NANTUCKET, MASS.: The Nantucket Historical Association (NHA) is delighted to announce the public opening of its major exhibition Nantucket's Cabinets of Curiosities: A to Z on Friday, May 27, in the Peter Foulger Gallery of the Whaling Museum, 13 Broad Street.
Inspired by Nantucket’s early museums, especially the original “Fair Street Rooms,” the exhibition will showcase iconic curios, oddities, and other island treasures from the NHA collections, presenting an encapsulated “A to Z” overview of Nantucket history. Such curios as the model of the Nantucket camels; the bell from the railroad engine Dionis; the tiller of the whaleship Lima; the famous wax doll of Louis XVII, Dauphin of France, brought back by a Nantucket captain; and many more items will be taken out of storage and placed on display for the first time in years.
Another exciting component of the exhibition will be movies from an earlier Nantucket, including footage from the 1930s to 1950s playing on an antique television in a 1950s living room setting. Visitors will have a chance to enter Josiah Freeman’s Photo Studio and have their portraits taken; to smell spermaceti and ambergris; to color a copy of the Tony Sarg Alphabet Book with their children and families; to send a Nantucket postcard to friends; and to revisit the model of the Nantucket railroad that will be part of the exhibition.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to present some of the truly curious objects in our collection, a number of which have not been on display for quite some time,” said Ben Simons, NHA Robyn and John Davis Chief Curator. “We have so many interesting artifacts, and it has been exciting preparing them to share with the public and get back to the roots of the NHA’s Fair Street Museum, which was a true cabinet of curiosities. We hope to evoke the spirit of that original installation with objects reflecting old Nantucket.”
The exhibition will be on display in the Peter Foulger Gallery through November 7. The museum is open daily, 10 A.M.–5 P.M. 13 Broad Street, Nantucket, MA.
