MHM 2018 Programs - Merchant's House Museum

2018 Programs

JANUARY EVENTS

NEW YEAR’S DAY, Monday, January 1, 2 to 5 p.m.
‘Come Calling’ on New Year’s Day
Paying calls on friends and family on New Year’s Day was one of Old New York’s most cherished customs. Join us for tours of the house, 19th century readings about New Year’s Day celebrations, and punch and confectionery, as we continue the 19th century tradition of renewing, reviving, and reaffirming friendships. Holiday Raffle drawing at 4:30 p.m. “New York seemed to enjoy a general carnival. Broadway, from one end to the other, was alive with private carriages, omnibuses, cabs, and curricles, and lines of pedestrians fringed the carriageways.” From the Diary of Philip Hone, 1844. $20, FREE for members Members.

Thursday, January 18, through Monday, April 30
Exhibition: The Tredwell Books Collection and the Changing 19th Century Culture of Books
Over the course of the their almost 100-year residency on East 4th Street, the Tredwells collected 314 books. These volumes, many inscribed, provide a glimpse into the family’s interests, tastes, and intellectual pursuits over the century. It is not surprising that the most common subject/genre of literature is education, including foreign languages, since books in the 19th century were meant to be studied. Religion, biography, poetry, and fiction followed.

Most of the Tredwell books were published in New York City during the early to mid-19th century, a period known as the “emerging mass culture of print.” The availability of booksellers close to the Tredwells’ home and the close proximity of the three largest libraries in New York City all place the family in the center of a rapidly changing 19th century book culture. Based on the amount and the variety of books they owned, and their condition, which shows good use, the Tredwells were active participants.
Free with General Admission

Friday, January 19, 6:30 & 7 p.m.
Dark Days of Winter Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” (The New York Times)
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where seven family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)
50-60 minutes. $30, $20 Members.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: Friday, February 16, March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20.

Monday, January 22, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Illustrated lecture: The 19th Century City and the Book Market
Architectural historian Francis Morrone has for the last several years been studying the history of New York as a center of American book culture – publishing, printing, bookselling, libraries, and book reviewing. Morrone will discuss the Village’s and the Union Square area’s 19th-century history as a center of the book trade — of publishers, bookstores, and printers.

Mr. Morrone’s lecture will highlight the museum’s exhibition (above) “The Tredwell Book Collection and the Changing 19th Century Culture of Books.” The Tredwell books provide a glimpse into the family’s interests, tastes, and intellectual pursuits, and were published almost exclusively in New York City during the early to mid-19th century, a period known as the “emerging mass culture of print.”

Admission is free.
NOTE LOCATION: Jefferson Market Library, 425 Sixth Avenue (at 10th Street)
Co-sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation and the Merchant’s House Museum.

Wednesday, January 24, 6:30 p.m. SOLD OUT!
Illustrated Lecture: Lafayette Place/Lafayette Street: A Topographical History
by Francis Morrone
When and how did fashionable and tranquil Lafayette Place — 100-feet wide, 3-blocks long, with no cross streets — come into being in the 19th century? By what stages did it evolve? How and when did Lafayette Place become Lafayette Street, and how did the new, much longer, street develop? This lecture will cover, among other things, the conditions that both brought the Merchant’s House into being — and its preservation and survival defied. Not least, this will be a lecture on New York maps and their use in research.

A collaboration with the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art.
$30 General Public, $20 MHM & ICAA Members. Seating is limited. Doors open at 6:15 p.m.

Francis Morrone is a renowned architectural historian and writer. The author of eleven books, including, most recently, “Guide to New York City Urban Landscapes” (W.W. Norton, 2013). Morrone has also written highly-regarded architectural guidebooks to Philadelphia, and Brooklyn. His writings have appeared in many publications, including the Wall Street Journal, the New Criterion, City Journal, Humanities and the New York Sun, where he was an art and architecture critic. He teaches architectural and urban history at New York University, and is the recipient of the university’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Travel + Leisure magazine named him as one of the 13 best tour guides in the world. Other awards include the Arthur Ross Award of the Institute of Classical Architecture and Art.

