Strengthening primary and community health care, combined with vastly expanded testing, will be key to overcoming the pandemic that threatens to rage through the country

Having a strategy is essential. But equally important is that the strategy accurately describe the economic problem at hand

Lucky for us, Luna Luis Ortiz has a passion for history. A native New Yorker, he’s been a fixture on the house and ballroom scene since the late 1980s as a performer, photographer, and activist. So, when New-York Historical Society curator Rebecca Klassen was looking for advisers to help develop our exhibition Letting Loose and...

The post Stonewall 50: Meet Luna Luis Ortiz, One of New-York Historical’s Experts on House and Ballroom Culture appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Billy Eckstine drove his fans wild. Nicknamed Mr. B, the dashing singer had a voice that was described as a “suave bass-baritone” and a stage presence that, for a time at least, rivaled Frank Sinatra’s. By 1949, Eckstine was a genuine pop sensation—the New York Times reported that he even outsold Sinatra at New York’s...

The post LIFE in Pictures: Pop Star Billy Eckstine and the Infamous 1950 Photo That Impacted His Career appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

George Washington wanted a tent. The commander of the Continental Army had the impossible task of transforming his ragtag troops into a professional fighting force to match the mighty British. But to do so, he had to beg the fractious Continental Congress for funds and equipment. “I cannot take the field without equipage, and after...

The post The Tale of Washington’s Headquarters Tent: Legal Battles, Family Ties, and Remembering the Revolution appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Growing up in the North Jersey suburbs in the 1960s, I never thought of my family as makers of American history. But looking back on our weekend trips to Bear Mountain and the banks of the Hudson River, I realize that we participated in an important chapter of the 20th century: the flowering of the...

The post Making History at Bear Mountain: Family Memories, the Palisades, and an Inheritance Worth Preserving appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

In the fall of 2018, Niagara Falls left New York. The 1804 painting by Antoine Phillippe d’Orleans, Duc de Montpensier, departed its home at the New-York Historical Society in late September and traveled to France’s Palace of Versailles, where it was part of an exhibition about the July Monarchy, entitled Louis Philippe and Versailles. For a painting that’s...

The post Art on the Move: What Happens When a 215-Year-Old Painting Gets Shipped to France? appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

If you were an adventurous visitor to New York City in the 1950s or 1960s, you might have found your way to the 82 Club. A basement nightclub at 82 East Fourth Street, it wasn’t much to look at from the outside. Located in what was then a remote edge of the Lower East Side,...

The post Welcome to 82 Club: The Naughty Story of a Legendary New York Drag Institution  appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

One of the signature elements of New-York Historical’s exhibition Hudson Rising is the imposing, elegant slabs of white pine and red oak that greet visitors. The live-edged trunks evoke the forests of New York State’s Adirondacks and help make the presence of nature palpable. Hudson Rising—closing on Sunday, August 4—presents the Museum’s stellar collection of Hudson River School landscape...

The post Hudson Rising: The Man Behind the New-York Historical Exhibition’s Trees appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

John Hancock needed a check-up. New-York Historical’s portrait of the famed signer of the Declaration of Independence and the first governor of Massachusetts is on view as part of the exhibition Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere. However, before it gets installed, the Museum’s Paintings Conservation Lab wanted to learn more about it. New-York Historical actually knows very...

The post John Hancock Gets an X-ray: Inside the New-York Historical Conservation Lab appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

On the evening of July 9, 1776, downtown New York City was in a rebellious mood. The Declaration of Independence had been read aloud that day in lower Manhattan for the first time, announcing to the city that the Revolution against British rule had begun. That night, 40 colonial soldiers and sailors under the command...

The post A Horse’s Tail: How a Legendary Piece of a King George III Statue Landed at the New-York Historical Society appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Tycoons love to survey their empires. And in the 1870s, that empire was San Francisco. The city was in a period of ravenous growth fueled by mining discoveries like the 1848 Gold Rush and the Comstock Lode, and the first transcontinental rail line, a feat that made the men behind the Central Pacific Railroad—Mark Hopkins,...

