing success indeed!

07.31.2024

Only at the Athenaeum: The Strangers List

book with names written in a registry fashion.

The “Names of Strangers Introduced” at the Athenaeum is a unique and historically significant part of the library’s records.

Essentially a guest book, the list included notable figures such as senators, artists, writers, commanders, and one king: Samuel Morse (in 1837), Washington Irving (1832, 1851), Harriet Beecher Stowe (1856), Henry James (1849), William Makepeace Thackeray (1852), Horace Greeley (1869), and King Kamehameha III of the Hawaiian Islands (1850).

Strange days, indeed.