FEBRUARY EVENTS

Friday, February 9, 6:30 p.m. SOLD OUT!
Mind Reading and Mysticism at the Merchant’s House with Mentalist Kent Axell
Join renowned mentalist Kent Axell in the Tredwell family’s Greek Revival double parlor as he takes us back in time 150 years to experience mind reading, magic, and mystery. In the mid-19th century, New Yorkers like the Tredwells hosted neighbors and friends in their home to showcase the latest in mysticism and psychic entertainments. Spiritualism, the belief that the living can talk to the dead, had become a phenomenon in 1848 thanks to the now-infamous Fox sisters and grew as a popular form of parlor entertainment. Whether he answers your sealed questions, reads your mind — or controls it — you’re guaranteed to feel the haunting touch of one of history’s most obscure, and awe-inspiring, art forms.
Capacity is very limited. $40, $50 VIP Seats (first two rows), $30 MHM Members. This event is SOLD OUT.

Wednesday, February 14, 7 p.m. (Pre-concert Reception 6 p.m.)
Love in the Parlors — A Valentine in Concert
The Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society presents lush, romantic vocal music of the world’s greatest 19th-century composers performed in the Museum’s elegant Greek Revival double parlor. Singers Anthony Bellov, Amy Gluck, Jane Elizabeth Rady, and Dayle Vander Sande perform rarely heard gems by Schubert, Brahms, Duparc, Dvorak, Amy Beach, Johann Strauss II, and others.
75 minutes. Very limited capacity.
$50, VIP $60 (first two rows), $30 MHM Members. SOLD OUT!

Pre-concert Reception, 6 p.m.
Join us for light hors d’oeuvres and a glass of bubbly in our cozy, candlelit 1850s kitchen before the concert.
$25, $15 MHM Members.

Thursday, February 15, through Monday, April 30
The Changing Silhouette of 19th Century Fashion: The Decade of the 1850s
Day Dress, c. 1858, MHM 2002.0815
The Tredwell Costume Collection comprises more than 400 articles of clothing. The core of the collection consists of 39 dresses documented to have been owned and worn by the women of the family. The Changing Silhouette of 19th Century Fashion is a changing exhibition featuring Tredwell dresses from the decades of the 19th century. These dresses show the changing silhouette of fashion over 100 years, and tell us about the women who wore them and the society in which they lived.

One of the defining characteristics of ladies fashion in the 1850s is the pagoda sleeve. Pagoda sleeves are wide, bell-shaped sleeves that necessitate the use of detachable undersleeves to complete the look of the dress. The style was first introduced in 1848, and appears to have been a favorite of the Tredwell women – of the 39 dresses in the Tredwell Costume Collection, 20 are constructed with pagoda sleeves.

Fourth in the series is a one-piece, summer day dress of white cotton printed with single flower heads within blue circles and surrounded by pairs of tiny blue dots. The dress is hand sewn, and consists of an attached skirt and bodice with pagoda sleeves. The sleeve hems are finished in ¾” wide embroidered “white work” trim. A pocket is sewn in to the right-hand side of the skirt.

Friday, February 16, 6:30 & 7 p.m.
Dark Days of Winter Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House” (The New York Times)
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where seven family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)
50-60 minutes. $30, $20 Members.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: Friday, March 16, April 20, May 18, June 15, July 20.

Saturday, February 24, March 24, and April 28 – 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes: Insider’s Tours of the Merchant’s House
Join us for a series of rare off-hours tours of the Merchant’s House. We’ll gather in the 1850s kitchen for coffee and a focused overview of the landmark Merchant’s House and its intact collection of more than 3,000 objects owned by the Tredwell family. We’ll then tour the house, including the rarely seen bedrooms on the 3rd floor (now staff offices), even peek up into the attic and open locked doors … and more. From late Federal to Greek Revival; Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival; whale oil to gas to kerosene, you’ll gain new insight and perspectives on these unique insider’s tours, learning about changing period styles and technologies and how they reflect the attitudes and values of the merchant class in mid-19th century New York City.

Saturday, February 24 – The Architecture of an 1832 Landmark SOLD OUT!
We’ll explore in detail the architecture of Antebellum New York, how to differentiate between styles, and tips on the fine points of what to look for on your own explorations. Then we’ll examine the 1832 Merchant’s House in depth, one of only 117 buildings designated both an interior and exterior landmark in New York, including details of the ornamental plaster, considered the finest surviving from the period and several spaces not normally seen by the regular Museum visitor.

Saturday, March 24 – 100 Years of Domestic Lighting
In March, we’ll examine the evolution of 19th century domestic lighting and the story of technological advances and changing lifestyles it tells using examples throughout the Museum, including many not normally on exhibition.

