BOSTON ATHENÆUM

Reports for

ADMINISTRATIONChristopher Boudrot, Director of Business

Operations and Augusta Thomas Director of FinanceAllison Chen, Staff Accountant

Nora Conley, Payroll and Benefits AdministratorKathryn Hillman, Gift and Membership

Revenue ProcessorEmily Schuman, Project Coordinator

DEVELOPMENTJacqueline Chambers, Major Gifts Officer

Benjamin Federlin, Development CoordinatorDawna Gyukeri, Director of Annual GivingBridget Keane, Chief Development Officer

DIGITAL PROGRAMS AND PRESERVATIONTatiana Cole, Paper Conservator

Jane Knoll, Von Clemm Book Conservation FellowLisa Muccigrosso, Driscoll Family

Conservation FellowGraham Patten, Book ConservatorDawn Walus, Chief Conservator

FACILITIESAdriana Agudelo, Building CustodianGloria Brea, Building CustodianWilfer Munoz, Building Caretaker

Tatiana Keane Forero, Building CustodianNazrul I. Quadery, Assistant Facility Manager

MEMBER AND VISITOR SERVICESMaria Daniels, Director of Communications and

Patron ServicesKaylah Dixon, Member and Visitor Services

CoordinatorThomas James, Member and Visitor Services

CoordinatorVictoria O’Malley, Director of EventsLisette Pylant, Events Coordinator

Hannah Weisman, Director of EducationHannah Winstead, Member and Visitor Services

Coordinator

READER SERVICESJames P. Feeney, Jr., Howard Lang and Barbara Lang

Hacker Head of CirculationCarolle R. Morini, Caroline D. Bain Archivist,

Reference LibrarianElizabeth O’Meara, Weekend Reference Librarian

Arnold Serapilio, Reader Services AssociateMary Warnement, William D. Hacker

Head of Reader Services

SENIOR ADMINISTRATIVE STAFFLEAH ROSOVSKY, Stanford Calderwood Director

SECURITYBruno Faria, Security Officer

Alexander Osgood, Security OfficerJoseph Santiago, Security Officer

Tyrone Smith, Director of Facilities and Security

SPECIAL COLLECTIONSVirginia Reynolds Badgett, Assistant CuratorJohn Buchtel, Curator of Rare Books and

Head of Special CollectionsLauren Graves, Polly Thayer Starr Fellow

in American Art and CultureChristina Michelon, Assistant Curator

Lily Sterling, Special Collections Registrar and Exhibition Manager

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYAndrew Hahn, Director of IT

Derek Murphy, Systems LibrarianBrian James Wanders,

Assistant Systems Administrator

TECHNICAL SERVICESJennifer Anderson, Catalog AssistantDaniel Axmacher, Rare Materials

Catalog LibrarianSamantha Dodgen, Digital Programs

and Catalog LibrarianWilliam K. Evans, National Endowment for the Humanities Chief Librarian in Charge of

Technical ServicesKaelin Rasmussen, Rare Materials

Catalog LibrarianAnthea Harrison Reilly, Acquisitions Librarian

Graham Skinner, Rare Materials Catalog Librarian

INTERNSEmilie Barrett

Rebecca JohnstonJohn MathyIvy Noonan

Rachael SavageCarly Stevens

Boston Athenæum

Reports for

PresidentTIMOTHY W. DIGGINS

Vice-PresidentsSUSAN B. WEATHERBIECREELEA H. PANGARO

TreasurerJ. MARK ENRIQUEZ

Assistant TreasurerGILBERT M. RODDY, JR.

SecretaryARTHUR B. PAGE

Trustees

F. JAVIER CEVALLOSEARL M. COLLIER, JR.ROGER HAYNESCLARISSA C. HUNNEWELLAIMÉE VINCENT JAMISON DARLENE C. JARRELLWINSTON E. LANGLEY

Trustees Emeriti and Emeritae

EDWARD B. BALDINIJOAN T. BOKDEBORAH HILL BORNHEIMERJOHN G. L. CABOTCHARLES A. COOLIDGE IIIJ. LINZEE COOLIDGELAWRENCE COOLIDGEDANIEL R. COQUILLETTEALICE M. DELANAKATHERINE HANEY DUFFYJOHN WIGGLESWORTH EVERETSHUGH D. S. GREENWAYJ. BRYAN HEHIR

BAYARD HENRYMAISIE HOUGHTON

JAMES F. HUNNEWELL, JR.DAVID P. INGRAM

ELIZABETH B. JOHNSONJERROLD I. W. MITCHELL

GEORGE MARSHALL MORIARTYELIZABETH H. OWENS

SUSAN W. PAINEJOHN G. PALFREY, JR.LAWRENCE PERERAJAMES V. RIGHTERLIONEL B. SPIRO

WILLIAM S. STRONG

TERRANCE P. MCGUIRECAROLYN M. OSTEENCATHERINE POWELL

JOHN S. REEDAMY E. RYAN

AUSTIN V. SHAPARD

BOSTON ATHENÆUM

Reports for

B, M

January

Reports for is a publication of the Boston Athenæum, ½ Beacon Street,Boston, Massachusetts –. It was designed by Scott Vile at the AscensiusPress, Bar Mills, Maine. A digital edition of this publication reflects the activitiesof the Boston Athenæum between October , , and September , . Staffand Trustee lists are current as of September , .

Copyright © by the Proprietors of the Boston Athenæum, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contents

DIRECTOR’S PREFACE

TRUSTEE ACTIVITIES

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS

READER SERVICES

TECHNICAL SERVICES

DEVELOPMENT

PATRON SERVICES

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

FACILITIES AND SECURITY

PERSONNEL AND VOLUNTEERS

GIFTS

FINANCE

Boston, December ,

DIRECTOR’S PREFACE

IN my first full year as Director I marvelled often at the remark-able nature of our community. Challenges continued in the

outside world month after month. Boston felt emptied out attimes, with the legislature and local colleges meeting entirely viavideo and the small businesses around us anxious for customers.Yet members walked through our doors into a peaceful haven andstaff performed their duties with diligence. Kindness, carefulthought, curiosity, and an abiding love of books and conversationcontinued to flourish at ½ Beacon Street.

With the benefit of significant member insights and feedback,we developed a new and exciting plan for the expansion into Beacon Street. Comfortable and inviting spaces for people togather will open in extended, south-facing rooms on the first andfourth floors, along with new spaces for discussions or informaluse. Our Gallery, relocated to a versatile first-floor location, willre-open to welcome members and the public. Alcoves and officesin use by staff in the historic building will be redone to providemembers with more reading, writing, and study areas. The futurespaces will also allow us to expand revenue-generating activities,such as function rentals, with less intrusion upon the member ex-perience. I am thankful to our dedicated Facilities Committee andthe many members who shared thoughts through this fiscal year,as well as our far-sighted supporters who are helping make possi-ble this vision of an even better Athenæum.

We completed a restoration of our building’s exterior “enve-lope”—the façade and terraces that were increasingly vulnerableto water intrusion over the years. Deferred maintenance is a topicthat thrills very few people. Yet finding a way to address those in-visible needs is essential. Everything we do relies on our building’sintegrity, and we sleep more soundly at night knowing it is somuch better protected from the elements now.

We will look back on Fiscal Year as a turning point in our business operations. In the last weeks of the fiscal year welaunched a new record-keeping database and transactions system,a key component of our technological infrastructure we will con-tinue to modernize. As ever, our goal is to provide the Athenæumcommunity with better services, from event registrations to mem-bership renewal and donation options. A new website will debutin the spring and we will take great care to improve processes aswe go along.

Teams collaborated further this year to build virtual offerings,learning new skills in order to serve our audiences. We commit-ted—and figured out how—to stream every in-person event viaZoom for those who preferred to remain at home. DiscussionGroups got on with their reading and conversation using a similarhybrid approach, welcoming participants in the room or fromafar. A new document camera allowed remote participants to flipthrough the pages of the Nuremberg Chronicle or other treasuresas if they were in the room with a curator. I believe nothing cansubstitute for the in-person experience, but we have adapted tothe world we now inhabit and made ourselves more accessiblethrough difficult days.

Development and Curatorial staff secured a grant of $,

from the Terra Foundation for American Art. It will support thereinstallation of works from the permanent collection on the firstfloor, offering members and visitors alike a more expansive viewof American art and history. We were already anticipating relo-cating artworks in the coming months to protect them duringconstruction, and the Terra-funded project will dovetail nicely, al-lowing us to reopen with treasures on view that have been seenonly rarely.

The Curatorial team made the special collections visible tomembers and the public with great energy. They adapted cre-atively through months when the gallery was closed. Perhaps youenjoyed walking through the Bayard Henry Long Room, as I did,to see luminous watercolors by Allan Rohan Crite, or the NewEngland Guild of Book Workers’ th-anniversary exhibition.Find details below about all of our special collections activities.

Boston Athenæum

Fiscal Year presented ongoing challenges. Still, I ampleased to report an operating surplus of $,. Revenue de-clined through many COVID-influenced months but we diligentlycontrolled costs. Active membership began to improve after thewinter was over, and we managed a small increase from ,

memberships on September , to , in September .I gratefully acknowledge Carolyn Osteen and Gibbs Roddy,

our new Trustees Emeriti, for their longtime dedication and soundadvice. Carolyn served on the Board for years, starting in ,and Gibbs for three decades, since .

The Athenæum has made strides toward its future this year,guided above all by you, our dedicated members. As constructionin Beacon advances and we can start to glimpse a grand openingon the horizon, I feel the keenest anticipation about the delightsawaiting this community in the next twelve months and beyond.

IN MEMORIAM

RODNEY ARMSTRONG

With sadness, we acknowledge the passing, in April , of Director and Librarian Rodney Armstrong. His tenure at theBoston Athenæum, fondly remembered by so many in our com-munity, extended for years, from through .

TRUSTEE ACTIVITIESThe Trustees welcomed one new member, Dr. F. Javier Ceval-

los. Two long-tenured Trustees, Carolyn M. Osteen and GilbertM. Roddy, Jr., attained Emeriti status. The Trustees thanked JamesTracy and Darlene Jarrell for their service.

Dr. F. Javier Cevallos was born in Cuenca, Ecuador and hisfamily moved to Puerto Rico when he was . Dr. Cevallos earnedhis bachelor’s degree in at the University of Puerto Rico at

Reports for

Mayagüez. From Puerto Rico, he moved to Illinois where heearned his master’s and doctoral degrees in and , respec-tively, from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Hisarea of research is Latin American literature, with particular em-phasis in the Colonial era. Dr. Cevallos began his career in educa-tion in as an assistant professor of Spanish at the Universityof Maine at Orono. In , he moved to the University of Massa-chusetts at Amherst, where he was promoted to associate professorin and to full professor in . In , he was asked to serveas faculty advisor to the provost. In , he became chair of theDepartment of Spanish and Portuguese. Soon after, he was ap-pointed Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, a post he held until, when he became President of Kutztown University in Penn-sylvania for many years, until beginning his tenure as President ofFramingham State University in . Framingham State Univer-sity was founded in by noted education reformer HoraceMann as the first public university dedicated to the education ofteachers. Today it serves about , students with about , ofthose students in its graduate programs. About % of Framing-ham State’s undergraduates are students of color and Latinx. In, the Danforth Museum merged with the University and nowreports to President Cevallos. Currently Dr. Cevallos serves on theboards of AASCU, NCAA Division III President’s Council, theUnited Way of Tri-County, Jewish Family Service, and the Metro-West Chamber of Commerce. He serves as a Commissioner of theregional New England accrediting body for higher education. Heis also a former Board member of the Reading Museum.

SPECIAL COLLECTIONSThe Athenæum maintains its special collections to preserve

and document the past, to foster delight and wonder, and to cul-tivate an appreciation for excellence in the making of books andart. Our special collections cover most aspects of the humanitiesover the whole span of recorded history, from ancient textual ar-

Boston Athenæum

tifacts to the latest artists’ books and fine prints. We hold theserare and significant materials in trust for the understanding andenjoyment of patrons today and for those in generations to come.By providing access, we enable members and researchers to expe-rience a tangible connection with history, whether for curiosity’ssake, as part of a systematic effort to produce new knowledge, oras inspiration for creativity or critical conversations.

This year’s activities focused on strategic efforts as the cura-torial team continued to explore the collections, to highlight dis-coveries in public programs, and to engage in intensive planningfor future exhibitions, the building expansion, and a project to re-install artwork from the permanent collection on the first floor.Efforts in the latter area culminated in securing a grant from theTerra Foundation for American Art’s Re-envisioning PermanentCollections initiative. This year’s most noteworthy acquisitionsunderscored the ongoing vitality of the Prints & Photographs col-lection, with the purchase of an extensive collection of the workof pioneering Boston photographers Southworth & Hawes, andthe gift of the first tranche of Richard W. Cheek’s impressive WorldWar I collection.

Acquisitions—Gifts

The Athenæum acquired approximately , objects for Spe-cial Collections, of which were generously donated. A com-plete list of items acquired accompanies this report on the website.

The most significant gift-in-kind this year compounded theexceptional generosity of an extraordinary collector, Richard W.Cheek. Building on his and gifts of World War II graphicarts, Mr. Cheek pledged to donate three additional collections overthe next several years. The gift commenced with a first installment: posters from his World War I Graphic Arts Collection, and

items from his World War I Children’s Book Collection, with anemphasis on juvenile adventure novels (many of them in fine publishers’ stamped bookbindings, and some even preservingtheir scarce dust jackets). These current and forthcoming gifts

Reports for

strengthen the Athenæum’s position as an internationally signif-icant repository for the visual and social history surrounding theseglobal conflicts, with special emphasis on their impact on youngpeople.

Other noteworthy gifts enhanced previously donated manu-script collections with materials that had been separated from theearlier gifts.

The Hodges Family Papers, received by the Athenæum in

and , form a significant multi-generational archive docu-menting a New England family. Honoring the bequest intentionsof his late wife, Martha Meyer Douglas, Charles B. M. Douglas re-united that collection with two paintings by the New Englandartist James Sullivan Lincoln: an unusual double portrait ofAlmon Danforth Hodges, Sr. and Martha Comstock Hodges (ca.?), and a portrait of Martha’s mother, Sally B. Comstock(). These were complemented by journals and scrapbooks cre-ated by Almon D. Hodges, Jr. (–), whose vividly writtenCivil War journal was published by the Athenæum in , as wellas a cased daguerreotype and three albums of other nineteenth-century family photographs, many produced by noteworthyBoston studios such as Whipple.

Photographs also formed the core of a donation from the lateMary Hyde Millard, complementing the papers she gifted in

of her ancestors the Brewer and Penniman families. Among thenew additions were a large full-length salt print portrait of MaryElizabeth Brewer Penniman from the studio of famed photogra-pher Mathew Brady, and daguerreotypes. These include a win-some boyhood image of Gardner “Gardy” Brewer, Jr., whose tragicaccidental death in is the subject of a substantial portion ofthe manuscript collection. Fifteen mounted photographs docu-ment the grand interior of the Gardner and Mary Brewer resi-dence, which stood at Beacon Street on the site of the JohnHancock house, now part of the grounds of the MassachusettsState House. They are interspersed with about two dozen archi-tectural drawings, possibly by the influential architect Gridley J.F. Bryant, of fixtures, finishes, and furnishings: a highly unusualsurvival.

