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In our fourth episode on the Tiffany Paradox, Jim and Janet invite  Mary Bergman back to ask her about the mysterious Lost Mid Century on Nantucket. We asked her what her favorite structures that are still standing and which structure she would wish away. And...What happened to the "geo" domes?  This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was hosted by Janet Forest. It was co-hosted and researched by Jim Borzilleri. Production support by Shire Video.  A special thanks to Executive Director of Nantucket Preservation Trust Mary Bergman for her time and insights. Music by Tunetank, Dvir,  Melody Ayres-Griffiths and Medieval_Horizons from Pixabay. The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, MA. We would love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find us online at NantucketAtheneum.org or search @NantucketAtheneum on Facebook and Instagram.

In this episode, Jim and Janet speak to Mary Bergman about the messy and complex business of preservation. Our conversation takes several twists and turns, but you’ll see the Tiffany Paradox popping up all over the place. TRIGGER WARNING: We talk about stop lights... This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was hosted by Janet Forest. It was co-hosted and researched by Jim Borzilleri. Production support by Shire Video.  A special thanks to Executive Director of Nantucket Preservation Trust Mary Bergman for her time and insights. Music by Tunetank, Dvir,  Melody Ayres-Griffiths and Medieval_Horizons from Pixabay. The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, MA. We would love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find us online at NantucketAtheneum.org or search @NantucketAtheneum on Facebook and Instagram.

In this episode, Jim and Janet look for the Tiffany Effect in the 1920's restoration of the Jethro Coffin House, better known as "The Oldest House." We learn a little bit about Peter Coffin, who originally built the house and then invite two guests from the Nantucket Historical Association to discuss its meticulous and complicated restoration. CLICK HERE to watch this episode on our YOUTUBE Channel. CLICK HERE to see the photos referred to in the show. Other sources and references: NHA Website: Oldest House PageOldest House History (PDF) (rendering of twin gables on Pg. 4)Historic New England: Drawings of the Jethro Coffin house, Nantucket, Mass., by Alfred ShurrocksJethro Coffin House – FormanHouses CitedThe “Old Workhouse” Finchingfield, Essex, Eng. Ca 1600 also illustrated in Cummings, 1979The Tristam Coffin House, 14 High Rd., Newbury MA (1678)Sherburne House (c. 1695-1703) Strawbery BankeCaptain John Whipple House (1677/1690), Ipswich MA This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was hosted by Janet Forest. It was co-hosted and researched by Jim Borzilleri. Production support by Shire Video.  A special thanks to Phoebe Botticelli-Pohl and Thomas Perich at the Nantucket Historical Association. Music by Tunetank, Dvir and Medieval_Horizons from Pixabay. The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, MA. We would love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find us online at NantucketAtheneum.org or search @NantucketAtheneum on Facebook and Instagram.

In this first episode of the Tiffany Effect, Jim explains what the Tiffany Effect is and then Janet and Jim invite Nantucket High Alum and Start Up Founder Fernando Young to join them to discuss how Silicon Valley's economic structure is quite similar to how whaling functions in the 19th century. Though the two industries are nearly two centuries apart, they both rely on the "Long Tail" theory. They also discuss the significant differences.  If you want to learn more about the connection between whalers and Silicon Valley, we recommend the book VC: An American History by Tom Nicholas. CLICK HERE for more sources and more information. This has been a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It was hosted by Janet Forest. It was co-hosted and researched by Jim Borzilleri. Production support by Shire Video. The Nantucket Whaler was voiced by Reference Library Associate James Grieder A special thanks to Tech Founder and Nantucket High School Alum Fernando Young of Beluga Labs. Music by Tunetank and Medieval_Horizons from Pixabay. The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, MA. We would love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find us online at NantucketAtheneum.org or search @NantucketAtheneum on facebook and Instagram.

In medieval times, Tiffany was a common woman’s name. It comes from the Italian word for Epiphany. But today, it is more likely to be associated with the 1980s or the jewelry store, so the name pulls the reader out of the story. This predicament of removing historically accurate details to seem more historically accurate was coined the Tiffany Paradox or the Tiffany Effect.  In this season of the podcast, We look for examples of the Tiffany Paradox in Nantucket’s history. We invite special guests to share insights into each topic. Were Nantucket whalers the original tech giants?  What factors went into restoring the Oldest House as it is? Who decides what gets preserved what gets forgotten?   This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted by Janet Forest. It is co-hosted and researched by Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri. Production support by Shire Video. Music by Tunetank from Pixabay The Nantucket Atheneum is located at 1 India Street in Nantucket, MA. We would love for you to stop by and say hello. You can find us online at nantucketatheneum.org or search @NantucketAtheneum on facebook and Instagram. You can find all the previous episodes of this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you are listening now. If you like this episode, please share it with a friend!