Saturday, April 28 – Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture
In the final tour of this series , we’ll discuss the finer points of the original Tredwell family collection of furniture and what it tells us about both the tastes and values of Antebellum New Yorkers and how growing international connections made lasting impact on design, trade, and international relations.

About presenter Anthony Bellov: Bachelor of Architecture, Pratt Institute; graduate, Museum Leadership program, Bank Street College; certified New York State real estate instructor/lecturer; long-time volunteer and board member of the Merchant’s House Museum, and an aficionado in 19th century American decorative arts and architecture.

Limited to 20 participants.
$30, $25 Members. Series of three programs, $75, $60 MHM Members

Tuesday, February 27, 6:30 p.m.
Members-Only Collection Close-Up
Come for a tour and a behind-the-scenes look at the Tredwell Books Collection. In conjunction with our current exhibition, The Tredwell Books Collection and the Changing 19th Century Culture of Books
FREE for Members. Reservations required.
Members, please email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org. To become a member, click here.

MARCH EVENTS

Sunday, March 11, 12:30 p.m. SOLD OUT!
Second Sunday Walking Tours resume!
In the Footsteps of Bridget Murphy: A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.

In this special walking tour, we’ll explore the world of Irish immigrants, who flooded into New York City in the 19th century to escape famine and hardship in Ireland; in 1855, approximately 24,000 Irish immigrants worked as servants for wealthy families like the Tredwells. We’ll explore the world of these immigrants and see sites associated with a servant’s life outside the walls of her employer’s home.

Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members. Next walking tours: April 8, May 13, June 10, July 8.

Due to popular demand, we have opened up a second walking tour on Sunday, March 11, at 12:45 p.m.
Sunday, March 11, 12:45 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ and see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. $15, Free for Members.

Tuesday, March 13, 6:30 p.m.
Illustrated lecture: Journey of Hope: The Irish in New York
With Tara Rider, Ph.D
To escape religious persecution and decades of poverty and famine, waves of Irish immigrants arrived in New York from the 18th century on. By the mid-19th century, one quarter of the City’s population was Irish. Many Irish women and girls found jobs as live-in servants for New York’s wealthy citizens, the Tredwells among them. It is a compelling story: they typically emigrated from Ireland at a young age, were willing to do the work others shunned, and often endured cruel prejudice. Yet, despite it all, these women managed to persevere, and collectively sent millions of dollars home so that their relatives could escape the troubles at home for a better life.

The Museum’s servants quarters are “arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in Manhattan” (TimeOut New York). Unfortunately, little is known about the Tredwells’ four servants besides their names, ages, and place of birth (Ireland), taken from census reports; they themselves left no written record. One thing is certain though: the family’s lifestyle of on East 4th Street would have been utterly impossible without them.

This talk will take a fascinating multimedia look at the history and culture of the Irish of New York from their immigrant beginnings to the present day. Their journey of hope is reflected in the shared experiences of immigrants from around the world coming to America.

Tara Rider is the director of Stony Brook University’s international academic programs to both Ireland and England, where she seeks to introduce students to new cultures, ideas, and histories. She earned her Ph.D. in history from SUNY Stony Brook.

FREE. Reservations are required. Register Online.
NOTE LOCATION: Church of St. Brigid, which was built in 1848 by Irish immigrants for those fleeing the Great Famine, 119 Avenue B (SE corner of 8th Street)

Co-sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
This Public Scholars event, which is free and open to the public, is made possible through the support of the New York Council for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Thursday, March 15, 5 to 8 p.m. (Guided tour at 6:30 p.m.)
A Toast to Bridget Murphy!
Join us for light refreshments (yes, green beer!) and a pre-St. Patrick’s Day back-stairs tour. You’ll climb the narrow staircase to the fourth-floor servants’ quarters and see where the Tredwells’ four Irish servants lived and did some of their work, “arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City” (Time Out New York).
Free with general Admission. Reservations are not required.

Friday, March 16, 6:30 & 7 p.m.
“Spirit of the Irish” Candlelight Ghost Tour
Includes the 4th Floor Servants’ Quarters!
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where eight family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them. Many of the most peculiar occurrences have been related to the Tredwells’ Irish servants, and so this special tour will include the 4th floor Servants’ Quarters.
50 minutes. $40, $25 Members. SOLD OUT.