The post San Francisco is a Ghost Town: The Story Behind Eadweard Muybridge’s Spooky Panorama appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Henry Pelham created an image for the ages. On the snowy night of March 5, 1770, a group of British soldiers were confronted by an unruly crowd of colonists near the Custom House in Boston. The melee that followed ended with the panicked troops firing into the crowd, killing several colonists, including Crispus Attucks, a...

The post How Paul Revere Scooped a Rival and Created One of the Most Infamous Images in American History appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Before he became a titan of American literature and the witty bard of life in the 19th century, Mark Twain was just another young man looking for his big break in New York City. In the New-York Historical exhibition Mark Twain and the Holy Land (opening Oct. 25), we’re exploring the fabled journey behind one...

The post Mark Twain in New York: How an Ambitious Young Writer Talked His Way onto a Luxury Cruise to the Holy Land appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

When you think about a brooch, you might think of your grandmother’s beautiful and intricate butterfly pin. Or maybe you’ve read about the various adornments that Queen Elizabeth II wears on special occasions. But for people living in the Victorian era, something as simple as a brooch was weighted with meaning and heavily scrutinized by...

The post Brooches for Every Occasion: Death and Jewelry in the Victorian Era appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

The New-York Historical Society Museum wants a wedding cake topper. Not just any cake topper: a same-sex version with two men or two women that speaks to the titanic shift in American culture that happened when gay marriage was legalized at the federal level in 2015. So if we’re so eager, why not just buy...

The post Want to Donate an Object to New-York Historical? Here’s How it Happens appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

For over 50 years, Brooklyn native Jerry Greene and his wife Nina compiled one of the most remarkable collections of toys and trains ever assembled. In 2014, New-York Historical acquired a portion of their Jerni Collection with generous support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, Richard Gilder, and an anonymous donor. This February marks yet another stop in...

The post The Secret Life of Trains: Inside the Jerni Collection of Vintage Toys appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

To help support the city’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the health of our visitors and staff, New-York Historical is temporarily closing to the public as of Friday, March 13, at 6 pm through the end of the month. While you can’t drop by to see our Meet the Presidents exhibition in...

The post History at Home: Listen to 10 Public Programs About the American Presidency appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

To help stop the spread of COVID-19 in New York City, New-York Historical is temporarily closed to the public through the end of the month. Our Women March exhibition is off limits for the time being, but we’re celebrating Women’s History Month from afar. So, why not dip into our our vast collection of audio recordings from past...

The post History at Home: From Wonder Woman to Margaret Thatcher, 7 Public Programs About Remarkable Women appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

To help stop the spread of COVID-19 in New York City, New-York Historical is temporarily closed to the public through the end of the month. Our Women March exhibition is off limits for the time being, but we’re celebrating Women’s History Month from afar. So dip into our our vast collection of audio recordings from past Public Programs and listen to a...

The post History at Home: 2 Public Programs About Women on the Supreme Court appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

To help stop the spread of COVID-19 in New York City, New-York Historical is temporarily closed to the public through the end of the month. So take this time to dip into our our vast collection of audio recordings from past Public Programs and listen to a couple of fascinating talks about two memorable First Ladies from the Revolutionary Era who...

The post History at Home: 2 Public Programs on First Ladies of the Revolution appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Bestselling author and journalist Walter Isaacson has been a frequent guest of New-York Historical over the years, always bringing tantalizing tales of innovation and ingenuity. Enjoy four of his past public programs below: on Founding Father Benjamin Franklin, Apple cofounder Steve Jobs, and Albert Einstein, and a deep dive into the technologies that are shaping our digital future....

The post History at Home: Bestselling Author Walter Isaacson on Benjamin Franklin, Steve Jobs, and More appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

No matter the occasion, flower deliveries always mean one thing: We’re thinking about you. On Tuesday, March 25, New-York Historical Society partnered with the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C., to send museums a virtual #MuseumBouquet of flowers to brighten social media feeds and cheer up online audiences. Hundreds of cultural organizations—most of...

The post #MuseumBouquet to Brighten Your Day: Sending Flowers on Social Media appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

When Ulysses Grant Dietz’s older brother gave him a wedding cake topper for Christmas in the early 2000s, he meant it mostly as a gag gift. Made of molded plastic, the topper features two tuxedo-clad men linking arms under a flower-bedecked bower. On the underside, it’s stamped with the words “Adam & Steve.” The topper’s...

