New Acquisitions Highlights

This summer has been active and exciting on the collections front at the NHA, with an unusual number of important items appearing at auction and being offered for donation. The NHA wishes to thank the many private donors who have given items, as well as the financial supporters who have provided funds to allow the association to acquire objects that appear for sale. The Friends of the NHA and individual members of the Friends have been particularly generous, along with the Tupancy-Harris Foundation and the H.L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation. The NHA also especially wishes to thank Mary Longacre of Nantucket for her close attention to island-related listings on eBay; the pewter plate discussed below is just one of a number of items the NHA has been fortunate to acquire thanks to her suggestions. On the following pages we explore the history of a few highlights from this busy year.

William Wallace Scott, Golf Grounds at Nantucket, 1901

Gift of the Friends of the NHA and the Tupancy-Harris Foundation, 2022.18.1.

This painting depicts the Nantucket Golf Club, the first golf links on island, which was set up in 1897 by Sidney Chase, Harold Williams, and David Nevins near Washing Pond on the North Shore. The artist, William Wallace Scott of New York, was an island summer resident; he painted this scene when about 81 years of age. The golf club’s Saturday tournaments were strongly attended by both men and women, as reflected in the painting. The scene also shows the sheep employed to keep the grass trimmed and the club house, which featured a roof walk and expansive covered porches supported by rough-cut pine-tree trunks. A portion of the course was later owned and operated by Oswald Tupancy and today forms the Tupancy Links, a property of the Nantucket Conservation Foundation.

Herman Melville’s copy of Obed Macy’s History of Nantucket

Gift of the Friends of the NHA, RL2022.32.

This book is believed to be the sole surviving souvenir from Herman Melville’s first and only trip to Nantucket. It is a first-edition of Obed Macy’s 1835 History of Nantucket, given by Obed’s son Thomas to Melville. The title-page inscription reads, “Herman Melville / from his friend Tho. A Macy 7 1852”. Characteristically, it uses the Quaker convention for writing the date, “7 ”, which was Macy’s quick way of writing “7 ” meaning “seventh mo[nth]” or July. Scattered pencil markings throughout the book are probably by Melville.

Herman Melville visited Nantucket just once, eight months after the U.S. publication of his novel Moby-Dick. He accompanied his father-in-law, Massachusetts Chief Justice Lemuel Shaw, who had court business on island. “I wish [Herman] to see some of the gents at New Bedford & Nantucket connected with whaling,” Shaw wrote beforehand.

Judge Shaw knew Thomas Macy from previous island visits. Significantly, in 1851, Shaw had acquired a copy of Owen Chase’s Narrative of the Essex disaster from Macy to give to Melville while Melville was writing Moby-Dick. The Essex story was essential inspiration for the novel, and Melville appears to have worked from various second-hand accounts prior to obtaining Chase’s book. Naturally, Melville and Shaw called on Macy during their visit, and the gift of this book resulted.

Map of Surf-Side, The Property of the Nantucket Surf-Side Company, 1873

NHA purchase, underwritten by the H.L. Brown Jr Family Foundation, RL2022.25.

The title block shown at right is from the original ink-on-linen drawing for the Surf-side subdivision, a speculative real-estate development laid out in 1873. The drawing is part of a set of important Surfside, ’Sconset, and Madaket plats acquired by the NHA this year thanks to generous private underwriting. Surfside was one of a number of unsuccessful real-estate schemes launched in the 1870s that aimed to profit from the sale of cottage lots to summer visitors. A cartel of Nantucket, Boston, and New York investors hired Rufus Cook of Boston to design Surf-side. Beautiful on paper, Cook’s plan was never realized on the ground. Containing 480 lots, it attracted no construction and was replaced in 1881 by a simpler grid plan that allowed for more than 12,000 tiny building lots and accommodated the right-of-way of the new Nantucket Railroad—itself a scheme by many of the same investors to encourage development on the South Shore.

Pewter plate of Priscilla and Caleb Bunker

NHA purchase, 2022.19.1.

Nantucket in the first quarter of the eighteenth century had a small English population, resulting in a great deal of intermarriage between the English families. This pewter plate demonstrates the interconnectedness of those families. Priscilla Bunker (1703–1795) was first married in 1721 to Joshua Coffin (1701–1722); he was her second cousin on her mother’s side. Joshua was lost at sea later that year along with his brother Elisha Coffin. Priscilla remarried in 1725, this time to Caleb Bunker, who was her first cousin on her father’s side as well as her second cousin on her mother’s side. Her first husband and her second husband were also first cousins of each other.

The initials “P B” stamped on the rim of the plate suggest that Priscilla owned the plate at the time of her first marriage. The initials “C B P” stamped on the opposite side of the rim probably commemorate her second union. The date 1671 is scratched into the bottom of the plate; it may indicate when was made or perhaps when it was purchased by one of Priscilla’s grandparents.

Scrimshaw tooth from Nancy Chase’s shop

NHA purchase, 2022.33.1.

Nancy Chase (1931–2016) was well known on Nantucket for her skilled ivory carving and scrimshaw engraving. In the 1960s she worked for basket maker José Reyes making decorative elements for the lids of Friendship baskets before opening her own shop on Cobble Court. In 1980, her friend Dr. Lothar R. Candels (1925–2015) engraved this tooth as a gift for her. On one side is her portrait, and on the other is the exclamation “You wanted it—When?” surrounded by tiny images of lightship baskets and scrimshaw. The museum acquired the tooth from Chase’s longtime assistant Tracy Murray.

Osgood Carleton, Map of Massachusetts Proper, dated 1801

NHA purchase, underwritten by the H.L. Brown Jr. Family Foundation and the Franci Neely Foundation. RL2022.29.

This is the first official map of Massachusetts, completed by Osgood Carleton, a Boston-based mapmaker and surveyor. Due to limited state and federal funding for such a project, the Massachusetts legislature required each town to complete its own survey, at its own expense, which was then be compiled to form the final map. The complex project experienced a number of setbacks, and the first edition of the map, 400 copies printed in 1798, was rejected by the state legislature. The second edition, of which 500 copies were printed in 1801–1802, removes a number of topographical elements, for a cleaner look, and features the elaborate cartouche depicted here.

Take a decorative arts class inspired by Nantucket history! Get creative and enjoy a hands-on experience at one of the NHA’s historic properties.

SIGN UP FOR A WORKSHOP TODAY AT NHA.ORG

Looking for a unique experience to do with your family and friends? Book a private workshop by emailing decoarts@nha.org

NHA Decorative Arts are generously supported by