Saturday, March 17, Guided Tours at 12:30 p.m., 2 p.m., 3:30 p.m.
St. Patrick’s Day: A Tribute to the Tredwells’ Irish Servants with Bridget Murphy
Join us for a back-stairs tour and experience the Merchant’s House through the eyes of the Irish immigrants who worked as domestic servants for the Tredwell family. You’ll climb the narrow staircase to the fourth-floor servants’ quarters and see where the Tredwells’ four Irish servants lived and did some of their work, “arguably the oldest intact site of Irish habitation in New York City” (Time Out New York). You’ll meet Tredwell servant Bridget Murphy, who will play traditional Irish airs on the harp and entertain guests with her singing. She’ll also tell you the many reasons why it would have been impossible to run a home like the Merchant’s House without her.
Included with General Admission. Reservations not required.

Saturday, March 24, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Behind-the-Ropes: Insider’s Tours of the Merchant’s House –
100 Years of Domestic Lighting
Join us for the second in a series of rare off-hours tours of the Merchant’s House. We’ll examine the evolution of 19th century domestic lighting and the story of technological advances and changing lifestyles it tells using examples throughout the Museum, including many not normally on exhibition.

We’ll gather in the 1850s kitchen for coffee and a focused overview of the landmark Merchant’s House and its intact collection of more than 3,000 objects owned by the Tredwell family. We’ll then tour the house, including the rarely seen bedrooms on the 3rd floor (now staff offices), even peek up into the attic and open locked doors … and more. From late Federal to Greek Revival; Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival; whale oil to gas to kerosene, you’ll gain new insight and perspectives on these unique insider’s tours, learning about changing period styles and technologies and how they reflect the attitudes and values of the merchant class in mid-19th century New York City.

Limited to 20 participants.
$30, $25 Members. Tickets available at the door.

APRIL EVENTS

Wednesday, April 4, 6:30 p.m.
Mind Reading and Mysticism at the Merchant’s House with Mentalist Kent Axell
Join renowned mentalist Kent Axell in the Tredwell family’s Greek Revival double parlor as he takes us back in time 150 years to experience mind reading, magic, and mystery. In the mid-19th century, New Yorkers like the Tredwells hosted neighbors and friends in their home to showcase the latest in mysticism and psychic entertainments. Spiritualism, the belief that the living can talk to the dead, had become a phenomenon in 1848 thanks to the now-infamous Fox sisters and grew as a popular form of parlor entertainment. Whether he answers your sealed questions, reads your mind — or controls it — you’re guaranteed to feel the haunting touch of one of history’s most obscure, and awe-inspiring, art forms.
Capacity is very limited. $40, $50 VIP Seats (first two rows), $30 MHM Members.

Sunday, April 8, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho (Second Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.

And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!

Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming walking tours: May 13, June 10, July 8.

Wednesday, April 11, 6:30 p.m.
Community Board 2 Public Hearing to Oppose the Development Next Door
A rezoning plan would allow construction of an oversized eight story/100 foot tall hotel next door to our 1832 landmark building. The Merchant’s House is fighting for its survival!
Please attend and show your strong opposition.
And send a letter to the City Planing Commission and sign our petition.
Location: NYU Silver Building, 32 Waverly Place, Room 520

Wednesday, April 11, 6:30pm
An Illustrated Presentation in Word & Song:
The Bowery — Past, Present & Future on NYC’s Oldest Street:
Native American footpath, Dutch farm road, and site of NYC’s first free Black settlement, the Bowery stretches 1.25 miles from Chatham Square to Cooper Square. It was an early hub for the working class, gangs, gays, and immigrants. It has seminal links to dance, theater, baseball, streetcars, modern tattooing, Stephen Foster, Irving Berlin, Abe Lincoln, and Harry Houdini. In the 20th century, it helped launch Abstract Expressionism, Beat Literature, and punk rock. It is one of NYC’s most architecturally diverse streets, home to its oldest brick house and more. Now, it’s one of America’s most endangered historic streetscapes.

Program includes an illustrated talk by David Mulkins, vintage songs by Poor Baby Bree, and an interview with architectural historian Kerri Culhane, celebrating 5 years of the Bowery’s listing on the National Register of Historic Places

FREE.
NOTE LOCATION: Cooper Union’s Frederick P. Rose Auditorium, 41 Cooper Square (at 7th Street)
This event is fully accessible.
Co-sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, and The Cooper Union.

Friday, April 20, 6:30 p.m.
“April is the Cruellest Month” Candlelight Ghost Tour
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where eight family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)
50 minutes. $30, $20 Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: May 18, June 15, July 20.

