Celebrity news in newspapers is nothing new. Recently I was looking in the Boston Globe issue of July 18, 1886 and found a section of the paper called “Table gossip.” This section of the paper tells us what certain people, including some socially prominent people, are up to, as well as what some businesses are doing.
One entry tells us that “Julia Ward Howe addressed the Womans’ Auxillary Conference at Newport, on Tuesday afternoon on “How to Widen the Sympathies of Woman.”” Also “Miss Louisa Alcott, Mrs. Celia Thaxter and Mrs. Ole Bull with Whittier, the poet, have made an interesting group at the Appledore the past week. Mr. Whittier believes it will be the last visit he makes to the island". Doing a little internet research I found out that Appledore House was a hotel owned by the family of poet, artist and naturalist Celia Thaxter (1835-1894). She had soirees in the summer where she invited well known artists friends. The American impressionist painter Childe Hassam was also a frequent visitor. He painted hundreds of seascapes on the Isles of Shoals where Appledore is located. Isles of Shoals are a group of islands near Kittery, Maine. It appears that Mr. Whittier is so famous he does not need a first name. He is John Greenleaf Whittier.
Some businesses used the column that week to make announcements, including that Jordan Marsh opened a store on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor, that the State House is getting carpeting, and that parasols are marked down in William H. Zinn’s store. You can even get some fashion news. Sunshades (another name for parasols) in ecru etamine (an off white color) are the fashionable parasols for the summer.
Naomi Allen
Reference Librarian
Some businesses used the column that week to make announcements, including that Jordan Marsh opened a store on Cottage Street in Bar Harbor, that the State House is getting carpeting, and that parasols are marked down in William H. Zinn’s store. You can even get some fashion news. Sunshades (another name for parasols) in ecru etamine (an off white color) are the fashionable parasols for the summer.
