NYPL Offers Samuel Tilden Papers Fellowships

The New York Public Library (NYPL) is currently digitizing the papers of Samuel J. Tilden, which will be accessible via the Library’s web site early in 2013. In conjunction with making this important archival resource available online, NYPL is offering research fellowships of up to $5,000 to support research projects related to Tilden’s circle of activity and the political culture in New York and the United States during the 19th century.

Fellows will spend at least one month in residence in the Manuscripts and Archives Division at the New York Public Library, consulting the Tilden papers and other archives relevant to their research goals. Fellows will also be expected to produce an essay of 3,000-5,000 words for publication on the Library’s website. These essays will complement and provide context for the Tilden papers online.

NYPL’s Tilden archival research fellowships aim to support traditional archival research and narrative historical writing, but also seek to engage audiences beyond advanced researchers using the Tilden papers and other primary sources online.ВSuccessful candidates for the fellowship will therefore bring fresh insight to the Tilden papers and also a desire to explore the creative space of public scholarship – expanding their professional expertise while helping solidify the NYPL online archives environment as a venue for research and historical communication.More information about the fellowships can be found online.В 

Pennsylvania Historical Association Seeks Journal Editor

The Pennsylvania Historical Association (PHA) invites creative individuals to apply for the position of editor of its quarterly journal, Pennsylvania History: A Journal of Mid-Atlantic Studies.

The editor is responsible for supervising the entier editorial process: soliciting articles, editing, and shaping each individual issue. Assisted by an associate editor, book review editor, and editorial board, the editor is appointed by and works closely with the PHA’s governing council. The editor receives an honorarium and office and travel support to advance the interests of the journal. Modest institutional support is necessary.

Qualifications: The editor should be a practicing historian with an established publication record and familiarity with the current state of the field. They should also be experienced in historical writing and editing and able to work cooperatively with and give direction to the editorial team.

Interested individuals should send a letter of intent that includes a statement of purpose and editorial vision, along with a current CV, to:

Dean Marion W. Roydhouse, School of Liberal Arts, Philadelphia University, School House Lane and Henry Avenue, Philadelphia, PA, 19144.

Review of applications will begin on March 1st, 2011. For questions, e-mail [email protected].

Arto Monaco Historical Society Seeks Volunteers

The board of the Arto Monaco Historical Society is seeking a small number of qualified volunteers to help coordinate two special projects. The first, will be organizing and documenting collections that will be transferred to the Adirondack Museum and other institutions. The society is seeking well-organized and responsible individuals with museum, library, or related experience who can help coordinate the work of additional volunteers.

The second is restoring and maintaining historic structures and grounds. Members of the society are looking for well-organized and responsible individuals with construction, maintenance, or related experience who can help coordinate the work of additional volunteers.

The work of Arto Monaco in designing the areas theme parks has become a central part of the history of tourism in the Adirondacks. Monaco was a local artist who designed sets for MGM and Warner Brothers, a fake German village in the Arizona desert to train World War II soldiers, and later his own Land of Makebelieve. Monaco died in 2005, but not before the Arto Monaco Historical Society (AMHS) was organized (in 2004) in order to preserve and perpetuate Monaco’s legacy, assemble a collection of his work, and stabilize and restore the Land of Makebelieve which was closed in 1979.

Since they first went into the woods with tools in 2006, volunteers of the AMHS have hacked the now overgrown Land of Makebelieve out of the encroaching forests in hopes of saving what’s left of Monaco’s legacy there from the ravages of nature.

If interested, please contact Anne Mackinnon at [email protected].

Jobs: Cobblestone Society Museum Exec Dir-Curator

The Cobblestone Society Museum is seeking an Executive Director/Curator. Founded in 1960 to preserve three National Historic Landmark Designated cobblestone buildings in the hamlet of Childs, NY, the Cobblestone Society is a small historical society which has grown to encompass a Museum consisting of 8 historic buildings, including furnished buildings and a Resource Center which houses the Museum’s library. Located in a rural Western New York community in Orleans County, approximately 30 miles west of Rochester, NY, the Museum is just north of the Village of Albion, NY and the historic Erie Canal.

The position of Executive Director/Curator requires a passion for history along with previous non-profit leadership and management, fundraising and grantwriting experience, strong communication skills, excellent writing and interpersonal skills and the ability to form productive relationships with the Board of Trustees, volunteers and the community. A minimum of an undergraduate degree in museum studies,
American history or related field and three years experience will be required.

The position administers the organization’s day-to-day operation, including membership development, volunteers, database and website management, the historic buildings, and management of the collections. Responsibilities also include educational and fundraising programs, grantwriting, supervising volunteers and coordinating programs, events and publications in cooperation with an active Board of Trustees.

Anticipated start date is November 1, 2010. See the Cobblestone Society Museum’s website (www.cobblestonesocietymuseum.org) for a complete job description and required qualifications.

Applications, which must include five [5] copies of a cover letter and resume, must be postmarked by June 15, 2010, and should be mailed to:

Search Committee, Cobblestone Society Museum, P.O. Box 363, Albion, NY, 14411.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s Degree in museum studies, or American history, art history, architectural history or related field and three (3) years of experience in the museum field, including at least one year of administrative experience (budgeting, planning, directing and supervising) at a museum or historic site- a Master’s Degree in museum
studies or museum education may be substituted for one year of general experience.

Salary: $21,000-$25,000 (depending on qualifications) plus housing in a single-family 3-bedroom house.

Cobblestone Society and Museum is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

Early American Economy, Society Fellowships

The Program in Early American Economy and Society at the Library Company of Philadelphia invites applications for its dissertation and short-term fellowship awards to be granted for research during 2009-2010: Dissertation-level fellowship, carrying a stipend of $20,000, is tenable for nine consecutive months of residency from September 1, 2009 to May 31, 2010, or at a stipend of $10,000 for the period Sept. 1, 2009 to January 15, 2010, or January 15, 2010 to May 31, 2010. Four one-month fellowships, for scholars at any level, carrying stipends of $2,000 each, are tenable for a month of continuous research at the Library Company between June 1, 2009 and May 31, 2010.

Deadline for receipt of applications is March 2, 2009. These fellowships are designed to promote scholarship in early American economy and society, broadly defined, from its colonial beginnings to roughly the 1850s. Applicants for dissertation awards may submit proposals based not only on the collections at the Library Company, but also on the printed and manuscript materials of other institutions in the Philadelphia area. Short-term fellows should plan to spend a continuous month of research in the collections of the Library Company.

Applicants shoud first fill out a cover sheet at: www.librarycompany.org/Economics. One-month applicants should submit seven copies each of a brief resume, a two- to four-page description of the proposed research, and one letter of recommendation. Long-term fellowship applicants should submit seven copies each of a resume, a research proposal outlining the larger project and the work to be pursued during the fellowship term, a writing sample of about 25 pages, and two letters of recommendation. Dissertation award applicants should state clearly which of the tenable periods they seek, and whether they also wish to be considered for a short-term fellowship. All materials should be sent to:

PEAES Fellowships
The Library Company of Philadelphia
1314 Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19107