The post The Love Story Behind New-York Historical’s New Wedding Cake Topper appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

What can history museums do during an epidemic? Like many institutions across the globe, the New-York Historical Society is temporarily closed to help contain the spread of COVID-19. And like so many New Yorkers, our curators and librarians are preoccupied with concern for their loved ones and grief over what’s happening in our beloved city....

The post History Responds: Collecting During the COVID-19 Pandemic appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

America lost a great journalist in 2019 when Cokie Roberts died at the age of 75 from complications due to breast cancer. New-York Historical also lost a beloved friend. Roberts, a legendary reporter and commentator for ABC News and NPR, had appeared often in our Public Programs over the years to talk about American history and politics, and she...

The post History at Home: Cokie and Steven Roberts and Their Unique Haggadah appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Author and scholar Douglas Brinkley has been described by CNN as “a man who knows more about the presidency than just about any human being alive.” So it was a match made in history heaven when New-York Historical named him our official presidential historian in 2017. He’s long been a fixture at our Public Programs series and...

The post History at Home: 2 Public Programs About the Roosevelts and America’s Natural Treasures appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

April 22, 2020, marks the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was a remarkably non-partisan affair that brought an estimated 20 million people out into the streets, parks, and beaches across the United States. In New York alone, Earth Day celebrations, rallies, and teach-ins shut down 5th Avenue...

The post Earth Day Turns 50: How to Participate Online and Get Free Posters from New-York Historical appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

“Booze sales are booming,” read a recent CNN headline focused on a spike in liquor, beer, and wine sales as Americans shelter in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our current moment is just another side note in America’s long, complex relationship with alcohol.  Over the years, our Public Programs have explored many facets of this history. Enjoy audio recordings of two past programs below: one...

The post History at Home: 2 Public Programs About Prohibition and America’s Tradition of Beer Brewing appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

As the COVID-19 crisis continues, perhaps it’s no surprise that alcohol sales are booming. With many of us confined to our homes (if we’re lucky), braving commutes to carry out essential work, or simply trying to figure out how to make a mask out of your last pair of clean underwear, there seems to be no...

The post Cocktails in a Crisis: New-York Historical’s Iconic Barware and a History of Happy Hours in Dark Times appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Our Public Programs have long explored the rich history of Jewish life in America from the colonial era to the present day. They’ve also, not surprisingly, grappled with the ongoing scourge of anti-Semitism and its pernicious hold on world affairs. Listen to two audio programs below that tackle two very different facets of Jewish life: first, a fascinating...

The post History at Home: 2 Public Programs About Jewish History and Anti-Semitism appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

In 2010, our Public Program series welcomed an all-star lineup: journalist and then-New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, The New Yorker‘s Adam Gopnik, and boxing writer and sports historian Bert Sugar (who sadly, passed away in 2012). The subject of their talk was an irresistible one for any sports fan who’s missing the action during lockdown: longshots, underdogs,...

The post History at Home: Longshots, Underdogs, and Great Moments in New York Sports appeared first on Behind The Scenes.

Title: A companion to the ancient novel [electronic resource] / edited by Edmund P. Cueva and Shannon N. Byrne.
Imprint: Chichester, West Sussex, UK : Wiley Blackwell, 2014.
Shelfmark: Wiley Online Library
Subjects: Classical fiction -- History and criticism.
Classical fiction. fast (OCoLC)fst00863482

Title: Translation as actor-networking [electronic resource] : actors, agencies, and networks in the making of Arthur Waley's English translation of the Chinese 'Journey to the West'.
Author: Luo, Wenyan, author.
Imprint: New York, NY : Routledge, 2020.
Shelfmark: Taylor & Francis ebooks
Subjects: Actor-network theory.
Actor-network theory. fast (OCoLC)fst01736774

Title: Evaluating the evaluator [electronic resource] : a novel perspective on translation quality assessment / Hansjörg Bittner.
Author: Bittner, Hansjörg, 1963- author.
Imprint: New York : Routledge, 2020.
Shelfmark: Taylor & Francis ebooks
Subjects: Translating and interpreting -- Evaluation.
Translating and interpreting -- Evaluation. fast (OCoLC)fst01154799

