Thesis (Ph.D.)--Boston University / Very little is known to date of the musical life in America during the transitionary period extending from roughly the last quarter of the eighteenth century through the first quarter of the nineteenth century. Musical life in New England would seem to have started with psalmody in the eighteenth century and then have skipped to public school music in the late 1830's, with a few native composers and itinerate singing masters bridging the two eras. However, the larger communities bordering the whole eastern seaboard developed an urbane society which readily sought to emulate English Continental musical life. Salem, during this transitionary period, was the second largest community in Massachusetts and one of the major seaports in America. As a direct result of maritime commerce, Salem became one of the wealthiest towns in America; and, as such, experienced a sophisticated society which actively supported a musical life, equal in quality to almost any in America. It was the purpose of this dissertation (1) to present a detailed picture of the musical life in Salem, Massachusetts, from the years 1783 to 1823; (2) to identify the significant musical events, personalities, and musical organizations existing during this period, and by so doing; (3) to emphasize a facet of musical performance during this period of American History. [TRUNCATED]

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The Salem East India Marine Society Museum was one of the most influential collecting institutions in the antebellum United States. From 1799 to 1867, it was considered a model organization in the Union, and visitors were a reflection of American society. Though it continues today as the Peabody Essex Museum, which garners increasing national and international attention, the Society's museum is surprisingly unrecognized, understudied, or missing from contemporary scholarship. This dissertation is the first comprehensive work on the East India Marine Society Museum since 1949. To date, no scholar has made more than a cursory examination of the Society's substantial institutional archive and few individuals have recognized the significance of this museum to antebellum American culture. By applying critical museological, historical, art historical, and material culture analysis, this study will demonstrate how the Society used objects collected via international exchange to support an American identity tied to the sea. Visitors to the museum, therefore, could circumnavigate the globe, gaining both an understanding of the world and their place within it. Chapter 1 traces the East India Marine Society's history while contextualizing their museum within the landscape of American collecting institutions in the first half of the nineteenth century. Chapter 2 provides an understanding of the origins and evolution of maritime charitable societies and the influence of the Society's benevolent mission on the institution as a whole. Chapter 3 explores the Society's scientific accomplishments and its effect on the collection and display of curiosities. Chapter 4 takes an in-depth look at the men who built and maintained the Society in the nineteenth century and the development of the museum's collection through global trade. Chapter 5 examines the Society's exhibition strategy and the impact of outside consultants on the organization and display of objects. Chapter 6 focuses on nineteenth-century visitor accounts of the museum. This study concludes by illustrating how the Society and its mission remained visible through the museum's various incarnations to date, demonstrating that it was not simply a Salem institution but rather a symbol of the antebellum United States. / 2020-12-31T00:00:00Z