Janet speaks with Head of Adult Programs Sammy Aguiar and Young Adult Librarian Sierra Hurd about the escape room they designed and installed this past spring called "The Wreck of the Essex." They are bringing it back for one night only on Thursday, July 17. CLICK HERE to sign up for a time slot. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, edited and hosted by Janet Forest. Thanks to Sammy Aguiar and Sierra Hurd for their time. Special thanks to Shire Video for production support.

Janet speaks with Adult Collections Manager Pamela McGrady and Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri about why the Atheneum no longer accepts book donations. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, edited and hosted by Janet Forest. Thanks to Pamela McGrady and Jim Borzilleri for their time. Special thanks to Shire Video for production support.

The 23rd Annual Thanksgiving Cold Turkey Plunge to benefit the Weezie Library for Children is just around the corner. In this three-part special special edition of the podcast, Janet talks with the development team to find what it takes to pull off this event year after year. If you want to get involved in this year's Plunge, visit our website at https://nantucketatheneum.org/turkey-plunge-2024/ If you have done the plunge in the past and want to share your story, you can record a voice memo on your phone and email it to [email protected]. Please put "Turkey Plunge 2024" in the subject line. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, hosted and edited by Janet Forest. Special thanks for Director of Development Maggie O'Reilly, Marketing and Design specialist Anastasia Tumash, and Head of Outreach Lisa Lothian.

The 23rd Annual Thanksgiving Cold Turkey Plunge to benefit the Weezie Library for Children is just around the corner. In this three-part special special edition of the podcast, Janet talks with the development team to find what it takes to pull off this event year after year. If you want to get involved in this year's Plunge, visit our website at https://nantucketatheneum.org/turkey-plunge-2024/ If you have done the plunge in the past and want to share your story, you can record a voice memo on your phone and email it to [email protected]. Please put "Turkey Plunge 2024" in the subject line. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, hosted and edited by Janet Forest. Special thanks for Director of Development Maggie O'Reilly, Marketing and Design specialist Anastasia Tumash, and Head of Outreach Lisa Lothian.

The 23rd Annual Cold Turkey Plunge to benefit the Weezie Library for Children is just around the corner. In this three-part special special edition of the podcast, Janet talks with the development team to find what it takes to pull off this event year after year. If you want to get involved in this year's Plunge, visit our website at https://nantucketatheneum.org/turkey-plunge-2024/ If you have done the plunge in the past and want to share your story, you can record a voice memo on your phone and email it to [email protected]. Please put "Turkey Plunge 2024 in the subject line." This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is written, hosted and edited by Janet Forest. Special thanks for Director of Development Maggie O'Reilly, Marketing and Design specialist Anastasia Tumash, and Head of Outreach Lisa Lothian.

In this episode, Jim introduces you to another sea captains that was born in Nantucket, but became part of the Japanese expat community: Captain Arthur Fisher.   This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edited by Janet Forest. It was researched, fact checked and co-hosted by Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri. Special thanks to the Berkshire Athenaeum for use of their space and Shire Video for production support.      SHOW NOTES:  If something piqued your interest and it isn’t in the Show Notes, please email [email protected]. and include “Podcast Question” in the subject header. By the 1860’s American merchant ships and whales increasingly utilized Pacific ports for support. The services at these ports were frequently run by merchants from Nantucket and other sea-trading communities as extensions of their existing businesses along the eastern Atlantic.The whaling voyage of the  Clara Bell under Capt. Timothy Fisher seems to have been based out of Paita, Peru, which had grown to include a hospital and resident American Counsel. (In 1862, Dr. C. F. Winslow of Nantucket was appointed to that post).It’s possible that Arthur Fisher periodically resided at Paita with his mother and sister as part of the American expat community while the Clara Bell followed the pattern of Nantucket whaling from the pre-Pacific era – voyages of week or perhaps months, broken by extended periods at “home”.The extreme duration of the Clara Bell’s voyage may have been driven by the American Civil War. Confederate Raiders targeted the American whalers, which were slow moving and poorly defended while carrying a highly desirable cargo. Relatively short trips and the safety of a foreign port, while far from safe, was less risky than long voyages far from shore.United today by a network of bridges of tunnels, the islands of Japan and the Seto Inland Sea of Japan was previously dependent on ships traveling between coastal ports. After Japan was forced to open its borders, steamships extended routine travel to Korea, China, and other parts of Asia. © The Nantucket Atheneum