Saturday, April 28, 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. SOLD OUT
Behind-the-Ropes: Insiders’ Tours of the Merchant’s House
Join us for the last in a series of rare off-hours tours of the Merchant’s House. We’ll gather in the 1850s kitchen for coffee and a focused overview of the landmark Merchant’s House and its intact collection of more than 3,000 objects owned by the Tredwell family. We’ll then tour the house, including the rarely seen bedrooms on the 3rd floor (now staff offices), even peek up into the attic and open locked doors … and more. From late Federal to Greek Revival; Duncan Phyfe to Rococo Revival; whale oil to gas to kerosene, you’ll gain new insight and perspectives on these unique insider’s tours, learning about changing period styles and technologies and how they reflect the attitudes and values of the merchant class in mid-19th century New York City.

Changing Tastes in 19th Century Furniture
In the final tour of this series, we’ll discuss the finer points of the original Tredwell family collection of furniture and what it tells us about both the tastes and values of Antebellum New Yorkers and how growing international connections made lasting impact on design, trade, and international relations.

Limited to 20 participants.
$30, $25 Members. SOLD OUT! If you would like to be added to the wait list, email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org

MAY EVENTS

May 1 – May 30
Annual Lower East Side History Month
Festivals, Performances, gatherings, gardens & much more.
Calendar and info: peoplesles.org

Wednesday, May 2, 6:30 p.m.
Members Only Exhibition Preview & Tour
Tredwell Brides: Changing Wedding Traditions in the 19th Century
Reservations nyc1832@merchantshouse.org
Not a Member? Join here.

Thursday, May 3, through Monday, July 30
Exhibition –
Tredwell Brides: Changing Wedding Traditions in the 19th Century
Over the course of the 1800s, weddings in New York City evolved from intimate private ceremonies to large, lavish affairs. This exhibition explores the changes in wedding customs as the 19th century progressed, including the trousseau, printed invitations, and the giving of gifts. Highlights include Eliza Tredwell’s 1820 empire-style embroidered cotton wedding dress and Sarah Ann Tredwell’s 1872 silk bridal dress made in Paris, the highest fashion of the post-Civil War bustle period. Accessories include silk wedding boots, and earrings, corsage, and headpiece of wax orange blossoms. The Greek Revival parlor overflows with white flowers for the reenactment of the 1845 wedding of Elizabeth Tredwell and Effingham Nichols on June 9. (Scroll down for information and tickets.)
FREE with Admission

Wednesday, May 9, 6:30 p.m.
Community Board 2 Public Hearing to Oppose the Development Next Door
A rezoning plan would allow construction of an oversized eight story/100 foot tall hotel next door to our 1832 landmark building. The Merchant’s House is fighting for its survival!
Please attend and show your strong opposition.
And send a letter to the City Planing Commission and sign our petition.
Location: Grace Church School, Tuttle Hall, 86 Fourth Avenue (11th Street)

Friday, May 11, 6:30 p.m.
Mind Reading and Mysticism at the Merchant’s House with Mentalist Kent Axell
Join renowned mentalist Kent Axell in the Tredwell family’s Greek Revival double parlor as he takes us back in time 150 years to experience mind reading, magic, and mystery. In the mid-19th century, New Yorkers like the Tredwells hosted neighbors and friends in their home to showcase the latest in mysticism and psychic entertainments.

Spiritualism, the belief that the living can talk to the dead, had become a phenomenon in 1848 thanks to the now-infamous Fox sisters and grew as a popular form of parlor entertainment. Whether he answers your sealed questions, reads your mind — or controls it — you’re guaranteed to feel the haunting touch of one of history’s most obscure, and awe-inspiring, art forms.
Capacity is very limited. $40, $50 VIP Seats (first two rows), $30 MHM Members. Click here to purchase tickets.

Sunday, May 13, 12:30 p.m. (Mother’s Day)
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho (Second Sunday of Every Month)
Invite Mom on a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.

Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: June 10, July 8.

Friday, May 18, 6:30 p.m.
Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House”
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where eight family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)
50 minutes. $30, $20 Members.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: June 15, July 20.