Boston Athenæum

Remarkably, these were not the only gifts-in-kind that fill gapsor shed new light on existing collections. Constance Fuller San-born gave a rich group of diaries and European travel scrapbookscreated by her great-grandmother, Mary Dwight Vose Greenough(–). The diaries document a woman’s experience and per-spectives from to , and the scrapbooks record her travelsabroad to Europe and the United Kingdom with her husbandCharles Pelham Greenough and their family in the first decade ofthe twentieth century. These materials complement the Athe-næum’s collection of early manuscripts collected by her husband,Charles Pelham Greenough. Some of them may have been ac-quired on those trips.

A gift of nine ledgers from the Provident Institution for Sav-ings fills gaps in the Athenæum’s extensive archive from that firm.As the records of the first chartered savings bank in the UnitedStates, created to allow ordinary citizens to “better themselves,”these ledgers contain a gold mine of detailed information about avast number of individuals, including immigrants and under-rep-resented groups. This group of ledgers was rescued by their donorwhen the Provident Institution for Savings building was renovatedin the early s.

A final act of reunification was performed by Amy DominiThornton with her gift of a group of correspondence betweenJoseph Lee and his sister Susan M. Lee. These add a warm, per-sonal dimension to the more business-like materials on urban re-newal, Boston schools, and local politics in the Athenæum’s exist-ing collection of Joseph Lee papers. Writing in , for instance,Susan Lee waxes lyrical about childhood memories of winter onBeacon Hill: “To-day it is snowing . . . reminding me of the shoutsand flying runners on Mt. Vernon Street and the church spiresagainst a flaming orange sky as the sun set over the frozen river. . . . When I think of winter in Boston, I remember walkingdown Beacon Hill with the elms against the clear glow of the sky—the sleds flying down the icy paths towards Tremont St., the gayactivity of the hill below the soldiers monument . . . and the skatersarm in arm rounding the island [in the Public Garden].”

Reports for

Acquisitions—Purchases

Items obtained by purchase also reflect our donors’ generosityand foresight. The endowment funds created by past supportersallow the Athenæum to add meaningfully to the collections inareas of emphasis, from Boston history to the art and history ofthe book. Items selected build on strengths, fill in gaps, and pre-serve rare and beautiful cultural heritage materials for study andenjoyment by members and researchers.

The most significant purchase of buttressed the Athe-næum’s important holdings of early Boston photography with theaddition of an extensive Southworth & Hawes collection. AlbertSands Southworth (–) and Josiah Johnson Hawes (–) began their partnership in and became one of the mostprolific producers of early photography. Best known for their daguerreotypes, Southworth & Hawes were renowned for theirinnovations and artistic skill, particularly in photographic por-traiture. The items in the Chester Urban Collection span fivedecades of their work. It contains fine examples of their da-guerreotypes, including four half-plates, but also preserves anarray of their understudied work in other photographic media in-cluding tintypes, albumen prints, and an impressive group ofstereographs. Much of the collection derives from the photogra-phers’ family archives. It includes images of family members (in-cluding the only known portrait of Louise Southworth, AlbertSouthworth’s wife), and examples of the work of Nancy South-worth Hawes (Albert Southworth’s sister and the wife of J. J.Hawes), who worked as a hand-colorist in their studio. The col-lection offers fresh insights into the familial and working relation-ships of each artist, and provides opportunities for researchers toreassess their achievements.

Other additions to the photography collection included ans cabinet photograph of Aaron Molyneaux Hewlett, Harvard’sfirst Black instructor; a group of late nineteenth-century cyan-otypes of Revolutionary War sites; and the original series of gelatinsilver prints by Constantine Manos for the book Bostonians (),images which also appeared the same year in the Bicentennial ex-hibition Where’s Boston? at the Prudential Center.

Boston Athenæum

Reports for

Four examples of juvenile fiction books from the Richard W. CheekWorld War I Children’s Book Collection.

Gift of Richard W. Cheek.

Boston Athenæum

C. B. Falls, artist, “Yanks in Germany Want More Books” (AmericanLibrary Association, [between and ]). Richard W. Cheek

World War I Graphic Arts Collection. Gift of Richard W. Cheek.

Reports for

Southworth & Hawes, Occupational Portrait of an Architect at Work,Half-Plate Daguerreotype, c. s.

Weems, Dumbaugh, Hunt, Steiner, Wyman, and Bromfield Funds.

Boston Athenæum

George Kendall Warren, [Portrait of Aaron Molyneaux Hewlett,professor of gymnastics, Harvard]. Albumen print.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, [?]. William Morris Hunt II Photography Fund.

Reports for

Constantine Manos, Librarian at Work, Boston Athenæum. Gelatin silver print. Boston, [].

Frances Hovey Howe Fund.

Constantine Manos, Sunday Afternoon Gathering of Friends, Franklin Park,Boston. Gelatin silver print. Boston, [].

Frances Hovey Howe Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Leonard Baskin and Eric Korn. Lepidoptera Fantastica([Northampton]: Gehenna Press, ). Arthur & Charlotte Vershbow Fund.

Reports for

Mark Esser, design binder; Alan James Robinson, illustrator; ThomasBrowne, author, Pseudodoxia Epidemica: Of Unicornes Hornes

(Williamsburg, Mass.: Cheloniidae Press, ). Roger Cortesi Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Suzanne Moore, Trust (Tucson, ). Alex & Trish Altschuller Fund.

Reports for

Tia Blassingame, African American: A Handbook (Primrose Press, ).Proprietors Book Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Karli Frigge, The Magic of Marbling (Joppe, The Netherlands, ).William T. & Jean G. Cushing Fund.

Reports for

A sheet of color xylographed paper depicting the Piazzetta di San Marco,Venice, within a floral frame. Collection of Remondini and Rizzi Italiandecorative papers. [Bassano del Grappa]: [Printed by Remondini],

[between and ]. Roger Cortesi Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Amy Sacker, designer, “Love and Rocks by Laura E. Richards” [poster advertising the novel]. (Boston: Estes & Lauriat, ).

Charles Jackson Fund.

Reports for

Dorothy Stuart Hughes, artist; Edward FitzGerald, Rubaiyat of OmarKhayyam ([Worcester, or Boston]: Privately Printed

at the Carolon Press, March ). Andrew Oliver Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Harcourt Bindery, Boston; Charles Paul de Kock, Sister Anne(Boston: Frederick J. Quinby, []). William T. & Jean G. Cushing Fund.

Reports for

Forbes Lithograph Manufacturing Company, printer, “The ModernWitch and Her Magic: Its Easy to Dye with Diamond Dyes.” Dress

pattern booklet. Burlington, Vermont: Wells, Richardson & Co., approximately .

Life Members Book Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Francis Seymour Haden, Ô laborum dulce lenimen. Drypoint etching. [Paris, France?]: .

Charles E. Mason Jr. Print Fund.

Reports for

The Illustrated Police News, Law Courts and Weekly Record. Boston:Police News Publishing Company, –.

Joseph Marcantonio Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Will Bradley, “Narcoti-cure.” Color lithograph advertisement.[Springfield, Massachusetts: Narcoti Chemical Co., ].

Charles E. Mason Jr. Print Fund.

Reports for

Allan Rohan Crite, “Old South Church from Old Granary BurialGround” [Park Street Church], . Watercolor on paper.

Mitchell Adams Fund and Art Acquisition Fund.

Boston Athenæum

Eliza Goodridge, James Cutler Dunn (–) and BenjaminClarke Dunn (–), . Watercolor miniatures on ivory.

Susan Morse Hilles Calder Fund.

Reports for

Eliza Maria Judkins, Magna Carta Island, . Oil on board.Susan Morse Hilles Bicentennial Fund.

Eliza Maria Judkins, William Tell’s Chapel, . Oil on board. Susan Morse Hilles Bicentennial Fund.

This year’s most outstanding rare book acquisitions added toour campaign to enhance the Athenæum’s holdings of master-works by the influential New England-based book artist LeonardBaskin and his Gehenna Press, with Diptera (), Fancies, Bizar-reries & Ornamented Grotesques (), Capriccio (), and Lep-idoptera Fantastica (; deluxe copy with a second suite of etchings, an original drawing, and a copper plate).

Other beautiful and important artists’ and fine press booksincluded works from other noteworthy artists and presses withNew England connections, as well as from across the UnitedStates: the Cheloniidae Press (Alan James Robinson, an examplein a unique fine binding by Mark Esser), Roberta Delaney, DobbinBooks (Robbin Ami Silverberg), the Double Elephant Press(Michael Kuch), the Flying Fish Press (Julie Chen), the FoolscapPress (Lawrence G. Van Velzer and Peggy Gotthold), MidnightPaper Sales (Gaylord Schanilec), Mixolydian Editions (RichardWagener), Suzanne Moore (a unique calligraphic work), PrimrosePress (Tia Blassingame), the Solmentes Press (David Esslemont),Triangular Press (Barbara Tetenbaum), Two Ponds Press (in thiscase, a collaboration with Claudia Cohen and Julie Paschkis), andWiesedruck (Sarah Horowitz), among others.

The representation of international book artists in the collec-tion also expanded this year, with fine examples produced inChina (Leilei Guo), Cuba (Ediciones Vigía), England (D. R. Wake-field), France (Didier Mutel, François Righi), Germany (BurgiKü� hnemann: a unique painted book, Till Verclas, Ulrich Wagner),the Netherlands (Karli Frigge, Carina Hesper), and South Africa(The Artists’ Press).

We continue to collect the historic book arts and the historyof the book as well, with several fine and unusual pieces amongthis year’s acquisitions. Especially visually engaging, a set of un-used full sheets of color-printed decorated paper created in Italyby the Remondini and Rizzi firms includes elaborate architecturaland floral designs, some dating as far back as the eighteenth cen-tury. Three items, including a rare advertising poster, reflect dif-ferent aspects of the career of Boston artist Amy Sacker (–) as a book designer and educator. A copy of the Carolon

Boston Athenæum

Press’s Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (), illuminated throughoutin watercolor and gouache by Boston artist Dorothy StuartHughes (–?), appears in an elegant full morocco bindingby prominent binder Leonard Mounteney. An even more extraor-dinary item, a single volume from the “Bibliomaniac” edition ofthe works of Charles Paul de Kock (Boston: Frederick J. Quinby,[]), is almost ridiculously luxurious. Printed on vellum, in afine full leather binding with floral onlays and doublures by theHarcourt Bindery, this copy of Sister Anne features hand-illumi-nated title and head and tailpieces by Helen Sinclair Patterson andElla Grace Brown, and four original drawings for the regular edi-tion’s illustrations, including one by the Ashcan artist WilliamGlackens.

Most of the other rare books, printed ephemera, manuscripts,maps, and prints added to the collection fell into one of severalcollecting themes, from architectural history to the visual cultureof the two world wars. From eighteenth-century printed formscompleted by hand to chromolithographic trading cards producedby Louis Prang, most items also exhibited strong social and cul-tural history interest, frequently with a Boston or New Englandfocus. Among many other rare and ephemeral items are two pop-ular early titles printed in Boston that were not previously repre-sented in the Athenæum’s collection. Because of the explicitness(by the standards of its time) of a frequently reprinted midwiferymanual misleadingly titled The Works of Aristotle, the FamousPhilosopher, its title page says only that it was printed in “New Eng-land . . . for the proprietor . . . .” A cheaply produced abridge-ment of Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, printed in Boston “nearCharles-river Bridge” in , contains spritely but crudely de-signed woodcuts that speak to the growth in emerging literacy atthat time.

Two noteworthy items joined our extensive Allan Rohan Critecollection (many of the works donated by the artist himself in): a sketchbook compiled in , early in his career, providinga lively window into the development of his creative process, anda vibrant watercolor depicting Park Street Church and the Gran-ary Burying Ground, painted from the vantage point of the back

Reports for

wall of the Athenæum. Crite enjoyed a long association with thelibrary, and this work evinces his physical presence at ½ BeaconStreet.

Artworks by three women artists associated with the Athe-næum also joined the collection: a portrait miniature by SarahGoodridge (–), two portrait miniatures by her sister ElizaGoodridge (–), and a pair of landscapes by Eliza MariaJudkins (–).

Sarah Goodridge, among the earliest professional womenartists in the United States, studied with Gilbert Stuart and exhib-ited miniatures at the Boston Athenæum five times between

and . While the identity of the female sitter in this ca. sminiature is unknown, the work was accompanied by a daguer-reotype and a later carte-de-visite photograph, both of the sameminiature. To be able to compare two early reproductions of apainting with the original is uncommon, presenting an intriguingopportunity to study the social uses of portraiture in differentmedia.

Often overshadowed by her older sister, Eliza Goodridge cre-ated exquisite portraits of brothers James Cutler Dunn and Ben-jamin Clarke Dunn in . They provide an opportunity to com-pare the work of the two sisters side by side. James Cutler Dunn,a Boston merchant and real estate magnate, served as Boston CityTreasurer and held Athenæum Share for a short time (–). His older brother pursued a less industrious course: in ,he listed his occupation as “man of leisure.”

Well-known during her lifetime, Eliza Maria Judkins is little-known today in part owing to the rarity of her paintings. Born inCambridge, Massachusetts, Judkins taught drawing, painting, andpenmanship between and at Amherst Academy, whereshe likely met Albert Tolman and his wife, Jane Amelia Tower Tol-man, to whom these landscapes are inscribed. Judkins exhibitedat the Boston Athenæum in , , and , and in numerousother significant exhibitions, including the Centennial Inter-national Exposition in Philadelphia. Judkins was a student andfriend of Washington Allston, a better-known nineteenth-centuryAmerican artist with a deep connection to the Athenæum. Jud-

Boston Athenæum

kins’s Magna Carta Island and William Tell’s Chapel are the firstworks by the artist to enter the Athenæum’s permanent collection.

Loans

A Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibition, Alexandervon Humboldt and the United States: Art, Nature, and Culture, re-opened to the public on May , . The Athenæum agreed toextend the loan of John Quincy Adams Ward’s bronze sculptureThe Freedman through the exhibition’s revised end date of July ,.

Other loans that had originally been requested for this fiscalyear were postponed; we anticipate an increase in active loans inthe coming year.

Exhibitions

Exhibition activity resumed in the Long Room while thegallery remained closed in preparation for the building renovationand expansion project.

In November, a new installation went on view at eye level onthe Henry Long Room walls. Selections consisted of artwork fromthe Athenæum’s permanent collections that had traveled on loanto other museums within the past few years. Highlights includedJohn Singer Sargent’s portrait of Annie Adams Fields, which wasfeatured in the National Museum of Sweden’s grand reopening in, and Allan Rohan Crite’s masterpiece, Harriet and Leon,which traveled to the Columbus Museum of Art’s exhibitionmarking the centennial of the Harlem Renaissance. One of the al-coves on the north wall served as a rotating display space, enablingus to exhibit light-sensitive prints such as Justyne Fischer’s Birthof a Nation. Some of the works featured in this installation will re-main on view in the Long Room indefinitely.