Now it is time to meet some of these sea captains that were born in Nantucket, but became part of the Japanese expat community. This episode discusses Captain Peter Hussey.   This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edited by Janet Forest. It was researched, fact checked and co-hosted by Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri. Special thanks to the Berkshire Athenaeum for use of their space and Shire Video for production support.    SHOW NOTES: If something piqued your interest and it isn’t in the Show Notes, please email [email protected]. and include “Podcast Question” in the subject header. The three captains we profile were atypical in their longevity and financial stability. Nantucket-born Robert Coleman, who was just a few years younger than Arthur Fisher, had risen to First Officer of the Mitsu-Bishi Steamship Co. However, in 1886 , he died, age 29, during a smallpox outbreak at Nagasaki. Our subjects were also impacted by the lack of shared information and slow transmission of information that did exist.Credit rating agencies and uniform accounting procedures did not yet exist, so even within a firm, serious issues could go undetected.Merchants had to rely on an individual’s reputation within their business community or a referral from a trusted party. Better candidates undoubtedly existed, but they were unknown or could not be verified.Until the deployment of the telegraph, a round-trip business communication between China and America could take up to a year.Even with the construction of the railway across Panama communication between California and the East Coast cities took several weeks, contributing to the glut of goods arriving at San Francisco and the collapse of its markets.On Nantucket whaleships, a cooper made and assembled the casks, whose liquid contents were measured in barrels (1 barrel = 31 ½ U.S. gallons).  George Bruce Upton, (1804-1874), exemplified how Nantucket’s wealth helped fuel America’s westward expansion.A successful Nantucket merchant, he held several political offices, and was a member of a firefighting company, skilled using explosives to demolish buildings as a firestop. He supervised the practice demolition of a vacant windmill, and during the Great Fire of 1838 the destruction of four buildings.After moving to Boston Upton channeled his Nantucket wealth into clipper ships. He also invested in railroads as part of John M. Forbes’ “Boston Group”, becoming Treasurer of their Michigan Central Railroad. Portraits of George Upton and Anne Upton, now in the NHA, reflect their status. Their son George Jr. would become a regular summer visitor into the 20th century.The Bark Ly-ee-moon was commissioned for the Asia trade and built in Fairhaven Massachusetts by Moses Delano (distant relative of Warren). It was sold by its American owners to a Hong Kong firm before its launch in 1862. © The Nantucket Atheneum

When we left off, the samurai class was on the brink of revolt because they were tired of being bureaucrats and westerners were circling the shores of Japan itching to get in. It’s 1853 and the situation has reached a boiling point.   This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edited by Janet Forest. It was researched, fact checked and co-hosted by Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri. Special thanks to the Berkshire Athenaeum for use of their space and Shire Video for production support.    SHOW NOTES:  If something piqued your interest and it isn’t in the Show Notes, please email [email protected]. and include “Podcast Question” in the subject header. In 1852, Cmdr. Perry visited New Bedford “for the purpose of obtaining information from our whaling captains in relation to the cost of Japan and securing their cooperation in the enterprise.” [I&M, May 8th, 1852] Manjuro’s life is featured in Christopher Benfey’s “Great Wave”.  His years in New Bedford are detailed in “The Life and Times of John Manjuro,” by D. R. Bernard. Manjuro was lucky to be brought before the ruler of Satsuma, who was particularly unhappy with the Shogunate and already looking to the West for both trade and weapons technology.  Warren Delano’s involvement in the opium trade and the resulting First Opium War is discussed in “Barons of the Sea”. Both Wars and their legacy is covered in Julia Lovell’s “The Opium War: Drugs, Dreams, and the Making of Modern China”.Not lost on the Japanese negotiators was that the “Unfair” treaties being imposed on them by the Western Powers were based on those imposed on China after the First Opium War. While the West remained intransigent on most of the other terms, they readily agreed to ban importation of opium into Japan, mainly because of Japanese demand for other Western goods.The Boshin War and its aftermath are the backdrop to Janice Nimura’s “Daughters of the Samurai”, which we will cover in upcoming episodes. With Perry ‘s arrival, the Shogunate knew they had to open Japan, but planned to do so only to quickly reach parity and then re-negotiate as equals.However, even this was seen as surrender by the already unhappy Samurai, leading to their rebellion.Over the next 15 years, the Shogunate was violently disposed, the nobility transitioned to becoming governors of their former domains, and a small group of younger Samurai consolidated their power, ruling in the name of the Emperor (though any decisions made by the monarch had to be obeyed).Dr. Noelle Wilson gave an excellent presentation about the Japanese whaling apprentice programs and Hakkodate’s brief role as the “Nantucket of the Pacific” as part of the NHA Nantucket University  series.© The Nantucket Atheneum

