Monday, June 6, 2016

New exhibition on the history of the fishing, whaling, and shell fish industries in Massachusetts

Opening this week at the State Library of Massachusetts is a new exhibition entitled “Exercised in Fishing”: A History of the Fishing, Whaling, and Shellfish Industries in Massachusetts. When William Bradford described the Plimoth Plantation settlers’ first harvest celebration in 1621, he wrote: “For as some were thus employed in affairs abroad, others were exercised in fishing, about cod and bass and other fish, of which they took good store, of which every family had their portion.” The harvesting of animals from the ocean continued to support Massachusetts and its residents for hundreds of years. This exhibition, drawn from the collections at the State Library of Massachusetts, traces that history from before the European settlements to the present.

The exhibition runs from June 6 through August 31, 2016. It can be viewed outside of the Library, Room 341 of the State House, Monday-Friday, 9am-5pm.