Becky FifieldFeb 25, 20163 minThe Brutal and the Beautiful New York State MuseumThis weekend, Dr. V, Jake, and myself went up to Albany to visit the New York State Museum. We had the very good luck of running into...
Becky FifieldJan 8, 20161 min“Omelettes – Plain or with Rum”What? Where in culinary history did I miss the inclusion of rum in an omelet? New York Public Library announced recently the availability...
Becky FifieldJan 5, 20162 minApple of My Eye: Lead Pesticide Use in 1920s OrchardsOrchard workers at Mt. Pleasant Orchard, near Havre de Grace, Maryland, c. 1915. Over the Christmas holiday, I unearthed a small journal...
Becky FifieldJan 3, 20163 minRailroad Dreams: Danbury Railway MuseumIf you mourn the destruction of the late, great Pennsylvania Station in NYC, you’ll find this glass heralding the coming of the new...
Becky FifieldDec 31, 20152 minAn Unfortunate Title for a “Great” Article on Penn StationDavid W. Dunlap writes the rather fun Building Blocks column for The New York Times. On December 30, 2015, his contribution was titled...
Becky FifieldDec 30, 20152 minSamuel Adams’s Mother Was a FifieldRL Fifield vacuuming samplers with a dental vacuum in the old Textile Conservation Lab, MFA Boston, 2001. Back in the early aughts, I was...
Becky FifieldDec 5, 20151 minWanderlust Fodder: Atlas Obscura’s Interactive Map of Roadtrips in American LiteratureMr. I sent me a link recently to Atlas Obscura’s “The Obsessively Detailed Map of American Literature’s Most Epic Road Trips.” It is...
Becky FifieldNov 5, 20152 minThomas Bewick, Newcastle Wood Engraver (1753-1828)Oil painting on canvas, Thomas Bewick (1753-1828). Cherryburn, Northumberland, National Trust. NT 530359. In digging through the British...
Becky FifieldFeb 27, 20152 minThe Pain of Mosul – A Preservation Professional’s PerspectiveI have spent my life caring for cultural heritage. As a museum collection manager, my work aims to preserve the physical and intellectual...
Becky FifieldJan 6, 20151 minMaryland Preparations for the Sick, 1881‘Tis the season for illness. Cooking tomes of the past often included a chapter of recipes to be made for the ill and infirm. Certainly,...
Becky FifieldJan 1, 20152 minNew Year’s Day – A Great Day to Run AwayDer Wöchentliche Pennsylvanische Staatsbote 9/17/1773. RL Fifield Photo. Library of Congress. Many of us choose some aspect of life to...
Becky FifieldOct 16, 20143 minThe Zoo, the Park, and a Baltimore BefuddlementI’m not an expert on Baltimore, by any means. I’ve never lived there. I was born in Towson and grew up in Carroll County. But Baltimore...
Becky FifieldJun 10, 20142 minTransportation Tuesday – B&O Centenary Pageant, 1927Ladies in nymph-like attire twirling and leaping through fields – sounds like the turn of the century pageantry movement to me. The...
Becky FifieldMay 9, 20143 minDon’t Confuse Geisha and Courtesans (Oiran and Tayu)Images of geisha and courtesans are often mislabeled. For those unfamiliar with subtleties in the styling and wear of kimono, obi, and...
Becky FifieldJan 22, 20142 minWanderlust Wednesday: Hudson and Manhattan Railroad ReduxBetter known as the PATH, the Hudson and Manhattan Railroad began shuttling passengers through its cast iron tunnels between Manhattan...
Becky FifieldNov 27, 20132 minCrossing Wright’s Ferry on the Susquehanna, 1787The Columbia-Wrightsville Bridge over the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, in the vicinity of Wright’s Ferry. U.S. Library of Congress,...
Becky FifieldNov 21, 20132 minGeorge Frideric Handel and The London Foundling HospitalGeorge Fredrich Handel. Public Domain. The Messiah, written by George Frideric Handel in 1741 and first performed in Dublin before its...
Becky FifieldNov 20, 20132 minA Philadelphia Servant, 1787The Accident in Lombard Street. Charles Wilson Peale. Winterthur Museum. 1962.88. A pie lays broken in the street, a distraught servant...
Becky FifieldSep 5, 20132 minOyster ShuckersI used to hate oysters. Typically, tidewater Marylanders pat oysters in cracker meal, fry them, and if you need a condiment, slather on...
Becky FifieldAug 29, 20132 minCatering to Clients in an 18th Century Philadelphia ShopI spent July at a Research Fellowship at Winterthur Museum, Library, and Garden. This mainly meant identifying manuscripts and object...