Maine Memory Network

Mourning pins, ca. 1895

Contributed by: Maine Historical Society Date: circa 1895 Media: metal, paper

Mourning dress, Presque Isle, ca. 1860

Contributed by: Presque Isle Historical Society Date: circa 1860 Location: Presque Isle Media: Cloth

Northern Threads: Mourning Fashions

A themed exhibit vignette within "Northern Threads Part I," featuring 18th and 19th century mourning jewelry and fashions.

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.

Historic Clothing Collection - The Maine Historical Society Historic Dress Collection - Page 2 of 2

"… and what they tell us, among the most valued objects in a collection. At MHS that is certainly the case with, for example, a tattered wool country…"

Historic Clothing Collection - Site Overview

"The aim was to let the objects tell the history, to be concise, but avoid its becoming a list. In the narrative section over 220 garments and…"

Longfellow Studies: "The Poet's Tale - The Birds of Killingworth"

Grade Level: 6-8, 9-12 Content Area: English Language Arts, Science & Engineering, Social Studies
This poem is one of the numerous tales in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Tales of the Wayside Inn. The collection was published in three parts between 1863 and 1873. This series of long narrative poems were written by Longfellow during the most difficult personal time of his life. While mourning the tragic death of his second wife (Fanny Appleton Longfellow) he produced this ambitious undertaking. During this same period he translated Dante's Inferno from Italian to English. "The Poet's Tale" is a humorous poem with a strong environmental message which reflects Longfellow's Unitarian outlook on life.