This partial rehang of “well-traveled works” was followed inMarch by the last installation in the Sitting Room prior to the clo-sure of that space. A selection of attractive travel posters printedin the s and s gave a light-hearted nod toward the antic-

Reports for

Boston Athenæum

ipated relaxation of a long year of travel restrictions, even as theAthenæum began to reopen fully to visitors and members. Wemounted a second short-term installation of works on paper, witha selection of Allan Rohan Crite’s vibrant watercolors of Bostonurban landscapes going into a pair of display cases in the LongRoom just in time for the late artist’s th birthday on March .

May saw the opening of a traveling juried show in the LongRoom, 40 Years: Celebrating the New England Chapter of the Guildof Book Workers. Works on view represented a broad spectrum oftradition and innovation in the book arts, spanning expertlyhand-crafted fine and design bindings, artists’ books and boxes,calligraphy and paper art. The exhibition recognized the Athe-næum’s role in the chapter’s founding, as well as the Athenæum’smutual commitment to key elements of the Guild of Book Work-ers’ mission, including broadening public awareness of the bookarts, stimulating interest in fine bindings, and advocating forsound book conservation practices. A related display on the fifthfloor, together with a virtual event co-sponsored with the chapter,featured works by some of the participating artists drawn fromthe Athenæum’s permanent collection.

On September , an in-person lecture and the opening of theLong Room installation Dante in Boston marked the th an-niversary, to the day, of the death of Dante Alighieri (–),the celebrated Florentine poet, philosopher, and statesman whosepioneering vernacular Italian epic, the Divine Comedy, remains aclassic of world literature. The Boston Athenæum began acquiringcopies of works by and about Dante as early as . The installa-tion featured highlights from among nearly two hundred titles,ranging from an edition printed in to finely printed contem-porary translations integrated with artwork by New Englandprintmakers.

Especially noteworthy rarities included an inscribed copy ofthe influential engravings to the Divine Comedy by John Flaxman(–), privately printed in Rome in ; and a letter inwhich Henry Wadsworth Longfellow discusses the temporary de-posit at the Athenæum of fragments of Dante’s coffin (now atLongfellow House), alongside a pristine first trade edition of

Longfellow’s Dante (), the first complete translation by anAmerican. A related display on the fifth floor presented selectedrare editions of works of the “Three Crowns of Italian Literature,”Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio.

Special Collections Activities and Staffing

The most significant achievement of the year was the success-ful application for a competitive $, grant from the TerraFoundation for American Art’s Re-envisioning Permanent Col-lections initiative. The funding will enable the curatorial team toplan a reinstallation of art from the Athenæum’s permanent col-lection on the publicly-accessible first floor, offering a more ex-pansive view of American art and history.

Surprising items and hidden stories starred in an array of vir-tual Curator’s Choice programming. Subjects were as varied as N.C. Wyeth and the Granary Burying Ground, depictions of insectsand of trees in rare books, the Crompton Loom, athlete FrankHart and competitive walking, Sarah Freeman Clarke’s paintingKentucky Beech Forest, seaweed specimen books, fashion, th-cen-tury ‘fancy’ valentines, and the Nuremberg Chronicle.

In September, the Athenæum bid farewell to theo tyson, whoseterm as Polly Thayer Starr Fellow in American Art came to a con-clusion, and we prepared for the imminent arrival of the new Fel-low, Dr. Lauren Graves. We remain grateful to the Polly ThayerStarr Charitable Trust for its renewed commitment to providingthis superb opportunity for emerging curatorial talent. Also de-parting in September was Collections and Exhibitions TechnicianMelissa Krok-Horton, whose efforts made possible the active dis-play of so many collections materials during the past year.

Reports for

READER SERVICES

Circulation

Head of Circulation Jimmy Feeney reported that memberschecked out , books from October through September. He prepared books to post in the sub-basement mail-room. We continued to waive the fees previously charged for mail-ing books.

Arnold Serapilio worked with IT to develop successful mixed-presence technology and procedures (with attendees both in per-son and online) for discussion groups. Twelve groups continue tomeet solely online, but seven have embraced the hybrid setup.Three groups, marked with an asterisk below, remain on hiatus asof the end of this fiscal year. As we anticipate more meeting spacesbeing available in autumn , we are considering topics of in-terest for future groups and soliciting members’ ideas.

Discussion GroupsName Moderator(s)Based on the Book Grant SchaumburgBoccaccio Todd Boli and Andrea PokladowskiCivil War Nancy J. Tarulli then Wayne SoiniClassics Cashman Kerr PrinceDickens Claire Laporte and Clive MartinFiction Grant SchaumburgLiterary Conversations Clive MartinMathematics, Technology & Society Scott GutheryMystery* Toni WhitmoreNew England Seminar Peg WheelerPhilosophy Randall AlbrightPoetry Creelea PangaroProust Reading Hollie Harder and Elizabeth MurrayProust Selected Studies Hollie Harder and Elizabeth MurrayShakespeare Michael AlmondShort & Sweet Mary WarnementSocial Justice Initiative Mary Warnement and Hannah Weisman

Boston Athenæum

Trollope Bill PopeWorld History* Susan RosefskyWorld War I* Dave HerderWorld War II Peter MongeauWriters’ Workshop Sophia Garmey and Gerald Rosenthal

Reference

Librarians Mary Warnement, Carolle Morini, and ElizabethO’Meara delighted in offering a new service, access to eAudio-books via cloudLibrary, starting in January. Members can listenon their computers or download the app to their devices andsearch for specific titles and authors or browse what we have se-lected. Elizabeth O’Meara took charge of preparing shelves specif-ically suited to our members’ tastes, arranged by what was newestevery month, relevant issues, and by how books are organized in½. (Because even if you “visit” virtually, you want to feel asthough you are browsing the Drum, right?)

A major part of our jobs, other than answering more than, reference questions, is the enviable task of helping find theright book, a perfect complement to our work of selecting titlesfor purchase. We’ll help on the spot whenever anyone approacheswanting a cozy mystery to read on the weekend, a new series tofill the coming dark and cold months, the latest fiction in transla-tion, or any other criteria. We have reorganized the New BookShelves and are displaying more books face up in the first floorBow Room. Every week we share recommended titles around atimely theme in the newsletter and on social media. Members withlimited time can join Athenæum Readers on Goodreads to seewhat other members are reading and share thoughts on books.

In addition to harboring readers, the Athenæum, of course,welcomes many writers. We celebrate “Athenæum Authors” everymonth on the website and social media. In this fiscal year we fea-tured:

Danielle Donovan, October

Allison K. Lange, PhD, November

Jessica Kent, December

Reports for

Boston Athenæum

Jane G. Austin, January

Dr. Winston Langley, February

Maisie Houghton, March

Dr. Robert T. Osteen, May

Susan Barba, June

Jeanne Schinto, July

Joel Farrell, August

Julie Carrick Dalton, September

Reader Services presented the fifth annual Holiday Pop-UpBookshop online in December . Pairs of our well-read staffshared their gift picks in a lively conversation.

Carolle Morini worked closely with intern Carly Stevens tofulfill interlibrary loan requests: for our members and forother institutions. There were many reasons we couldn’t send anitem; this year’s number one reason—the book was too new to re-lease.

We bid a fond farewell to Jackie Bateman who worked as in-terlibrary loan intern and upon graduation attained a position atthe Public Library of Brookline.

Vershbow Special Collections Reading Room

Researchers have welcomed the silence and ease of access torare materials offered by the Charlotte and Arthur Vershbow Special Collections Reading Room since its opening in , buttheir appreciation was palpable this year as they were able to re-turn for in-person study after a pandemic-induced break. Themost popular day was Tuesday, with new, later hours until p.m.The room was used by researchers, for the first time, to see requests, and we pulled items for presentations, specialshowings, and classes.

The following supervised in the reading room: Daniel Ax-macher, Virginia Reynolds Badgett, John Buchtel, Sam Dodgen,Christina Michelon, Carolle Morini, Kaelin Rasmussen, RyanReed, Graham Skinner, and Mary Warnement. Back-up supervi-sors were Will Evans, Adriene Galindo, Virginia Rundell, ArnoldSerapilio, and Hannah Weisman.

Fellowships -

The Athenæum awarded seven different types of fellowships,three of them in conjunction with other institutions. Usually wejoin the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium (NERFC)in offering fellowships, and this year Mary Warnement assumedthe presidency of this group after the retirement of long-timefounder Conrad Wright of the Massachusetts Historical Society.After debating the difficulties caused by closures and limited ac-cess of varying degrees at the institutions, NERFC decided tosuspend awards for the – cycle. The Athenæum commit-ted to using those funds to award more of our own fellowshipsthis year. The search committee, comprised of Virginia ReynoldsBadgett, Christina Michelon, Carolle Morini, Mary Warnement,and Hannah Weisman considered applications and decided wecould manage the backlog as well as a new slate of fellows.

Mary Catherine Mooney Fellowship

Anders Bright, Ph.D. candidate, University of Pennsylvania, “Luck’s Metropolis; Lotteries, Finance, and Class in New York, –”

Danielle Coriale, Assistant Professor, University of South Carolina, “Animals on Paper: Zoology and Victorian Literature”

Stephen Mandravelis, Assistant Professor, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, “Towards a Reconsideration of Charles Bird King”

Molly Williams, adjunct, Assumption College, “Taming the Potted Beast: The Strange and Sensational History of the Not-So-Humble Houseplant”

Caleb Loring, Jr., FellowshipTracy L. Barnett, Ph.D. candidate, University of Georgia, “Men

and Their Guns: The Culture of Self-Deputized Manhoodin the South, –”

Reports for

American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies FellowshipJoanne Jahnke Wegner, Assistant Professor of History,

University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, “Stolen Lands, Stolen Lives: Captivity in the Colonial Northeast, –”

The American Congregational Association-Boston AthenæumFellowshipJaimie Crumley, Ph.D. candidate, University of California, Los

Angeles, “Tried as by Fire: African American Women’s Abolitionist Theologies, –”

The Suzanne and Caleb Loring Research Fellowship (Jointly withMHS)Anne Cross, Ph.D. candidate, University of Delaware,

“‘Features of Cruelty Which Could Not Well Be Described by the Pen’: The Media of Atrocity in Harper’s Weekly, –”

The New England Regional FellowshipSuspended for –

The Athenæum community enjoyed the opportunity to attendin-person field reports from the following fellows: Anne Cross,Andrew Donnelly, Carl Kubler, Stephen Mandravelis, and MollyWilliams. These presentations featured their projects and researchalong with rare materials that informed it.

Children’s Library

Members checked out children’s books—% of total cir-culation. Our big news: we’re making way for a new space speciallydesigned for our youngest members, with fresh programming for older children. The expansion necessitated emptying the Children’s Library spaces while new spaces are designed and built.We were mindful of using the space for as long as possible, espe-cially in a period when other libraries and resources remainedclosed. We assessed workspaces, supplies, and collections and

Boston Athenæum

closed the Children’s Library’s doors by our August deadline.The main picture book collection is temporarily inaccessible, butnew picture books and select classics are on offer at the New BookShelves on the first floor. Books for youths and YA have been ab-sorbed into other spaces, and we continue to provide services forbook-loving children, including dramatic Story Times by the spi-ral staircase, on the second floor with Reference.

We continued Story Times online until June because pub-lishers generously extended their loosening of copyright restric-tions. Intern Sam Gill excelled in bringing the magic of books toour youngest members. We wished Sam well in spring as shestarted her work as lower school librarian at the Browning Schoolin Manhattan. New intern Rachael Savage joined us in July andmoved Story Time back into the building, onto the second floor.She creates delightful craft projects inspired by Story Times thatcan be completed here or at home.

Reader Services ends our report with a rousing thank you totwo volunteers. Daniel Berk helped us on Saturdays for severalyears by shelving and recently wrote several Athenæum Authorfeatures. He graduated high school in the spring and we look for-ward to hearing how he enjoys college. Arabella Pelekoudas as-sisted at Reference and Circulation in many ways, from shelvingto creating a diorama fish tank, and we wish her well in her newschool.

Archive

The history of the Boston Athenæum and the history of thecollections, as always, remained of interest to researchers. In thisfiscal year we received queries. Researchers often have ques-tions about the construction of our building at ½ and this yearwas no exception. Others were interested in early acquisitions, vis-itors to the library, and past staff. One of the recipients of the - Mary Catherine Mooney Fellowship, Assistant ProfessorStephen Mandravelis of the University of Tennessee at Chat-tanooga, looked through the nineteenth-century records from theFine Arts Department, financial records, and other materials to

Reports for

Boston Athenæum

gain insight into the history of exhibitions for his project, “To-wards a Reconsideration of Charles Bird King.”

TECHNICAL SERVICESThe accessibility and stewardship of the Athenæum’s collec-

tions inform the foundational work of Technical Services. WillEvans, NEH Chief Technical Services Librarian, oversees the de-partment, each branch of which operates in symbiotic fashion aswe acquire, catalog, digitize, and conserve the collections in ourcare for the benefit of all the Athenæum’s constituencies.

Acquisitions

Acquisitions Librarian Anthea Harrison Reilly accessioned, circulating and rare items of which were gifts. Antheaalso selected and ordered new books for the circulating collec-tions, spearheading the Book Selection Committee comprised ofAthenæum members Jacob Albert, Pam Ikaunkis, Clive Martin,Andrea Pokladowski, and Mary Otis Stevens, and a group of staffbibliographers that included Virginia Reynolds Badgett, WillEvans, Christina Michelon, Carolle Morini, Mary Warnement, andHannah Weisman.

Cataloging

Catalog Assistants Jennifer Anderson, Ryan Reed, and Vir-ginia Rundell along with Catalog Intern Emilie Barrett cata-loged , new books for the circulating and reference collec-tions. Rare Materials Catalog Librarians Daniel Axmacher,Kaelin Rasmussen, and Graham Skinner cataloged newlyacquired special collections items, including rare books, man-uscripts, prints, and photographs. Additionally, the entire Cataloging team improved the accuracy of Athena, the onlinecatalog, by performing , edits, deletions, and other main-tenance functions. The team also enhanced or created cata-loging records for long-held items that were not includedor poorly described in Athena, thereby increasing accessibility.

Reports for

Petition to Integrate the Militia. Robert Morris Papers, –.Boston Athenæum MSS. .L.

Boston Athenæum

“Gherous” (plate ) in Vincent J. Robinson, Eastern Carpets (London:Henry Sotheran & Co., ). Purchase, Fine Arts Fund, .

Reports for

The papers of Boston lawyer, abolitionist, and civil rights advocateRobert Morris (–), processed by Daniel Axmacher, and ascattering of nineteenth-century books on the subject of Orientalrugs, cataloged by Kaelin Rasmussen, were two highlights amongthe long-held items that received attention.

