Monday, September 18, 2017

Special Event: Treasures of the State Library of Massachusetts

Cover of The Liberty Bell, vol. 14
Friday, Sept. 29th, 2017—12:30-1:15pm
State Library of Massachusetts, 
Special Collections—Room 55
Massachusetts State House

The Friends of the State Library of Massachusetts will present a special event in the Library's Special Collections Department on September 29th from 12:30-1:15pm: “Treasures of the State Library of Massachusetts.” Visitors will be able to view and learn about materials that are normally not on public view.  Items include some of the earliest published laws of Massachusetts, a realistic facsimile of Mayflower passenger William Bradford’s manuscript journal Of Plimoth Plantation, broadsides recruiting soldiers for the Civil War, photographs of African-American soldiers from the Massachusetts 54th and 55th Regiments, a handwritten journal by a Civil War soldier from Massachusetts, early maps of Boston, and beautifully illustrated books on natural history.  Space is limited so register today!

To register or learn more about the event, please visit: Treasures of the State Library of Massachusetts

Have a question?  Contact the library’s Special Collections staff directly via e-mail or by phone:
E-mail: special.collections@state.ma.us
Phone: 617-727-2595

State Library of Massachusetts

Monday, September 11, 2017

New Exhibition, featuring Symbols of Massachusetts



Opening on Monday, September 11, the State Library of Massachusetts’s newest exhibition features the official symbols of the Commonwealth. The symbols, all officially approved by the state legislature, range from the whimsical (Ms. G., the State Groundhog) to the philosophical (“Ense petit placidam sub libertate quietem,” the State Motto). The exhibition uses materials from the State Library’s collections, including artifacts that illustrate specific symbols. Don’t miss the Boston-style baked beans!

The exhibition, located outside the main library in Room 341 of the State House, will run through December 31, 2017. It is also available through the State Library’s Flickr site. Please come visit!








Monday, September 4, 2017

Trial of Jane Toppan

Jane Toppan (born Honora Kelley) was a Victorian-era serial killer who confessed to murdering 31+
people in Boston and on Cape Cod with lethal doses of poisonous admixtures over a span of about 20 years—starting in the 1880s up until her capture in October of 1901.  Her victims included patients at hospitals where she worked as a nurse, her friends, her landlords, and even her own foster sister.  In June of 1902, Toppan was brought before the Barnstable Superior Court on the charge of murdering Mary D. Gibbs and was found not guilty by reason of insanity.  She spent her remaining years in the Taunton State Hospital and died in 1938.

The State Library has recently digitized the transcript of the 1902 trial and it is now freely available to download through our DSpace digital repository: http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/handle/2452/734741 

Kaitlin Connolly
Reference Department

Caption:  Jane Toppan (1857-1938)
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