The Nantucket Historical Association has over 15,000 artifacts in its collection reflecting the variety of island life from the native Wampanoags and the earliest European settlers through the pinnacle of whaling to it’s special place as a destination for today’s discerning visitors. This topic explores just some of these unique objects.
- A Short History of Nantucket Baskets
There are four distinctive elements that define a Nantucket lightship basket. The basket is woven on a mold; the staves...More Read more from A Short History of Nantucket Baskets - Beinecke-Stackpole Collection
Costume historian Julie Beinecke Stackpole has generously contributed a collection of artifacts from the estate of her mother, Mary Ann...More Read more from Beinecke-Stackpole Collection - Cartes-de-Visite
One of the most immediate ways to experience history is to give it a face. Hairstyles, lace collars, jewelry, literally...More Read more from Cartes-de-Visite - Daguerreotypes: The First Photographs
In the vault of the NHA Research Library there are several boxes filled with small wood or leather cases, each...More Read more from Daguerreotypes: The First Photographs - Pie Crimpers
Pie crimpers are devices for adding a decorative edge to a pie crust. They are sometimes called jagging wheels, after...More Read more from Pie Crimpers - Scrimshaw Swifts . . . Not So Swift After All
The intricately made scrimshaw swift is a grand, eye-catching device, a masterpiece of folk art. Even the simplest and plainest...More Read more from Scrimshaw Swifts . . . Not So Swift After All - The NHA’s First Artifact
This basket is the first object collected by the Nantucket Historical Association. Elizabeth Starbuck (1812–1899), in whose house the association...More Read more from The NHA’s First Artifact - The Folger Astronomical Clock
Walter Folger Jr. (1765–1849) was Nantucket’s foremost polymath in the first half of the nineteenth century. He was renowned as...More Read more from The Folger Astronomical Clock