Adriene Galindo, a Rare Visual Materials Catalog Librarian,whose position was funded by a grant from the Institute of Mu-seum and Library Services, completed work on the posters fromthe Richard W. Cheek World War II Graphic Arts Collection, aidedby Graham Skinner. During the fiscal year they cataloged

posters from this collection, the culmination of a three-year proj-ect, in which they succeeded in cataloging a total of , posters.

Win a Bond: “Pitch in for Victory.” (New York, N.Y.: Funhouse Inc., []).Gift of Richard W. Cheek, .

Boston Athenæum

Conservation

The Conservation team continued its unremitting efforts topreserve the Athenæum’s collections by monitoring the environ-ment in ½, and to conserve individual collection items. In pur-suit of the latter activity Chief Conservator Dawn Walus; PaperConservator Tatiana Cole (whose position is underwritten by afive-year Capacity and Infrastructure Challenge Grant from theNational Endowment for the Humanities); Book ConservatorGraham Patten; and Lisa Muccigrosso, recipient of the –

von Clemm Fellowship in Book Conservation and the

Driscoll Family Fellowship in Conservation, conserved rarebooks, works on paper, photographs, and circulatingbooks. They also constructed enclosures and encapsulations.

As always, a number of notable objects from the Athenæum’scollections passed through the lab’s doors. A volume from JosephF. W. Des Barres’s monumental The Atlantic Neptune—the prin-cipal maritime atlas of the latter half of the eighteenth centuryand a key resource for the British during the American Revolu-tion—received extensive treatment. Specimens of Irish Seaweedbound in an actual scallop shell presented a unique housing chal-lenge as did a forme containing the type and plate of an Athe-næum bookplate honoring members of the Collier family. Theconsolidation and re-backing of leather seating reportedly gracedby the posterior of George Washington easily qualified as the mostunusual project of the year. Like the other branches of TechnicalServices, Conservation also devoted considerable time to theRichard W. Cheek WWII Graphic Arts Collection, mending andconsolidating the posters.

Digital Programs

Digital Intern Sam Dodgen was promoted to Digital ProgramsAssistant upon the retirement of Pat Boulos, our inaugural DigitalPrograms Librarian, whose knowledge and collegial spirit aresorely missed. In her new role Sam captured , images andadded , items to CONTENTdm, the Athenæum’s digital asset

Reports for

Joseph F. W. Des Barres (–), The Sea Coast of Nova Scotia from The Atlantic Neptune (London: n.p., [i.e. ]–). Top: Before treatment. Bottom: After treatment.

Boston Athenæum

Enclosure for Specimens of Irish Seaweed ([n.p., [?]). Gift of Page Gentleman, .

Reports for

Enclosure for the forme of the bookplate for David & Thomas Collierfrom the fund given by Ann & Marvin Collier.

Boston Athenæum

Leather seating of the “Washington Chair.” Gift of Miss Ann H. Gray, .Top: Before treatment. Bottom: After treatment.

Reports for

Food Fights for Freedom ([Rhode Island: Published by R. I. Council ofDefense?, between and ]). Gift of Richard W. Cheek, .

Top: Before treatment. Bottom: After treatment.

Boston Athenæum

management system. The aforementioned Robert Morris Papersand over posters from the Richard W. Cheek World War IIGraphic Arts Collection were among the high-impact items ad-ded. Digital Programs also fulfilled rights and reproductionrequests from researchers.

Serials

Serials Librarian Tom Gearty retired in January, after yearsof superlative service to the Athenæum. He is greatly missed bymembers and staff alike.

We continued reassessing the Athenæum’s print subscriptions.Space considerations and increased availability of online contentprompted this initiative. Undoubtedly, members have noticed thesurvey slips attached to the publications adorning the tables of½. Thank you to those who have taken the time to participate.Serials Intern Ivy Noonan has been tallying your votes, and we arelearning a great deal about your preferences (Some of which aresurprising! Who would have guessed that Sea History, the NationalMaritime Historical Society’s magazine, has so many devotees?).The survey’s results will allow us to make informed decisionsabout subscriptions and retention for the serials collection.

DEVELOPMENTGenerous members, Proprietors, and friends of the Athenæum

supported the BA this year with $. million in philanthropicgifts. Over and above one’s membership dues, this generosity sus-tains the Athenæum and allows us to plan for growth over time.Contributions to the BA can be categorized into unrestricted op-erating giving and restricted giving.

Unrestricted Annual Fund gifts support our operating budgetand are the backbone of our financial sustainability. Operatingfunds allow us to carry out the day-to-day work of the Athenæum.This year, we stewarded our beautiful library and collections, of-

Reports for

fered virtual and mixed-presence programming, and continuedto ensure our members felt safe visiting and using the library.Membership dues only cover a portion of our budget; we dependon donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations todeliver our mission every year. One thousand two hundred nine-teen committed donors gave $. million in unrestricted fundsthrough gifts to the Annual Fund. We are incredibly grateful forthe donors who gave at a leadership level of $, and aboveand the six new Proprietors who purchased shares this year.

This year, as we have increased our focus on major gifts, wehave seen a growth in restricted funds for projects outside thegeneral operations’ scope, including the expansion, infrastruc-ture projects, special collections, and exhibitions. In , werecorded $. million in restricted gifts. We also received twosix-figure contributions that have been board-designated formembership growth planning and marketing efforts. In addi-tion, two donors gave six-figure gifts for the Beacon expansionproject, bringing the total raised to $.M in written and verbalcommitments.

In May, the Athenæum received a grant from the Terra Foun-dation to fund the reinterpretation of existing collections. Thisaward will allow us to rethink how we introduce pieces on the firstfloor and display a more nuanced understanding of local and na-tional history through our collection of American art.

Last reported year, we were granted a five-year Capacity andInfrastructure Challenge Grant from the National Endowment forthe Humanities for $,. The grant funds the Athenæum’sfirst-ever, full-time Paper Conservator with expertise in photo-graphic material. In , we surpassed our challenge-grantthresholds for year one, raising the required matching funds to re-lease the NEH money. This grant has already helped us engagemore than donors in supporting this critical work. Throughthis incredible participation, we met our year-two goal of $,

and submitted reports to the NEH. We were deeply grateful to have several friends who supported

us during their lifetimes and through their legacy. The Athenæumreceived total bequests of over $, from eight supporters.

Boston Athenæum

Trustee Emeritus Mitchell Adams designated the Athenæum as abeneficiary of his estate with a gift of $, and Constance H.Rose left $, through her estate. We are grateful that NancyE. Macmillan, Fred S. Rosen, M.D., Jane Whitehill Rotch, Betty S.Smith, Joseph Peter Spang, and Marvin A. Stern also chose theAthenæum as a beneficiary. The Athenæum will celebrate theirlives by ensuring that our iconic and historic building will servegenerations to come.

Though the pandemic persists, we are grateful for the responsefrom our donors and friends who invest in the vibrance and per-manence of the BA.

PATRON SERVICESThe Athenæum will look back at this year as a watershed for

patron services. We adopted new record-keeping, event listing,and transaction systems, and this team—along with Develop-ment, Finance, and IT—worked assiduously through manymonths to implement and support the project. They deliveredday-to-day services to members, guests, and visitors while helpingbuild, test, and launch the new tools. Handily addressing tempo-rary software development roadblocks and inevitable changes inwork processes, the team reported problems—mostly cheer-fully!—and suggested fixes.

The team strove to provide top-notch assistance: they sent outregular and interesting event and member emails; registered peo-ple for tours and events; checked them into the building; presentedvigorous, attuned programs both virtually and in person; initiatedand renewed memberships; solved members’ particular accountconundrums; established better service options including simpli-fied sign-up for installment payments and membership auto-re-newal; and, importantly, improved the quality of the data in ourquarter-century-old digital files.

Reports for

Membership

The Athenæum welcomed new memberships—% morethan the previous fiscal year, despite the continuing challenges ofthe pandemic. Those new additions to our community included individual memberships, family memberships, young in-dividual memberships, young family memberships, and

guest memberships. In total, , memberships started or re-newed during the year for a revenue total of $,,. Maintain-ing services in an ever-changing situation, we have been thankfulthat thousands of new and longer-term members appreciate themany benefits of sustaining the library and being part of a curiousand thoughtful community.

The membership team saw significant turnover this year.Laura Acosta moved out of town in January; Molly Jarvis headedto the Massachusetts Historical Society in May; Libby Mis-erendino left for graduate school at the end of July; and her part-time replacement, Kassia Roberts, was with us for just a few weeksbefore taking a full-time job elsewhere.

Fortunately, new and capable staffers arrived: Kaylah Dixoncame on board with abilities honed at the American RepertoryTheater and the Huntington Theatre Company; Thomas Jamesbrought experience from internships in the Massachusetts StateHouse and at the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company; andHannah Winstead joined us with skills from her time as a socialclub concierge in Charlottesville, Virginia as well as coordinatorfor a chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

Communications

The weekly members-only “Athenæum at Home” email con-tinued to be popular this year. Members participated in its one-minute polls, read from the reading lists and eAudiobook links itoffered, delighted in the images of the special collections and read-ing rooms, and remarked often that they enjoyed learning aboutartworks and stories of the Athenæum. It also served as a vehiclefor conveying health and safety updates.

Winter and summer Director’s letters to Proprietors and

Boston Athenæum

members informed the community about the expansion project,façade and terrace renovations, the library’s financial outlookthrough the pandemic, and the Athenæum’s work to demonstratea commitment to inclusivity and a warm welcome to all.

Knowledgeable members of the staff contributed to story-telling and marketing on our social media channels. Sam Gill con-tinued to engage children with stories and songs in regular Face-book Live Story Times through most of the fiscal year. Wemounted successful series on banned books, Ask a ConservatorDay, the th anniversary of the Nuremberg Trials, and a wide-ranging, -part tour of Boston’s neighborhoods as representedin our Special Collections. By the end of the fiscal year, BA com-munities on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram had grown an av-erage of .% across the platforms, organically adding about, followers.

We completed another successful year of National PoetryMonth Facebook videos in April, with volunteer readers sharingfavorite verse including Director Leah Rosovsky, poet and memberSusan Barba, and longtime Proprietors and Poetry DiscussionGroup stalwarts Mary Alice and Vin Stanton.

Media

Athenæum people, history, events, grant news, and more werementioned through the year in outlets including the Boston Globe,the Beacon Hill Times, the Bay State Banner, Fine Books & Collec-tions, ArtsBoston, WBUR’s the ARTery, Boston.com, the DailyBeast website, KISS FM, the Provincetown Independent, En-filade (the newsletter affiliated with the Historians of Eighteenth-Century Art and Architecture), the BookRiot website, Rhode Is-land Library Radio Online’s “Rhody Radio” podcast, and Art &Object (an art news website).

Director Leah Rosovsky provided several media interviews.In November, James Rojas of WBZ NewsRadio interviewed herin the Vershbow Special Collections Reading Room. The sessionresulted in two separate radio news stories as well as an Instagramvideo feature. In April, as pandemic restrictions were loosened,she spoke to a tourism podcast, “Travel Inspired with Cambria

Reports for

Hotels,” about literature, travel, Boston, and the Athenæum.In April we marked with sadness the passing of longtime Di-

rector and Librarian Rodney Armstrong. Obituaries appeared inthe Boston Globe and American Ancestors magazine as well as ourown newsletter and website.

Programming

The Events team delivered highly-regarded programs to mem-bers and visitors, innovating in numerous ways. Victoria O’Malleyled the work with the assistance of Doris Lin (through February)and Lisette Pylant (starting in April). Virtual offerings on Zoomattracted broad audiences and built community throughout theyear. Members gave a collective cheer in July at the first in-personMember Meet and Greet in many months. In-person book talksand lectures resumed in September, at the end of the fiscal year.We welcomed audiences back to the Bayard Henry Long Room tohear from Jill Lepore, Belinda Rathbone, and Christian Dupontand to talk over wine and cheese.

We offered virtual tickets to every in-person event—at no costfor members and typically a token $ for nonmembers—and con-tinued to book sought-after virtual speakers who could not oth-erwise appear in Boston. With the help of the IT team, Events andEducation staff improved the technical setup for hybrid virtualand in-person events, and they made excellent use of the docu-ment camera to explore books, photographs, prints, and othertreasures with remote audiences.

A total of events attracted more than , attendees dur-ing the fiscal year. Single-event attendance hit a record of at-tendees (and registrants) on April th when historian HeatherCox Richardson joined in conversation with journalist EmilyBazelon about Richardson’s book, How the South Won the CivilWar: Oligarchy, Democracy, and the Continuing Fight for the Soulof America. Programming focused on our bedrock themes: Bostonhistories, timely topics of general interest, and the delights of thespecial collections. Audience feedback after every program helpedus assess topics of interest, optimal event times, and more.

Boston Athenæum

Our curatorial staff brought aspects of the collections to lightin their Curator’s Choice presentations. Themes of art and thenatural world emerged from many of their sessions. John Buchtel,Virginia Reynolds Badgett, Christina Michelon, and Theo Tysonpresented on N. C. Wyeth, trees, Crompton’s Loom, athlete FrankHart, historic valentines, bugs, seaweed, a painting of a beech for-est, fashion in the collections, and the Nuremberg Chronicle. InJanuary, Theo Tyson presented a lecture introducing the HarrietHayden albums. Education, Curatorial, and Cataloging collabo-rated on two Eye of the Expert offerings: Views of Boston in thefall, and Buttons and Bows in the spring.

We welcomed Athenæum supporters to special events. In Oc-tober Theo Tyson gave a special donor presentation, a behind-the-scenes look at the digital exhibition (ANTI)Suffrage, marking thecentennial of the th Amendment. And in January, Tatiana Coleshared treasures from the Athenæum’s daguerreotype collectionwith a group of Conservation donors.

Member Dan Breen and Proprietor Scott Guthery providedthe year’s two virtual Member’s Choice sessions.

A robust schedule of event collaborations kicked off in Octo-ber with a virtual book talk in partnership with the Peabody EssexMuseum, featuring Marcellas Reynolds, author of Supreme Mod-els: Iconic Black Women Who Revolutionized Fashion; PEM curatorPetra Slinkard; and Theo Tyson.

We welcomed the Upstander Project for Indigenous Peoples’Day in October; they presented the films Dawnland and DearGeorgina along with a Q&A with filmmaker Adam Mazo, pro-ducer N. Bruce Duthu (Houma), educator and linguist Roger Paul(Passamaquoddy), and Akomawt Educational Initiative foundingmember endawnis Spears (Diné, Ojibwe, Chickasaw, Choctaw).

The annual Veterans Day celebration was held online with aperformance by the American Opera Project that featured LettersThat You Will Not Get: Women’s Voices from the Great War, a cham-ber opera with libretto co-written by longtime Athenæum mem-ber Susan Werbe. Also in November, we presented a lecture by theth Duchess of Rutland, Emma Manners, in partnership with theRoyal Oak Foundation.

Through the winter and spring we co-sponsored a city-wide,five-part panel discussion series, Confronting Racial Injustice, tocontinue the conversation about racial inequities from past topresent. The sessions were organized by the Northeastern Univer-sity Law School Criminal Justice Task Force and the MassachusettsHistorical Society.