After the collapse of whaling and the discovery of gold in California, Nantucket mariners fled the island for their next opportunity. Many would eventually end up in Japan. In this episode, we find out what was going on in Japan prior to the arrival of islanders. This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edited by Janet Forest. It was researched, fact checked and co-hosted by Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri. Special thanks to the Berkshire Athenaeum for the use of their whisper booth and Shire Video for production support. SHOW NOTES If something piqued your interest and it isn’t in the Show Notes, please email [email protected] and include “Podcast Question” in the subject header. Key texts consulted for this episode include:“A modern history of Japan: from Tokugawa times to the present (3rd ed.)” by A. Andrew Gordon. (2014, Oxford University Press.) Japan: The Story of A Nation (4th ed.), by E. O. Reischauer. . (1989, McGraw-Hill) . [somewhat dated]Both are available from the Nantucket Atheneum via the Commonwealth Catalog  A more visual resource is the “MIT Visualizing Cultures” website . It includes several modules on Tokugawa and Meiji Japan, utilizing a mix of graphic and text display. Those with a basic understanding of the Meiji Era should enjoy the “Meiji at 150 Podcast” series created at the University of British Columbia in 2017-2018 If you watched the recent adaptation of James Clavel’s “Shogun”: The consolidation of power under the Shogunate and the closing off of Japan to outsiders occurred in the early 1600’s, bringing an end to the centuries of  war and chaos depicted in most Samurai movies.The events discussed in this podcast begin roughly 250 years after “Shogun”, (i.e. starting around 1850). For perspective, that’s about as far as we are today from the Boston Tea Party.Most Westerners perceived Japan as having three significant hierarchical social classes: Nobility, Samurai, and “Commoners”. Aside from the imposition of Western concepts, what was sometimes overlooked was that “Commoners” had its own hierarchy.“Peasants” were the most esteemed, followed by skilled artisans. Merchants, considered non-productive, were placed near the bottom.Social hierarchy didn’t always reflect economic reality. Many peasants (i.e. farmers), in both the West and Japan could be quite prosperous and influential in their community.Ironically, the stability imposed by the Shogunate not only facilitated peasant wealth, it enabled the rise of densely populated cities. Merchant and artisan “townsmen”, low in the social order, also ascended to the top of the economic order.This new wealth was increasingly detached from the traditional agricultural economy and the taxation that supported the Noble and Samurai classes. The resulting social tensions came to a head when Perry’s ships visited Edo (now Tokyo) in 1853).The concept of the “Great Divergence” remains controversial. What is agreed is that many 19th Century Westerners perceived Japan as “backward” in at least their technology, and that remarkable strides were made (as we shall see in later episodes), to close the gap in just a few decades.© The Nantucket Atheneum

In Season Six of the Nantucket Atheneum Podcast, Janet and Jim are back to trace the travels of islanders that made their way around the world to Japan in the 19th century. In this first episode, we try to answer the question "What happened after Nantucket?" This is a production of the Nantucket Atheneum. It is hosted and edited by Janet Forest. It was researched, fact checked and co-hosted by Reference Library Associate Jim Borzilleri. Special thanks to the Berkshire Athenaeum for the use of their whisper booth and Shire Video for production support. SHOW NOTES If something piqued your interest and it isn’t in the Show Notes, please email [email protected]. and include “Podcast Question” in the subject header.  Nantucket’s connection to Japan pre-dates Commodore Perry’s arrival and extends to the present day. Our podcast series focuses on a handful of individuals, active in the Meiji era of Japan (1868-1912), as they illuminate the rich complexity of that connection. We hope that others will be inspired by to bring additional lives and eras to light…   For those new to Nantucket and its history, our “go-to” introduction is Nathaniel Philbrick’s “Away Off Shore”.  The Summer 1999 Issue of the NHA’s Historic Nantucket Magazine was devoted to the islanders’ experience in Gold Rush California.  The post-whaling emigration from Nantucket’s was common knowledge at the time. A “Letter From Nantucket” originally published in the Fall River News on Aug 3, 1877, and reprinted in the I&M on Aug 18th (page 4), describes: “….its sons bearing the honored names of Coffin, Hussey, Barker, Rotch, Joy, Macy, Starbuck, Mitchell, or others equally familiar, leaving the paternal roofs, and applying their native shrewdness and their academic and collegiate education in honorable avocations in distant marts; with its daughters famed for their beauty, tidiness and culture, presiding over houses in all the Northern States.….For one hundred years Nantucket prospered; now she sits in widow’s weeds.”  “Barons of the Sea and Their Race to Build the World’s Fastest Clipper Ship” by Steven Ujifusa is available at the Nantucket Atheneum and Island bookstores.  Additional information about Frederick Sanford is  available at the Nantucket Atheneum Reference Dept, including background information on the five Delano and Low ships whose portraits hang in the Atheneum Great Hall.  The Nantucket Atheneum also has copies of Mr. Ujifusa’s recent works:A man and his ship: America's greatest naval architect and his quest to build the S.S. United States “ The last ships from Hamburg : business, rivalry, and the race to save Russia's Jews on the eve of World War I © Nantucket Atheneum