Title: The Routledge companion to digital ethnography [electronic resource] / edited by Larissa Hjorth [and others].
Imprint: Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon New York : Routledge, 2017.
Shelfmark: Taylor & Francis ebooks
Subjects: Anthropology -- Methodology -- Technological innovations.
Ethnology -- Methodology -- Technological innovations.
Digital media -- Social aspects.
Computer networks -- Social aspects.
Information technology -- Social aspects.
Information society.
Computer networks -- Social aspects. fast (OCoLC)fst00872347
Digital media -- Social aspects. fast (OCoLC)fst01766776
Information society. fast (OCoLC)fst00972767
Information technology -- Social aspects. fast (OCoLC)fst00973131

Title: Virtue and law in Plato and beyond [electronic resource] / Julia Annas.
Author: Annas, Julia, author.
Imprint: Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2017.
Shelfmark: Oxford Scholarship Online
Subjects: Plato.
Ethics.
Virtue.
Law (Philosophical concept)
Plato. fast (OCoLC)fst00046610
Ethics. fast (OCoLC)fst00915833
Law (Philosophical concept) fast (OCoLC)fst01770250
Virtue. fast (OCoLC)fst01167712

Title: The Elgar companion to classical economics [electronic resource] / edited by Heinz D. Kurz, Neri Salvadori.
Imprint: Cheltenham, UK Northampton, MA, USA : E. Elgar Pub., ©1998.
Shelfmark: EBSCO ebooks
Subjects: Classical school of economics.
Classical school of economics. fast (OCoLC)fst00863553

Title: The internet of toys [electronic resource] : practices, affordances and the political economy of children's smart play / edited by Giovanna Mascheroni and Donell Holloway.
Imprint: Cham : Springer International Publishing, 2019 : Imprint Palgrave Macmillan.
Shelfmark: EBSCO ebooks
Subjects: Digital media.
Educational technology.
Digital media. fast (OCoLC)fst00893716
Educational technology. fast (OCoLC)fst00903623

Title: An introduction to analysis of financial data with R [electronic resource] / Ruey S. Tsay.
Author: Tsay, Ruey S., 1951- author.
Imprint: Hoboken, New Jersey : Wiley, [2013]";"©2013
Shelfmark: Ebook Central
Subjects: Finance -- Econometric models.
Time-series analysis.
Econometrics.
R (Computer program language)

Title: Listening to young children [electronic resource] : a guide to understanding and using the mosaic approach / Alison Clark foreword by Peter Moss.
Author: Clark, Alison, author.
Imprint: London, England Philadelphia, Pennsylvania : Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2017.";"©2017
Shelfmark: Ebook Central
Subjects: Preschool children.
Listening.
Early childhood education -- Activity programs.
Early childhood education -- Activity programs. fast (OCoLC)fst00900597
Listening. fast (OCoLC)fst00999799
Preschool children. fast (OCoLC)fst01075582

Title: Literary approaches to the Bible [electronic resource] / edited by Douglas Mangum and Douglas Estes.
Imprint: Bellingham, WA : Lexham Press, [2016]";"©2016
Shelfmark: Ebook Central
Subjects: Bible -- Criticism, interpretation, etc.
Bible as literature.

Title: Brill's companion to Thucydides [electronic resource] / edited by Antonios Rengakos and Antonis Tsakmakis.
Imprint: Leiden Boston : Brill, 2006.
Shelfmark: Brill
Subjects: Thucydides. History of the Peloponnesian War.
Greece -- History -- Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C. -- Historiography.
History of the Peloponnesian War (Thucydides) fast (OCoLC)fst01356140
Historiography. fast (OCoLC)fst00958221
Greece. fast (OCoLC)fst01208380
431-404 B.C fast

Title: Brill's companion to Herodotus [electronic resource] / edited by Egbert J. Bakker, Irene J.F. de Jong, Hans van Wees.
Imprint: Leiden Boston : Brill, 2002.
Shelfmark: Brill
Subjects: Herodotus. History.
History, Ancient -- Historiography.
History (Herodotus) fast (OCoLC)fst01356346
History, Ancient -- Historiography. fast (OCoLC)fst00958355