Edward J. Larson’s February event in conversation with Gor-don Edes, featuring his book on Benjamin Franklin and GeorgeWashington, was co-sponsored by the English Speaking Unionand the New England Genealogical Society.

March brought a delightful lecture on artist Polly Thayer Starrin partnership with the Trustees of Reservations’ Christie Jackson,who curated an exhibition of Starr’s work at Fruitlands Museum.

In a mid-April virtual program supported in part by a grantfrom the Boston Cultural Council via the Mayor’s Office of Artsand Culture, the Boston Art Song Society presented works of BlackAmerican composers along with a virtual Q&A. May brought the annual Torrence C. Harder Endowed Lecture, delivered byKathryn Aalto.

In July, we welcomed contemporary book artists Erin Fletcher,Nancy Leavitt, and Julie Stackpole to an online panel discussionmoderated by John Buchtel in conjunction with our summertimeexhibition, Years: Celebrating the New England Chapter of theGuild of Book Workers.

The Friends of the Italian Cultural Center in Boston joined ina final partnership to wrap up the year in September, with a lec-ture by Christian Dupont celebrating the th anniversary ofDante Alighieri and our installation of Dante editions both his-toric and contemporary in the Bayard Henry Long Room.

Over these months, Athenæum audiences appreciatedthought-provoking speakers including Akhil Reed Amar, AliceBaumgartner, Alex Beam with Mark Feeney, Nicola Beauman, H.W. Brands, Peter Canellos with Farah Stockman, Alicia Yin Chengwith Liette Gidlow, Eric Cervini with Robert Fieseler, Linda Colley,Jackie Cox-Crite with Cristela Guerra, Robert Darnton with JohnBuchtel, Margaret Leslie Davis, Maggie Doherty with Katrina For-rester, Christian Dupont, Joseph Ellis with Robert Allison, Nicole

Reports for

Boston Athenæum

Eustace, Kendra Field and Kerri Greenidge, Justyne Fischer, JudithFlanders with Peter Sokolowski, Annette Gordon-Reed with Eliz-abeth Cobbs, Jamal Greene with Randall Kennedy, Diana Green-wald, Don Hagist, Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, Christie Jackson, KellieCarter Jackson, Honorée Fanonne Jeffers with Sarah Burnes,Martha S. Jones with Karen Holmes Ward, Peniel Joseph withDavid Waters, Nyasha Junior with Jeremy Schipper, Marjan Ka-mali and Katrin Schumann, Catherine Grace Katz, FrederickKaufman, Bettye Kearse, Ralph Keyes, Robert Krim and Alan Earls,Edward J. Larson with Gordon Edes, Jill Lepore with HiawathaBray, Emma Manners, Jo Marchant, John Matteson with AmyCherry, Louis Menand with Maya Jasanoff, Delphine Minoui withKim Ghattas, Robert Mrazek, Teasel Muir-Harmony, Lisa Napoliwith Ellen Clegg, Susan Neiman with Karen Murphy, AnnaleeNewitz with Sarah Parcak, Janice P. Nimura, Virginia Postrel withL’Merchie Frazier, Ben Railton, Belinda Rathbone, MarcellasReynolds and Theo Tyson, Heather Cox Richardson with EmilyBazelon, Alaina E. Roberts, Philippe Sands with Cullen Murphy,Sara Seager, Emma Smith with Stephen Greenblatt, Sherry Turklewith Susan Quinn, and Simon Winchester.

Community events filled the calendar too, mostly virtual: Di-rector’s coffee hours; a holiday pop-up book shop with librarians’recommendations; one virtual and one in-person Member Meetand Greet; and a virtual Annual Meeting. For the second year in arow, because of the pandemic, we were unable to welcome visitorsto the Open House or Free Fun Friday.

The team managed rentals as well, generating $, in rev-enue.

Education

Our education work, directed by Hannah Weisman, providesopportunities for people to engage with the library’s historicbuilding and explore stories through the Athenæum’s collections.

This year, staff served more than students from area col-leges and universities, including Boston University, Harvard, Sim-mons, and University of Massachusetts Boston. Most class visits

Reports for

were conducted virtually with use of a document camera, allowingstudents to get up-close, live-streamed views of special collectionsmaterials.

In October , Clive Martin presented the first docent-ledvirtual Art & Architecture Tour. Soon after, he, Carolyn Hilles-Pi-lant, Maureen Marcucci, and Phoebe Morse were offering a regu-lar schedule of virtual Art & Architecture and Up Close Tours forvisitors and members alike. Collectively, they welcomed more than people to the Athenæum via Zoom this year.

We resumed in-person education programs in the spring.About people joined us between May and September for pub-lic and private Art & Architecture Tours, Up Close Tours, andartist-led gallery talks for our summer exhibition, Years: Cele-brating the New England Chapter of the Guild of Book Workers.

Theo Tyson and Hannah Weisman convened an advisorycommittee that met three times between March and August toconsult on the development of a learning guide for the HarrietHayden Albums and the Athenæum’s annual educator workshop.The learning guide, to be published in , will be a resource forgrade – educators and learners that uses the albums to encour-age inquiry in art, history, and language arts.

Boston University doctoral candidate Katherine Mitchell re-turned to the Athenæum in July as the Mudge Education Fellowto co-lead, with Mary Warnement and Hannah Weisman, a three-day workshop for educators on teaching with primary sources.Fourteen regional educators representing primary and secondaryschools, higher education, and education in the non-profit sectorparticipated in “Primary Sources in the Classroom: Abolition andthe Underground Railroad.”

Doctoral candidate Sophia Hadley served as the AcademicPrograms Intern thanks to a renewed partnership with BostonUniversity Center for the Humanities. During her internship,Hadley prepared the syllabus for our workshop on active cit-izenship and developed primary source sets for use in elementaryand secondary schools.

Boston Athenæum

Learning Guide Advisory CommitteeNicole Aljoe, PhD, Director of Africana Studies and Associate Pro-

fessor of English and Africana Studies, Northeastern Univer-sity

Autumn Cole, Museum of African American History

Kennel Etienne, Boston Public Schools

Maya Phillips, Student, Spelman College

N’Dia Riegler, Boston Public Schools

Lorna Rivera, PhD, Associate Professor, Women’s, Gender, &Latino Studies, University of Massachusetts, Boston

Miriam Elizabeth Villanueva, PhD, Phillips Academy

“Primary Sources in the Classroom” ParticipantsPaula Austin, Boston University

Donald Benson, Weston High School

Sabra Brown, Boston Latin Academy

Katherine Bruno, Fayerweather Street School

Katherine Florio, League of Women Voters Brookline

Carla Lillvik, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Eric Mendoza, Boston College High School

Sarah Novogrodsky, Cambridge Public Schools

Jennifer Ponce, Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard ofHearing

Kasib Sabir, Boston Public Schools

Elizabeth Sanders, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and PortlandMuseum of Art (ME)

Adrienne Shine, Boston Public Schools

Peter Sullivan, Boston Latin School

Lia Xu, Providence Preparatory Charter School

Reports for

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGYThis past year saw the migrations of two back-end systems to

web-based platforms. The first was the record-keeping system formanaging memberships, donations, and event registrations. Asthis system encompasses many functions and is used across de-partments, configuring and implementing the system took timeand great care.

The second migration improved the collections managementsystem used by curatorial staff. The Athenæum worked with Lyra-sis, of which it is a member, to implement CollectionSpace. Aswith other migrations, we took the opportunity to review and up-date data within our records.

To assist Discussion Groups in offering simultaneous in-per-son and remote attendance, we obtained an easy-to-use, all-in-one Zoom device with a large screen, good audio features, and awide-angle camera. This tool, a Neat Board, helps bridge the dis-tance and facilitate meetings.

Behind-the-scenes improvements this year included movingthe website—and the proxy server which is used to access elec-tronic resources—to new updated platforms.

This fiscal year we committed to presenting hybrid events, giv-ing attendees the option of attending in person or virtually. Weretooled the audiovisual system in the Bayard Henry Long Roomto handle the new demands. Our iterative and modular processwas refined throughout the fall events season.

Online Video and Audio Recordings

Thirty-eight new recordings were added to our on-demandvideo archive. The most popular videos of the year featured NicolaBeauman and Mary Warnement; Alan Mikhail and Annette Gor-don-Reed; Laura Cavendish, Countess of Burlington; Judith Sum-ner; and Alice Baumgartner.

Thirty-seven new recordings were added to our on-demandaudio archive. The most popular programs featured Ben Railton;Grace Talusan and Elif Armbruster; Mary Beard; Diana Green-wald; and Don Hagist.

Boston Athenæum

Website

This was a transitional year for the website, with many adap-tations and additions to support the Athenæums migration to thenew record-keeping system. We completely overhauled our onlineevent registration, membership sign-up, and giving forms byphasing out our My Athenæum portal and replacing it with a newCommunity Portal. This new portal is planned to expand furtherin the future to allow for more complete self-service functionalityfor members.

Planning and preparations are also underway for a full re-design of the website in the next fiscal year.

The most popular pages on the website were Hours & Admis-sion, “The Bloody Massacre” (from Selections from AcquiredTastes), Join or Renew, Upcoming Events, Mission & History, Whatto Expect, and Day Passes.

FACILITIES AND SECURITYThe division’s primary objective is to ensure a physical envi-

ronment that supports the Boston Athenæum’s mission. On a day-to-day basis we take a proactive approach to keeping the librarysafe and clean, striving to exceed the standards necessary to protectour assets.

Hard services:

Facilities ManagementHeating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC)PlumbingElectricalLightingFire safety systemsConstruction and renovation

Soft services:Staffing and space planning

Reports for

Custodial and waste managementGrounds and pest controlEquipment and asset controlSafety and securityEnvironmental, health, and safety complianceMail management

Facilities

The restoration of our building’s exterior “envelope” was com-pleted on January , . The project included new gutters anddown-leaders, repairs to masonry joints, and updated waterproof-ing on the building’s north façade. On the south side, both terracesreopened on April , with a new snow-melt system, pavers,and guard rails. New steps, guardrail, and handrails were installedat the dedicated employee entrance at the northwest corner of thebuilding.

We aggressively addressed deferred maintenance, recognizingthat failure to do so could cause greater deterioration and resultin even higher costs with health and safety implications. We initi-ated a cost analysis and prioritization process to plan better forrepairs or replacements.

We addressed one deferred maintenance need on July , clos-ing the building for a day to replace a domestic water booster sys-tem. The previous equipment was more than years old and inneed of extensive repair. Older, constant-speed pumping systemsrequire piloted control valves and frequent cleaning and mainte-nance or they will stop working properly. The new system, con-trolled by variable-frequency drives, is more energy efficient andless labor intensive.

We replaced compressor pumps and HVAC components, con-ducted a steam trap survey and installed insulation on steam traps.We conducted a much-needed “spring cleaning” and donated,auctioned, or discarded unused non-collection furniture andequipment.

We continue to focus on preventative maintenance and ven-dor management, looking to increase efficiency while reducingcost. Lastly, renovation and expansion work, including planning,

Boston Athenæum

coordination, and support efforts, kicked off during this fiscal yearand will continue through the next one.

Security

On February , , we commissioned a new access controlsystem. It uses our existing platform and can support the renova-tion project at Beacon Street and future growth. We developeda security design for our existing footprint at ½, as well as thenew spaces next door. We conducted an annual risk assessment,focused on fire, water, theft, deterrence, intrusion, and perimeterneed. We also completed internal audits, assessments, and site vis-its at like institutions.

Security responded to building incidents before, during, andafter hours, and regularly tested security systems.

We continue to maintain relationships with the Boston Re-gional Intelligence Center, Boston Police Department (Area ), andCommunity Advisory Committee and Neighborhood Crime Pre-vention Watch. We maintained affiliation with the American So-ciety for Industrial Security and International Foundation for Cul-tural Property Protection.

PERSONNEL AND VOLUNTEERS

Transitions and Milestones

In August we said goodbye to Chief of Staff Emily Cure Mer-rifield. Emily had been at the Athenæum since and providedsubstantial assistance to Leah Rosovsky in her first full year as Ex-ecutive Director.

Emmy Ly, who started at the Athenæum as an intern, left herrole as Payroll and Benefits Administrator for a position at Har-vard University. Nora Conley took up Payroll and Benefits Ad-ministrator duties in May.

The Finance department hired a Staff Accountant, AllisonChen, in January. This role replaces the Accounting Assistant po-

Reports for

sition and is responsible for handling payments, reports, invoices,and data management for finance projects.

In order to assist with the overhaul of our database systemsand transition to Salesforce, Emily Schuman joined the team asProject Coordinator. This position is a key liaison for planning,scheduling, and other administrative tasks, and for working withvendors, senior managers, and their teams to ensure a smoothtransition. Emily also filled in as the Director’s assistant duringthe search for a replacement.

Two months into the fiscal year, the Development staff saidfarewell to Major Gifts Officer Michael Jugenheimer. JacquelineChambers arrived in April to take up that role. Jacqueline camefrom Shakespeare’s Globe where she worked as the U.S. Develop-ment Officer.

Patricia Boulos, Head of Digital Programs, officially retiredfrom the Athenæum at the beginning of the fiscal year, after years of dedicated service.

Lisa Muccigrosso began her tenure in November as the vonClemm Fellow in the Conservation Lab. A student of the book-binding program at the North Bennet Street School (NBSS), Lisaalso holds a Master’s degree in Library and Information Studiesfrom the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After finishing thefirst part of her fellowship, she became the Driscoll Family Con-servation Fellow.

In September , at fiscal year-end, Jane Knoll came onboard as the new von Clemm Fellow. She had just completed herfinal year in the NBSS bookbinding program. She holds a Bache-lor’s degree in Creative Writing, Literature, and Printmaking fromBennington College. Jane previously interned at Dartmouth Col-lege Library Preservation Lab and LucasFilm.

Melissa Krok-Horton left her position as Collections and Ex-hibition Technician in September for a role at the Museum of FineArts, Boston.

Lisette Pylant started as the new Events Coordinator in April.She was a welcome addition, just in time to prepare for the returnof in-person events and continue our commitment to hybrid pro-gramming.

Boston Athenæum

Wilfer Munoz joined the Facilities staff as Building Caretakerin April. He fills a role previously held for more than two years byJose Brizuela.

The Member and Visitor Services team experienced some staffturnover throughout the pandemic. Over the course of the fiscalyear we said goodbye to three Member and Visitor Services Coor-dinators: Laura Acosta, Molly Jarvis, and Libby Miserendino. Wewelcomed new coordinators Kaylah Dixon in January, ThomasJames in June, and Hannah Winstead in September.

The Security Department parted ways with Security OfficersSostheng Kituyi and Richard Bynum and Security SupervisorTylah Wakefield. The team welcomed new Security OfficersAlexander Osgood and Joseph Santiago. After Director of FacilitiesChrisopher Silva left for Harvard in January, Director of SecurityTyrone Smith assumed leadership of the Facilities Departmentand the new title Director of Facilities and Security.

