Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site possesses a rich and varied collection of artifacts and archival materials. Fine arts, decorative arts, furnishings, books, textiles and clothing, toys, tools, Asian art and artifacts, and more are found in the museum collections.
Highlights from the museum collections are featured as the curator's Object of the Month and in Show and Tell videos.
The archives hold the papers and photographs of four families associated with the site - Wadsworth, Longfellow, Appleton, and Dana - as well as photographs, plans, and records relating to the management of the house as a museum since 1913. These are arranged and described in 27 collections. The museum and archival collections complement each other, giving the collections depth and exceptional research value.
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Paintings, drawings, and sculpture by artists including Bierstadt, Healy, Johnson, Bartolini, and Longfellow family members.
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Decorative Arts & Furnishings
The tastes of the Longfellow family ranged from Rococo Revival bookcases to Bohemian glass vases to Arts and Crafts pottery.
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Approximately 11,000 volumes of literature, history, art, and more, owned by the Longfellow family, dating from the 15th to 20th century.
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Everyday items of life: dresses, waistcoats, shoes, toys and games, garden tools, and traveling trunks.
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Art and artifacts collected in Japan & China.
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News and Stories from the Museum Collection
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 This research guide includes primarily letters written by United States presidents and first ladies, as well as documents notable primarily for containing signatures of presidents and documents created outside the term of the presidency and commentary on presidents by Fanny and Henry Longfellow.  Before the construction of the Georgian mansion that stands at 105 Brattle Street today, this spot on the road to Watertown was the site of an earlier English colonial house. Archeological excavations in 2003 and 2022 uncovered the foundation of the Marrett house in the present forecourt (front yard) of the Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House.  Henry and Fanny Longfellow had six children, all born in the 1840s and 1850s: Charles, Annie, Alice, Ernest, baby Fan, and Edith. This online exhibition highlights the toys, clothing, artwork, schoolwork, books, poetry, and familial challenges that shaped their childhood.  With generous support from the Friends of Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters, Inc., the National Park Service proudly announces the completion of a suite of museum collection conservation projects in the Longfellow House study. This historic room is the heart of the Longfellow House; it served as General George Washington's meeting/dining room in the early days of the American Revolution and later as poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s creative workspace, where he penned many of his best-known works.  Japan captured the imagination of world traveler Charles Longfellow like nowhere else. He arrived in June 1871 and stayed for 20 months, enjoying local culture and buying whatever caught his eye. This online exhibit features highlights from Charles Longfellow's collection of Japanese art and souvenirs.  "Waiting for the Boats," an 1882 watercolor by Winslow Homer, joins the Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters National Historic Site’s museum collection.  Black history is interwoven with the story of 105 Brattle Street. Since its construction, this house and its inhabitants have been shaped by slavery and influenced by the fight for Black civil rights. This research guide features detailed lists of the holdings in the Longfellow Archives and Special Collections that are connected to Black history, as well as complementary resources from the National Park Service and other institutions.  The Digital Archives Portal offers researchers and the public access to the collections of Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS from home. Learn how digitization helps preserve our archival material while allowing us to share it widely.  Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Archivist Kate Hanson Plass has been named the winner of the 2021 National Appleman-Judd-Lewis Award for Cultural Resource Specialist.  The Civil War deeply affected the Longfellow family. Three close family members fought in the United States Army. Family at home in Cambridge followed news of the war and supported civilian causes. The impact of the war on American culture is reflected in its influence on Henry Longfellow's poetry.
This online exhibit complements the temporary exhibit at Longfellow House-Washington's Headquarters NHS, summer 2022.
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