Theo Tyson’s tenure as the Polly Thayer Starr Fellow in Amer-ican Art and Culture came to a close in September. She joined theMuseum of Fine Arts Boston as the Penny Vinik Curator of Fash-ion Arts. After a wide-ranging search, the Special Collections De-partment selected Lauren Graves as the new Polly Thayer StarrFellow in American Art and Culture. Lauren holds a Ph.D. fromBoston University in the History of Photography; her secondaryareas of expertise include American art and the history of archi-tecture and urbanism. Her dissertation was titled “The Politics ofPlace: Photographing New York City During the New Deal.” Sheworked as a curatorial intern at the National Gallery of Art, re-searching for the exhibition “Outliers and American Van-guard Art.” From to , she served as a curatorial researchfellow at the MIT Museum for the exhibition “Arresting Frag-ments: Object Photography at the Bauhaus.”

In the Technical Services Department we said goodbye to twoof our Catalog Assistants, both of whom had started their careersat the Athenæum as interns.Virginia Rundell left in June for a po-sition as archivist for the Town of Lincoln. In August, Ryan Reedleft to become the Information Librarian at the Malden Public Li-brary. We were happy to welcome Jennifer Anderson as a new Cat-

Reports for

alog Assistant in August. She is a recent MLIS graduate of SimmonsUniversity, and has interned at the Peabody Essex Museum’s PhillipsResearch Library, cataloging broadsides and processing archival col-lections. The latest success in our tradition of facilitating careergrowth for interns, Samantha Dodgen—who started as the DigitalPrograms Intern—was promoted in September to Digital Programs,Catalog, and Serials Librarian.

Adriene Galindo, Rare Visual Materials Catalog Librarian, andThomas Gearty, Serials Librarian, also left the Technical Services De-partment this year. Tom, who retired, had been on staff since .

Athenæum employees have been fortunate to work alongsidethe following individuals over the past year:

InternsEmilie BarrettRebecca JohnstonJohn MathyIvy NoonanRachael SavageCarly Stevens

Driscoll Family Fellow and Von Clemm Fellow

Lisa MuccigrossoJane Knoll

Book Selection CommitteeJacob AlbertPamela IkauniksClive MartinAndrea PokladowskiMary Otis Stevens

Children’s LibraryDaniel BerkArabella Pelekoudas

ConservationZoë Buchtel

Discussion Group ModeratorsRandall AlbrightMichael AlmondTodd BoliSophia GarmeyScott GutheryHollie HarderDavid HerderClaire LaporteClive MartinPeter MongeauElizabeth MurrayCreelea PangaroAndrea PokladowskiWillard PopeCashman Kerr PrinceSusan RosefskyGrant SchaumburgWayne SoiniNancy TarulliMargaret WheelerAntoinette Whitmore

Maureen MarcucciClive MartinPhoebe MorseSusan OstbergKarla RojasMartha RuestAnnie SilvermanLynn SmiledgeRoger StaceyRosemary Walker

Boston Athenæum

DocentsDiane BrittonGerald FlemingKaren GarrisonJudy GatesScott GutheryCarolyn Hilles-PilantFritz HolznagelGeorge HumphreyDarlene JarrellDale Linder

GIFTS

Giving Societies

The Aegis Circle is the Boston Athenæum’s leadership-level donorgroup, recognizing individuals who give $, or more in thefiscal year. Aegis Circle Members as of September , :

AnonymousJoan Toland Bok

John G.L. and Carroll CabotDeborah Coleman Diggins and Timothy W. Diggins

Carrie W. FarmerJody and Tom Gill

Newman’s Own FoundationCreelea and Anthony Pangaro

Polly Thayer Starr Charitable TrustJohn S. and Cynthia L. Reed

Terra Foundation for American Art Susan B. and Matthew A. Weatherbie

The Hannah Adams Society is the Boston Athenæum’s leadership-level donor group, recognizing individuals who give $, ormore in the fiscal year. The Society is named to honor the legacy

† Deceased as of September , .

Reports for

of Hannah Adams, whose scholarship earned her access to theLibrary’s collection and an annual stipend to fund her research.Hannah Adams Society Members as of September , :

Anonymous ()Lee Campbell

David L. DriscollClarissa C. Hunnewell

Bonny and Caleb Loring IIIConnie and Arthur Page

Martha J. Ruest and Martin F. SchlechtJohn P. Ryan and Claire P. Mansur, M.D.

The ½ Circle is a distinguished group of contributors who give$, or more in a given year. The Circle is named to honor theunique and historic location of the Athenæum’s fifth and currenthome at ½ Beacon Street. ½ Giving Circle Members as ofSeptember , :

AnonymousElizabeth and Edward BaldiniMr. and Mrs. Richard Cheek

Earl M. Collier, Jr.John Mark Enriquez

Ann and David IngramAimée Vincent Jamison and Jay Jamison

Terence JanericcoMark Kimball Nichols

Carolyn and Robert OsteenElizabeth and Robert Owens

Jennifer Pellecchia and Konstantine Prevas

The Armstrong Society is a group of living individuals whomake cumulative gifts of $, during their lifetime. TheSociety bears the name of Rodney Armstrong. He was theDirector and Librarian of the Boston Athenæum from to, where he led a significant revival of the institution, both

Boston Athenæum

culturally and financially. Armstrong Society Members as ofSeptember , :

Anonymous ()Trish AltschullerSherwood E. Bain

Edward and Elizabeth BaldiniAlfred B. Bigelow

Isabelle and Scott M. BlackJoan Toland Bok

Deborah Hill BornheimerJoyce M. Bowden and Adam M. Lutynski

Anne and David BromerJames C. ButtrickLee Campbell

Levin H. CampbellEarl Collier, Jr. and Maren Anderson

Beth and Linzee CoolidgeDeborah Coleman Diggins and Timothy W. Diggins

David L. DriscollKatherine Haney Duffy

Karin and Charles DumbaughJohn Mark Enriquez

Cynthia and John W. EveretsCarrie W. FarmerJody and Tom GillHugh Greenway

Deborah and Martin HaleTunie Hamlen

Torrence C. HarderSerena M. Hatch

Mr. and Mrs. Desmond J. HeathwoodBayard Henry

Timothy T. HiltonCaroline J. Hollingsworth

Maisie HoughtonSusan and James F. Hunnewell, Jr.

Ann and David Ingram

Reports for

Terence JanericcoDarlene and Mark JarrellElizabeth L. JohnsonAlan M. LeventhalGordon Lewis

Bonny and Caleb Loring IIIJane and Jeffrey MarshallAnn and Jerrold Mitchell

Nina and Marshall MoriartyMr. L. Taylor Mudge

Elizabeth and Robert OwensConnie and Arthur Page

Creelea and Anthony PangaroBarbara Jordan and Robert A. Pemberton

Ann and Frank PorterNancy† and George† PutnamJohn S. and Cynthia L. ReedJoanna and Daniel Rose

John P. Ryan and Claire P. Mansur, M.D.Susan E. Schur

William S. StrongElizabeth and Peter Thomson

Susan B. and Matthew A. WeatherbieJane and James Wilson

The John Bromfield Society is composed of living donors whoinclude the Boston Athenæum in their estate plans, either througha planned gift or a stated intention to leave a legacy. The societywas named to honor John Bromfield, whose initial bequest of$, in 8 has grown to more than $. million. BromfieldSociety Members as of September , :

William H. AndersonAdam Jared AptDavid AttellaH. Whitney BaileySherwood E. Bain Edward and Elizabeth Baldini

Ron BentoAlfred B. BigelowJoel M. BlairJoan Toland BokRebekah Memel BrownJudith L. Carmany

David KenneyMary S. KingsberyBarry M. Lamont, M.D.Steven G. LaRochelleMichael LaVecchiaRichard LeacyDorothy M. Leef†

Margot LeStrange and AndrewStern

George LewisRichard S. Lovelace, Jr.Ora Damon LudwigLynne MaselanCarla and Paul McDonoughTerrance P. McGuire and LindaPuls McGuire

Margo MillerAnn and Jerrold MitchellNina and George MarshallMoriarty

Robert PerkinsSally PierceSteven Taylor PotterDenise PowersSam Dorr† and Charles RaithRobert Redfern-WestJohn S. ReidySandy and Jim RighterSue RobinsonGilbert M. Roddy, Jr.John P. Ryan and Claire P.Mansur, M.D.

Anthony Mitchell SammarcoHelen Chin SchlichteSusan E. SchurD. Brenton SimonsSusan Sloan

Boston Athenæum

Mr. and Mrs. Richard CheekAnn and Marvin† CollierNancy Myers Coolidge andLawrence Coolidge

Daniel R. CoquilletteKeith CreamerScott DahillDavid DearingerAlice M. DeLanaRichard K. DomasCaitlyn and KimberlyDuncan-Mooney

David H. EvansMathea FalcoGaffney J. FeskoeRonald Lee FlemingThomas W. FlynnHope and Mark FoleyWilliam M. Fowler, Jr. andMarilyn Fowler

Frederic GardnerKaren L. GarvinJane L. GoodrichDr. and Mrs. Stefan GrossJohn Gunnison-WisemanDr. J. Ryan GunsalusMark W. HaggertyTunie HamlenHelen HannonPhilip J. Harris, M.D.Dorothy A. HeathBayard HenryAnn and David IngramIsaiah JacksonTerence JanericcoDr. John K. JenningsElizabeth B. Johnson

Filip TufvessonJohn TylerAnne Louise C. Van NostrandDinah L. VoorhiesAndrea J. Wagner, M.D.David WeaverConstance V.R. WhiteStephen L. Willett

Reports for

Nancy A. SmithAn SokolovskaJulie Hume SpragueDavid and Pat SquireRoger Foy StaceyJane Moulton StahlRobert B. StephensonGardner N. Stratton, Jr. Norman P. Tucker

ANNUAL FUND

Individual, unrestricted charitable gifts to the Annual Fundunderwrite nearly one-quarter of the Athenæum’s activities andare crucial in supporting and sustaining the institution’s health.Because the revenue generated by membership dues accounts forless than % of the Athenæum’s annual operating budget, theAnnual Fund is a critical source of support for key Boston Athe-næum operational areas, including collections and conservation,reference and reader services, education, and events, and main-tenance and infrastructure. The Athenæum relies upon thegenerous philanthropy of its devoted members and donors.

Sponsors ($5,000+)AnonymousDeborah Hill BornheimerChristopher Cahill and Lindsay A. Baker

Ruth and Timothy CareyAmy E. Ryan and Harold J. CarrollJohn S. ChamberlainArthur Clarke and Susan SloanLucy Dillon and Kevin KuesterBob and Happy DoranJonathan EllisMelissa and Trevor FetterSophia GarmeyNicholas A. Grace, Esq.Perrin and Bruns GraysonDeborah and Martin Hale

Mr. and Mrs. John F. and AnneRogers Haley, Jr.

Roger and Adelaide Haynes Elizabeth L. JohnsonJohn P.K. KenneySidney and Geoffrey KenyonChristine Kondoleon andFrederic Wittmann

Winston E. LangleyHoward MahlerRobert F. and Roberta M.McLaughlin

William and Virginia D.Nemerever

David NettoBarbara Jordan and Robert A.Pemberton

Boston Athenæum

J. Daniel and Catherine PowellSue RobinsonSusan and Gilbert M. Roddy, Jr.Leah RosovskyAustin V. ShapardVivian and Lionel SpiroMary Alice and Vincent StantonJim and Cathleen StoneLou Tobia and Anne Umana

Fellows ($2,500 – $4,999)Anonymous ()Sherwood E. BainTaylor S. BodmanMr. and Mrs. William N. BoothJohn A. CareyDi Lillo FamilyMF Edwards and DM GreenHannelore and Jeremy GranthamTorrence C. HarderLuisa Hunnewell and LarryNewman

Susan and James F. Hunnewell, Jr.Margaret and Joseph KoernerPamela KohlbergStephen and Lois KunianMary F. Higgins and John A.Lechner IV

Susan A. LesterYork Y. Lo Dave Edmond Lounsbury, M.D.Susan and Paul MeisterRichard and Ronay MenschelDana S. Berg and Robert B.Minturn

Nina and Marshall MoriartyW. Hugh M. MortonMarie and Richard H. OedelOlivia and John ParkerCynthia Schaumburg and GrantSchaumburg

Susan P. Stickells and Albert A.Holman III

William S. Strong Anne Louise C. Van NostrandLynne B. Levine Young

Patrons ($1,000 – $2,499)Anonymous ()Mrs. S. James AdelsteinCarolyn E. and William E. AliskiMiriam AllmanMr. and Mrs. David AltshulerSukie AmoryMs. Patricia M. Annino and Mr.Robert E. Carr

Katharine andRodney†Armstrong

Gage Bailey, Jr.Chris Baldwin and Sally ReyeringFrederick D. BallouThe Barrington Foundation Inc. Ingrid BassettCameron W. BeckBrian C. BroderickJohn A. BurgessLevin H. CampbellLynn and Lawrence CetruloJavier Cevallos and Josée VachonMrs. I.W. ColburnRodin Shaw Cole and BradfordC. Walker

Virginia F. ColemanMr. and Mrs. Stephen P.Columbia

Paul M. ConnollySusan M. CookeNolly CorleyMary J. Cronin and Scott B.Guthery

Mary CornilleMichael F. Cronin

Reports for

Peter T. Cure and Linda R. CureNicholas and Elizabeth DeaneAlice M. DeLanaAlice Roberts DietrichJohn D. DohertyJames B. Dolan, Jr.Amy L. DominiThomas J. DoughertyKatherine Haney DuffyChristine M. DunnLois and William EdgerlyHarron EllensonMrs. Richard S. EmmetAlice and Ken EricksonJohn Finley and Stan McGeeJim Fitzgerald and Linda ShannonDale P. Flecker and Jaylyn OlivoAdam H. ForknerThomas A.J. FrankPaul Fremont-Smith, Jr.Robert GelinasJean GibranMarjorie and Nick GrevilleJohn L. Hall IIConrad and Marsha HarperChrista and Jeffrey B. HawkinsMr. and Mrs. Kurt and CharlotteHemr

Dean HindmanJames HoweD. Roger HowlettMary Eliot JacksonAbigail P. Johnson and ChristopherJ. McKown

Erik G. JohnstonConstance F. Kane, Ph.D.Mark and Annemarie KerwinRobert Kleinberg and LeslieMeyer-Leon

Barry M. Lamont, M.D.Mr. and Mrs. Edward P. Lawrence

Joan and Henry LeeWilliam T. LoomisSharon and Bradford MaltFrank and Alecia ManningFlip and Toddy MasonMr. and Mrs. James M. MaySusan E. MaycockDaniel W. McElaneyMaureen and James MellowesThomas MichieHeather Sinclair MoultonElaine MurphyMr. and Mrs. Thomas M. PaineF. Robert and Kristin ParkerAnne C. PetersLoumona PetroffLia and William PoorvuErnestine N. Rathborne andPhilip Y. DeNormandie

Rita and Norton H. ReamerLinda and Laurence† ReinemanHadley ReynoldsSusan M. and Kennedy P.Richardson

Nancy B. RiegelSandy and Jim RighterKathryn D. RoddyDavid L. RudnickMr. and Mrs. Alexander C.Sacerdote

G. West and Victoria SaltonstallDaniel Alec SargentR. Mark ShepherdBob Soorian and Lydia VivantePatricia and David SquireRoger Foy StaceyTheodore E. StebbinsMary Otis StevensNick and Joan ThorndikeMargaret Vettese and Edward J.Benz, Jr.

Boston Athenæum

Gail and Thomas WeesnerChristine and Richard WellmanMary and Ted WendellAllen C. WestHarry W. Wilcox IIIJohn P. and Lorraine WilkinsPatrick R. and Elsie S. WilmerdingTracy Wilson and Patrick ClappKathryn and Robert G. WindsorMr. and Mrs. Jonathan WinthropDyann and Peter Wirth CharitableGift Fund

Douglas and Patricia Woodlock

Sustaining Friends ($500 – $999)Anonymous ()Michael Almond and DagmarSternad

George S. BainThomas and Catherine BallLisa Unger BaskinThomas and Pamela BatorMr. and Mrs. Chandler Bigelow IIIKatie and Maxwell BleakieAntoine de M. BoisvertBarbara Brouillette Elizabeth A.R. and Ralph S. Brown, Jr.Susan K. BryantDennis Fiori and Margaret BurkeNicholas BurrageP. CarlhianElizabeth M. ChapinF. Sargent CheeverStephen H. ClarkConnie Coburn and James P.Houghton

Julia D. CoxHilary H. CreightonEllen and William CrossGeorge L. CushingDeborah and Kenneth Davies

David DeGhettoChristopher and Mairead DowneyStella Drummond and GilmoreO’Neill

Soren EkstromW. D. EnglishFrederic A. Eustis IIRobert and Iris FangerCarrie W. FarmerNicole C. Faulkner Jerry Fielder and Daniel Campbell-Benson

Karen and David FirestoneJane T. N. FoggGeoff and Kristin FoleyFrederic Gardner and SherleyGardner-Smith

Karen L. GarvinBarbara and Ted GieseJulia H. GleasonTom Goemaat Constitution ProjectManagement

Thomas J. GosnellNathan Gunsch and KathrynWysocki Gunsch

John and Barbara HanifyRepresentative Jonathan HechtElizabeth H. HeideJohn F. HemenwayDr. Chuck and Cree AnnHenderson

Eloise and Arthur HodgesSam HudsonSarah and George HungerfordDan HunterPamela IkauniksBridget J. Keane and Ryan J. H.Kiessling

Patricia and Joseph KennedyJohn S. KingMr. and Mrs. David S. Lee

Reports for

David and Aviva Lee-ParritzAnita M. LincolnMr. and Mrs. A. Walker MartinRuth and Victor McElhenyBernard MehlmanMarlene R. MeyerWeston and Mary NaefFrederick NoyesWilliam M. O’BrienRoss PalleyJudith W. ParkerLawrence T. PereraDr. and Mrs. Ervin PhilippsSamuel PierceKathryn PintoSusan R. PlayfairSylvia and Willard PopeAnn and Frank PorterEllen M. Poss Stuart W. PrattMrs. Peirson RichardsonLaura Selene RockefellerLeslie Sargent and David Roseman Alan L. Rosenfield and LaurenStracka

Zef RosnBrick and Samuel CohnMr. and Mrs. William S. RoweJane S. ShawH. H. Smallridge IIIGeoffrey SmithJohn D. SpoonerElizabeth StahlNan and William StoneMr. and Mrs. Harborne W. Stuart, Jr.

Jane and Hooker Talcott, Jr.Nicholas C. Theodorou Grenville C. ThoronGay and David TracyJane van BentenBarbara and Charles M. Waite

Ann Fowler WallaceScott WayneDeborah Jackson Weiss and Scott T.Weiss, M.D.

Walter H. WeldMr. and Mrs. Peter WelshSusan E. Werbe and John E. Bates Stephen L. WillettMr. and Mrs. Richard W. Woodville

Friends ($100 – $499)Anonymous ()Scott and Susan AbellJohn W. AdamsJames E. AisnerCary W. Akins, M.D.Jacob D. AlbertJames G. Alexander and Thomas J.Stocker

Robert AllisonRobert J. AllisonJohn AllouKari Alsherif TurnerLouise Todd AmblerWilliam H. AndersonWilliam AndreasAdam Jared AptDennis A. AusielloDalton AveryNancy AxmacherCarolyn BachmanMartha J. BaileyElizabeth E. Barker, Ph.D.William Barth and Mary EllenBarth

Sally BartleyGregory and Mary Jo Baryza Sergio BassiWilhelmina Batchelder-BrownDennis J. and Meryl K. BeckinghamThomas and Karin Beecher

Boston Athenæum

Louis S. BelknapJohn C. Berg and Martha E.Richmond

James and McKey BerkmanLawrence A. BianchiAlfred B. BigelowBrad Bittenbender and PatriciaHubbell

Sophie Cabot BlackCamilla C. BlackmanRosemary Booth and Gerald C.O’Leary

Gregg and Nell BorgesonDaniel Breen and Elizabeth E.Simmons

Jeremiah BresnahanBarbara BristolDavid Lloyd BrownMegan Buhr and BarnabyClaydon

Edward BurdMabel and Louis CabotElizabeth M. CampanellaHarriet and Patrick CarrierJames CarrollKenneth L. Carson and SallyFoster

Debbie ChachraTed ChalonerMr. and Mrs. Charles†

ChamberlainLavina B. ChaseJane CheeverDiana ChiangNancy W. ChuteDan CiampaAnn and John W. CobbAnne Hamlen Cohen Andrew H. CohnSusan Elizabeth CohnCornelius J. ColemanAmy Conklin and Mark Dolny

Allison Mather CookDan and Judith CoquilletteAnn CorteCathy and Harvey CottonLiz Covart and Tim WildeLinda M. CoxSarah CoxLois and Colyer CrumElizabeth Hope CushingMark S. DaltonEdward N. DaneMr. and Mrs. Peter C. DankensDavis DassoriCarole Nassif and Anthony DavisStephen DavisPeter S. DeanLaura DeBonis and Scott NathanNick DeFriez and Sudie MarcusiJoseph DelehantLeonard L. DesautelleSusan M. DeutschRobert and Eleanor DevensJames J. DevineBrenton H. Dickson IVCharlotte DobbsElise and Rick DomasPaula H. and Charles DonahoeSheila and Charles DonahueCatharine-Mary DonovanDaphne Dor-NerCharles E. DowMolly DowdThomas C. and Frances DufflyWilliam T. EthridgeDavid H. EvansD. Stanwood Everett, Jr.Hobart FairbankJanet and Joel FarrellDaniel H. FergusonRobert P. FichterCatherine E. FlanaganNewell Flather

Reports for

Judith and Gerald FlemingMurray ForbesJohn B. Fox, Jr.Gary FreemanTimothy FritzingerPeg and Tom GaillardSusan H. Alexander and JamesGammill

Martha GangemiElizabeth A. GannonMarian Godfrey GardnerPenny and Richard GarverJudy GatesAlan Kibbe Gaynor and MaryDoris Rice

Tom GeartySheila M. GeratyPaul B. Gilbert and Patricia C.Romeo-Gilbert

Joseph Christopher GluttingAndrea Golden and J. BarryMcManus

Alexander Yale GorianskyEleanor B. GoudPeter GrahamR. Wayne GrantLynn Gray and James E. CapraJanet B. GreeneKathryn GreenthalRalph M. GreggsThe Rt. Reverend J. Clark Grew IIAmy GriffinEllen Carroll GuineyPeter K. GunnessJ. Ryan GunsalusJason and Kelly HalinHenry H. HammondJohn G. S. HansonElizabeth HarbisonEllen M. HarringtonMatthew HarrisGeorge W. M. Hatch

William HaverGerard J. HayesMargaret A. HayesMelanie HedlundNancy R. HerndonGeorge G. HerrickRenate HeuserJohn P. HigginsRobin Hill and Larry HaimowitzKeith T. and Carolyn Hilles-PilantRobert D. HillmanHope HiltonTimothy T. HiltonSarah R. HinkleErica Hirshler and Harold D.Clark, Jr.

Alan R. HoffmanCaroline McCormickHollingsworth

Edith Mead HolwayAnn D. HopkinsAnne Hopkins Ronald HoppelElisabeth Anne HoweStephen Howe and MichaelaHarkins

Stefanie and Frederick HufnagelElizabeth Ives HunterChristopher HusseyNora R. HusseyMargaret Irving Elliot IsenGreg JacobsNan-Marie Jaeger and RichardManning

Robert JeffeMr. Stephen J. Johnson and Ms.Sharon E. Cohen

Robert D. Johnston and Mary J.Anderson

Stephen P. JonasAnna P. Jones

Boston Athenæum

Marjorie JonesJames L. JoslinBelinda Juran and Evan SchapiroMichelle and Steven KarolLance KasparianDennis H. KeefeAnn L. and Mary E. KeenanHugh KelleherMary S. KennedyRichard KenworthyLiza KetchumTim and Joan KeutzerPeter F. KielyChristina and Richard KimballGrant King Mrs. Elizabeth C. and Mr. Kim B.Kirk

Dr. Amitha S. and Mr. James Y.Knight

Robert KohrmanAdam M. Koppel and Brenda E.Haynes

Jonathan and Ellen KorbStephen KrauseWilliam M. Kuhn Kate and Tom KushMarjorie and Michael LackRuth Isabella Gardner LamerePaul and Joanne LangioneEvelyn and John H. LannonRichard LarkinRobert A. LawrenceJacqueline LeachEdan Lev-AriDrs. Sidney and Lynne LevitskyLawrence B. LiebMargaret M. LillyDale LinderArrel and Robert LindermanAlexandra Bowers and James LiuSue and Chris LivesayJessica Loring

Anne O. LowellJames and Terri LowellMr. Peter S. LynchStacy and Michael MachJohn R. MacomberAmy B. MaddenRay D. MadoffJoanne C. MagliozziDr. Timothy MaguireSally MakacynasMr. Robert Malster and Dr. AlmaBerson

Sarah Robbins MarsCatherine and Thomas MartinRaphael MartinNancy E. MarttilaCharles MasonM. Holt Massey Charitable TrustPhilip McFarlandFrances N. McSherryMatthew V. P. McTygue and ToddA. Rivers

Susan McWhinney-Morse andDavid Morse†

Sarah MeiringMaureen Meister and DavidFeigenbaum

Emily Cure MerrifieldJonathan and Jane MetcalfAmy Meyer and David WheelerMaria A. MeyerMargo MillerSally and Andy MillerCharles MonePeter J. MongeauAllison and Peter MooneyAlicia and Peter Moore Sandra O. MooseChristopher MorssRegina M. MullenCarol MurphreeElizabeth A. Murray

Siena Nagel-ThompsonJames NajarianIrene Neginsky and Natalie KorikCharles L. NewhallAllison S. NicholsRichard NinoAnn NobleThomas NorrisKaren Cooke NortonAaron J. Nurick and Diane M.Austin

Rev. Mark O’ConnellKathleen M. O’DonnellPatrick and Kendra O’DonnellAnne Phillips Ogilby Elizabeth O’KeefeAndrew M. OliveiraThomas M. and Elizabeth R.O’Reilly

Christopher P. OsgoodKenneth OsgoodSusan and Ron OstbergGerald L. PallottaDianne Pappas and Steve MarrowKaren ParkerMichael PatnodeFrederick S. PaulsenCharles R. PeckPamela and Stephen PekichKatharine M. and Anthony D. PellJohn PenrosePeter PereiraRobert PerkinsWayne A. Perkins, M.D.Edward N. PerryJohn J. PetrowskyWilliam O. Pettit IIIMelissa and Nathaniel PhilbrickPhilip E. PhillipsTim PhillipsFrances B. PinneyRon Polito

Reports for

Marc PorterAnne and François PouletLonnie A. PowersRichard PrestonSally QuinnPeter E. QuintKeith and Rosemary RappRichard W. RayMary Sue and Stephen RecordEthan J. ReeceThomas E. Reilly, Jr. and ElizabethPalmer

Donald RiderBarbara Selenkow RippbergerEdward RobbinsAnita W. RobboyPeter D. RobertsHenry H. RogersBarbara and Rob RosielloBonnie and Thomas RosseMr. and Mrs. Michael RotenbergVictoria RussellDavid J. Russo and Matthew J.McNeff

Mr. and Mrs. John P. RyanCynthia SaltenElizabeth SandersHelen Chin SchlichteRichard and Diane SchmalenseePatricia M. SchneiderTodd SchwebelTeresa L. Scott and Frederick M.Joseph

Marie Louise and David ScudderAndrew SenchakRobert Bayard SeveryRobert N. ShapiroGreg Shaw and Anna MastroianniSarah and Jonathan SheldonJohn Shugert and Linda WebbElizabeth Sibley and Robert LiddleTom Sieniewicz

Nathaniel and Katherine SimsJoan SindallMary and Charles T. SmallwoodLynn and Peter SmiledgeDr. J. Donald SmithJudy Reed SmithSteven SniderBetsy and Gary A. SpiessEdmund W.E. SteinRobert St. JohnAndrew Stern and MargotLeStrange

Nathaniel J. B. StevensElizabeth Stone-SterlingLise and Myles StriarKatharine R. SturgisPeter SullivanAlessandra SusiJames B. SwensonDavid W. Swetzoff and AlessandraMasa

Meg TallonBetsy Tarlin and MarcosRosenbaum

W. K. TchouMr. and Mrs. Thomas W. ThalerMark A. ThompsonDuncan G. ToddRicardo TorresBeth and Paul J. TortolaniDavid ToryThomas H. Townsend and MaryFrances Townsend

Jane TuckermanChristopher R. TunnardMargot T. TutonBruce TwicklerJohn Tyler and Eric RitterBarbara and John VanscoyocPaul VermouthAbby A. N. VigneronScott J. Vile

Boston Athenæum

Michelle and Andres VilmsMark von SteinAnn WadsworthBradford and Wendy WakemanCharlotte J. WalkerJohn and Nancy WandersMarian WareMary WarnementFrederick W. WatermanWill and Alexandra WatkinsCorinna R. Waud Laura and Alexander Webb IIILee WebbHenry Birdseye WeilJane A. WeingartenJerome WeinsteinLinda and Stephen WeldMary G. WhiteEllen B. WidmerRichard F. WienMina and Jordan WillettSabin and Marta WillettRichard P.W. WilliamsBarbara WilsonJane and James WilsonLeslie P. WilsonKaren WinnBeverly A. WoodwardMichael WyattDavid A. WylieJudith K. WymanCharles M. WyzanskiLia XuMaxine Yalovitz-Blankenship andAlburn Blankenship

Raymond H. YoungVictoria YoungDr. Jeanine Young-MasonNathan ZielonkaHiller B. ZobelBoris ZoubokPeter and Susan Zuger

Contributors (up to $99)Anonymous ()Alex AhoRichard AllanMadeleine AsterJanice Babcock and Stephen F.Babcock

Alison BarnetSarah and Greg BatesBarbara and George Putnam BealJackie Ben-EfraimLynne Byall Benson and John R.Benson

Donald J. BertrandDavid and Kathryn Billo Bruce BlaisdellDavid Bonnett Louise BorkeJoan BragenEdgar W. BrenninkmeyerStephen A. BrickmanAmanda and Jane BruscaLeonard G. BuckleWilliam M. BulgerJohn and Betsy BurbankSimon BurrowsStephanie Byng Walter CadeMeredith and Eugene Clapp Marcia Coetsch and ChristopherBosso

Joan C. Cook and Conrad H.Halling

John D. CravenDiane DalmeidaJennifer DavisJoseph L. Day Robert C. DeiningerHenry DesaiDiane DevoreRose A. DohertySarah L. Dopp

Reports for

Charles and Nelia DunbarEva-Jayne Dykstra Jefferson T. Eaton Cynthia J. EnglishElizabeth S.M. Estey Thomas FilbinClaire Fitzmaurice and JohnFitzmaurice

Diana ForbesMrs. Marion R. Fremont-SmithKaren GarrisonGary GhigliottiTimothy P. GirianTom Elliot GoldenRoland Gray, IIISusan B. GroselBrian GuckDawna GyukeriMark W. HaggertyBrenden HagnerHenry HammondJohn D. Harrington, Jr. Margaret L. HastyBeverly Hector-Smith James E. HendersonDavid HerderJoseph Louis HernHarriet P. HofheinzKatherine HolmesCarl and Carolyn HoweNyadenya InyagwaElyas F. IsaacsStuart KaufmanDaniel and Kathleen KeatingSteve KellermanHenry S. KettellFrancis X. and Carol A. KileyKimon KirkLuke KoblanAllyson LazarEric LindquistCarolyn R. Lindsay

Boston Athenæum

James M. Litton and Betsy P.Frawley

John LockeElenita LodgeKinsey MarableClive Martin Richard McCarthyZach McCulleyMichael W. McDonaldDavid S. McIntoshNancy McLellanLinda and James† Means Lucy Abney MichaelPatricia and Pete S. MichaelsHenry W. Minot, Jr.David W. MoodyDudley and Linda MulreninColleen MurphyWarren MyersAnthony NicholasCharles and Marguerite NickersonNuchine NobariMarie NolanElisabeth NymanFrances P. OlearyNancy Olsen-WaldronMr. and Mrs. L. David OtteRick OuelletteKatherine Hall PageTodd and Sharon PattisonNancy E. PeaceRachel L. Perry and Christopher P.Wilkins

Mary L. PersonElizabeth PessalaHope PymJonathan RaltonPeter J. RaskauskasRobert Redfern-WestAnna T. and J. David Reno

John ReyndersMary F. RhinelanderJames RiceJustin RiedellNancy A. RisserMaureen RogersHenry and Nitza RosovskySarah RossArlene and Eugene RubinRon SchneebaumEmily SchumanSarah Sedgwick GinocchioHarvey S. Shapiro S. Parkman ShawLaura L. SheffieldAnnie Silverman Jean D. SipeAnn J. SmithLowell S. Smith and Sally SanfordSarah SmithEmmalie SnyderAnn and Wayne Soini Lawrence SolmianoRichard P. SpacerJoan Forrester SpragueMichele SteinbergEdward C. Sugrue, Jr. Barbara Suter Mary SutherlandAllen G. SwanKatherine TitusM.P. TonissiValerie Jo Uber and B. TaylorThompson

Dinah L. VoorhiesPamela VoseJohn WaiteRosemary WalkerJohn Colman Walsh Mid Walsh

Ms. Joyce A. Ward and Mr. HarryJacobson

John Warner Jr. Erin Michelle WehlageGraham H. WestEmily and David White

Ian N. WhiteheadAlexander WhitesideMrs. Spencer Van B. WilkingMargaret and John H. Wise, Jr.Nathanael and Sarah WorleyAntonia Yang

Reports for

Other Giving:

Anonymous ()John G.L. and Carroll Cabot

Polly Thayer Starr Charitable Trust Terra Foundation for American Art

Gifts to Conservation

The National Endowment for the Humanities awarded theBoston Athenæum’s Conservation Laboratory a five-year Infra-structure and Capacity Building Challenge Grant. The followingindividuals and organizations supported this initiative in itssecond year.

Anonymous ()Jacob D. AlbertMiriam AllmanLouise Todd AmblerDalton AveryFrederick D. BallouTheodore Sedgwick Barassi James B. Barron, Jr.Dennis J. and Meryl K. BeckinghamMartha BerardinoDana S. Berg and Robert B. Minturn

McKey and James BerkmanAlfred B. BigelowBrad Bittenbender and Patricia Hubbell

Katherine L. Blair

Rosemary Booth and Gerald C. O’Leary

Gregg and Nell BorgesonBarbara BristolRex and Kristin BritterSusan K. BryantJoanne Sadler ButlerRuth and Timothy CareyJohn S. ChamberlainElizabeth M. ChapinF. Sargent CheeverDan CiampaThomas and Rachel ClaflinStephen H. ClarkLinda CoxMary J. Cronin and Scott B.Guthery

Stanley Ellis CushingHornor Davis Robert P. DavisLeonard L. DesautelleSusan M. DeutschBrenton H. Dickson IVAnne M. Donaghy and Chris Steele Catharine-Mary DonovanDavid L. DriscollMF Edwards & DM GreenMrs. Richard S. EmmetElizabeth S.M. Estey Dr. Maria San FilippoThomas FinneranJane T. N. FoggDorsey R. Gardner and Ni RongJudy GatesSarah Sedgwick GinocchioFrederick Goldstein, Esq. Jeffrey B. GrayDr. Paul Greenfield and Ms.Sandra Steele

James K.S. GriggsEllen Carroll GuineyJ. Ryan GunsalusMark W. HaggertyJason and Kelly HalinWilliam HaverMargaret A. HayesJohn F. Hemenway Melville and Elizabeth HodderStephen Howe and MichaelaHarkins

Bo and Nancy HurlbutMary Eliot JacksonNan-Marie Jaeger and RichardManning

Terence JanericcoElizabeth L. JohnsonSharon and Carl JohnsonElizabeth and Anthony Jones

Boston Athenæum

Ann L. and Mary E. KeenanJonathan and Ellen KorbEvelyn and John H. LannonMr. and Mrs. David S. LeeMr. Peter S. LynchMr. and Mrs. A. Walker MartinMr. and Mrs. Stephen J. McCarthyPhyllis Fine MenkenMaria A. MeyerDr. Charlotte Emans Moore and Dr.William D. Moore

W. Hugh M. MortonElizabeth A. MurrayMark Kimball NicholsKaren Cooke NortonFrances P. OlearyKatherine Hall PageMr. and Mrs. Thomas PaineFrederick S. PaulsenDeborah PeluseEdward N. PerryLoumona PetroffWilliam O. Pettit IIIDr. and Mrs. Ervin PhilippsStuart W. PrattPeter E. QuintKeith and Rosemary RappPeter J. RaskauskasLaura S. RasmussenMary Sue and Stephen RecordJay ReegLaura Selene RockefellerArlene and Eugene RubinMartha J. Ruest and Martin F.Schlecht

Mr. and Mrs. John P. RyanLewis B. Sckolnick Roberta A. SheehanDrs. Sidney and Lynne LevitskyH. H. Smallridge IIILowell S. Smith & Sally Sanford

Peter L. SternNathaniel J. B. StevensKatharine R. SturgisJohn P. ThomsonKatherine TitusMichael and Nancy TookeWalter H. Weld

Reports for

Constance V.R. WhiteDaniel Williman and Karen Corsano

Judith K. WymanMaxine Yalovitz-Blankenship andAlburn Blankenship

Hiller B. Zobel

Other Gifts to Conservation

David L. Driscoll Richard S. Lovelace, Jr. Charles Russell Peck Robert Bayard SeveryWilliam S. Strong

Michael and Louisa von Clemm FoundationAllen C. West

Gifts to Book Acquisition Funds

Jodee P. BishopTorrence C. Harder

Janet HorneTerence JanericcoAmy Johnson

Stephen and Lois KunianAlecia and Frank Manning

Marble Harbor Investment CounselSheafe Satterthwaite

Lisa ShanahanAnn B. Teixeira

Zane A. Thompson Charitable TrustDeborah Jackson Weiss and Scott T. Weiss

Robert and Kathryn Windsor

Bequests

The Boston Athenæum received a bequest from the following estates.Many people who leave these gifts are members of the John BromfieldSociety.

Nancy E. MacmillanConstance H. RoseFred S. Rosen, M.D.Jane Whitehill Rotch

Betty S. SmithJoseph Peter SpangMarvin A. Stern

Tribute Gifts

Gifts were made in memory of the following people during the fiscalyear:

Rodney Armstrong ()Alexander Altschuller, M.D.

Tom HartEileen Higgins

Nancy T. Hilton ()Monica Klien

Robin S. LincolnReid Morrison

Duncan NeuhauserCabot Sedgwick

Marvin A. Stern, Esq. Tabby the Wise

Edward Nason WestSuzann Remington Thomas-Buckle

Gifts were made in honor of the following people during the fiscal year:

Patricia BoulosLawrence CetruloBuck Haberkorn

Elyas F. Isaacs, Ph.D. ()Terence Janericco

Boston Athenæum

Clive MartinMiles Porter Merrifield

The NGO Health Committee at the United Nations ()Sally Pierce

K. Shrinath Reddy M.D.Leah Rosovsky ()Austin Shapard

Alfred A. and Hanna Z. Shasha Foundation Abby Ann Newbold VigneronFrances Belford Poland York ()

Gifts-In-Kind

Edward BellRichard W. Cheek

Charles B.M. DouglasPage GentlemanJean Gibran

David W. Granston IIIJohn G.S. Hanson

Carolyn Hilles-PilantD. Roger HowlettStephen Landrigan

Massachusetts Department of Conservation and RecreationFrank Mead

Mary Hyde MillardRobert Mussey

Todd and Sharon PattisonGlen Russo

Constance Fuller SanbornEarle G. Shettleworth, Jr.

St. Johnsbury History and Heritage CenterAmy Thornton

Anne Louise C. Van NostrandShirley Jackson Whitaker

Charles Wood III

Reports for

Expansion

At the time of printing, the following donors have committed or pledgedearly funds expressly to expand the Boston Athenæum into the spaces at Beacon Street.

Anonymous ()Mitchell AdamsJoan Toland Bok

Deborah Hill BornheimerCarroll and John G.L. Cabot

Levin Campbell, Jr. John A. Carey, Ph.D.Mrs. I. W. Colburn

Earl Collier, Jr. and Maren AndersonAlice M. DeLana

Deborah Coleman Diggins and Timothy W. DigginsJohn Mark Enriquez

Cynthia and John W. EveretsCarrie W. FarmerFiduciary Trust

Tom and Jody Gill Nicholas A. Grace

Roger and Adelaide HaynesMaisie Houghton

Clarissa C. HunnewellDavid and Ann Ingram

Terence JanericcoMark and Darlene Jarrell

Leggat McCall Properties LLCAlan M. Leventhal

Nina and Marshall MoriartyElizabeth and Robert OwensCreelea and Anthony PangaroJohn S. and Cynthia L. Reed

Patience F. SandrofAustin V. Shapard

Vivian and Lionel SpiroMary Alice and Vincent Stanton

William S. StrongSusan B. and Matthew A. Weatherbie Foundation

Boston Athenæum

FINANCE

We are presenting here a summarized financial report. Thisformat enables us to save the considerable costs required to repro-duce the statements, notes and supplemental schedules in a print-friendly format. The complete financial statement package, exactlyas received from our auditors, is available on our website.

The endowment ended the year valued at $,,—an in-crease of $, from the prior-year value of $,,. Theincrease is the result of a total investment return, net of fees, of$,,, and contributions to the endowment of $,, offsetby appropriations for current operations of $,,; budgetedbut unspent appropriations of $,; appropriations of$,, to complete necessary repair work to the north façadeand two south terraces of the building, and a $,, appro-priation for the construction of leased spaces at Beacon Street.

Despite a challenging environment during the fiscal year end-ing September , , we managed to achieve an operating sur-plus of $,. This followed an operating surplus of $, inthe prior year.

The Athenæum continued to experience losses of membersand membership revenue due to the COVID- pandemic. Mem-berships, which decreased from , to , in the prior year,continued to decline to a low of , in March of and thenbegan to recover, increasing to ,, by the year’s end. Accord-ingly, membership revenue decreased $,.

Rental and other non-program revenue increased by $,

as restrictions lifted for the latter half of the year. Events and otherprogram-related revenue also increased by $, due to the re-sumption of in-person events.

Releases from board and temporary gift restriction increasedby $, from the prior year as grant-funded activities resumed.

Operating contributions, gifts, and grants were $, lessthan in the prior year. This was partially the result of lower mem-bership numbers, but also due to a handful of generous significantone-time gifts that were given in the prior year in response to thepandemic emergency.

Reports for

In response to challenges presented by the COVID- pan-demic, we continued to make careful investments in virtual offer-ings, long-term project planning, improvements in technical in-frastructure, and measures for safe use of the building.

Operating expenses were cut significantly by $, in

compared to . We maintained a similarly low expense struc-ture during . Operating costs for fiscal year increased only$, compared to . The slight increase was due to the re-sumption of book and fine art purchases, which were impactedin by the pandemic. These book and fine art purchases in-creased $, over the prior year. These increases of book andfine art purchases were offset by reductions of $, primarilyin the areas of salaries, benefits, events, and travel expenses. Wereduced staffing and travel expenses wherever possible, whilemany activities were paused due to the pandemic, achieving amodest operating surplus of $,.

Boston Athenæum

Schedule of operating revenue without donor restriction and operating expenses

September

,

, w

ith com

parative totals for

Revenue

2021

2020

Expenses

2021

2020

Contributions, gifts and grants

$,

,

$

,

,

Salaries, payroll taxes and fringe benefits

$,

,

$,

,

Mem

bership dues revenue

,

,

,

,

Collections acquisitions

,

,

Events and other program

revenue

,

,

Building and occupancy (excluding depreciation)

,

,

,

,

Rental and other non-program

revenue

,

,

Contracted services, legal, audit and professional fees

,

,

Appropriations from

board-designated

Receptions, travel and entertainment expense

,

,

funds

,

,

Printing, office and postage expenses

,

,

Net assets released from

restrictions

,

,

Grants

,

,

Total Revenue

$,

,

$,

,

Total Expenses

$,

,

$,

,

2021

2020

Decrease from

operating activities before appropriations from

the endowment

-,

,

-

,

,

Appropriations from

the endowment

,

,

,

,

Decrease in Net Assets

,

,

Notes:

This statement includes operating revenue without donor restriction and operating expenses only.

All other funds are accounted for separately.

Full audited financial statements are available on our website: w

ww.bostonathenaeum.org.

The market value of the endowment on September

,

was $

,

,

.