JUNE EVENTS

Thursday, June 7, 14, 21, 28, until 8 p.m.
Summer Evenings in the Garden
Join us in our “secret” 19th century garden at its most verdant. Enjoy light refreshments and talk with head gardener John Rommel about this season’s historic plantings. Take a guided tour of the house at 6:30 p.m., if you wish, or take a self-guided tour. On view, Tredwell Brides: Changing Wedding Traditions in the 19th Century – exhibition open through July 30. Light Refreshments. Rain or Shine.
Admission $15, $10 Students & Seniors, FREE for Members.
SPECIAL $1 admission for the museum’s good neighbors (zip 10012 and 10003)

Saturday, June 2, 7:30 p.m. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the “Oh, Promise Me!” Concert has been POSTPONED. New date TBA.
Concert: “Oh, Promise Me!” – Songs of Love and Marriage
First comes love, then comes marriage … Wedding traditions blossomed in the 19th century when brides said “yes” to the white dress and “Here Comes the Bride” accompanied them down the aisle. Romantic songs such as “Oh, Promise Me!” brought poetry of Cupid and courtship to music salons and family parlors alike. Come hear the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society sing songs that inspired passions through the 19th and early 20th centuries. Music by Wagner, Schumann, Brahms, Taubert, Léhar, Irving Berlin, and others.

Doors open at 7 p.m. for guests who wish to view the current exhibition, Tredwell Brides: Changing Wedding Traditions in the 19th Century, which features Eliza Tredwell’s 1820 empire-style embroidered cotton wedding dress and Sarah Ann Tredwell’s 1872 silk bridal dress made in Paris.

75 minutes. Very limited capacity.

Saturday, June 9, 6:30 to 8 p.m.
“Dearly Beloved:” 1845 Wedding Reenactment & Garden Reception
In the 19th century, American weddings gradually transformed from private, informal celebrations to elaborate and expensive spectacles. In mid-19th century New York City, many marriages took place at home. Join us in the museum’s Greek Revival double parlor as we discuss changing wedding customs in the 19th century, then recreate the 1845 wedding of the Tredwells’ oldest daughter, Elizabeth, and Effingham Nichols. After the ceremony, guests are invited to join the bride and groom in the garden for cake and light refreshments. 19th century attire is encouraged.

6 p.m., Exhibition viewing — Tredwell Brides: Changing Wedding Traditions in the 19th Century. Before the wedding ceremony, guests are invited to view the current exhibition, which features Eliza Tredwell’s 1820 empire-style embroidered cotton wedding dress and Sarah Ann Tredwell’s 1872 silk bridal dress made in Paris.
6:30 p.m., Wedding Ceremony
7 p.m., Reception in the Garden

$40, $55 VIP Seats, $25 MHM Members.
Reception only: $25, $15 for members.
VIP tickets include first-and-second row seating, wedding favors, and the opportunity to join the wedding party as a bridesmaid or groomsman.

Sunday, June 10, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho (Second Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.

Friday, June 15, 6:30 & 7 p.m. (SOLD OUT!)
Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House”
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where eight family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)
50 minutes. $30, $20 Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming Ghost Tours: July 20.

Thursday, June 21, 7 p.m, Reception in the Garden; 7:45 p.m., Walking (Ghost) Tour
Summer Evenings in the Garden
A “Spirited” Summer Saunter with Boroughs of the Dead
Join us for an enchanting summer evening in our “secret” 19th century garden, followed by a Greenwich Village ghost tour. Arrive at 7 p.m. for light refreshments in the twilight in the garden, then, when darkness begins to descends, follow your guide into a world of ghosts and chilling tales as we visit some of the historic neighborhood’s most notoriously haunted locations. Hear stories of the Merchant’s House’s own strange and inexplicable occurrences; find out whether Washington Irving’s specter still visits town; meet the ghostly acquaintances of John Jacob Astor; discover Henry James’s real-life connections to the spirit world; delve into the dark life of Edgar Allan Poe … and more.
Walking tour lasts approximately 75 minutes, and covers 1.2 miles. Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
$30 per person; includes admission to the garden and walking tour. SOLD OUT!
Upcoming: July 19, August 16, September 20

Friday, June 22, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Open Mic Nite in the Garden
In the 19th century, literary salons gathered great thinkers, artists, and writers under one roof for a night of socialization and “improving conversation.” In that same spirit, the Merchant’s House celebrates the works of today’s new writers, performance artists, and musicians.

Come to share your work in an intimate, supportive environment, or simply enjoy the garden all abloom. If you’d like to perform, please bring no more than 8 minutes of material; sign-up available upon entry. Performances will begin at 7 p.m.
Admission $10 (includes a glass of wine), FREE for Members. Reservations are not required.

JULY EVENTS

Sunday, July 8, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho (Second Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.

Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming walking tours: August 13, September 9, October 14, November 11.

Thursday, July 12, 6 to 8 p.m.
Summer Evenings in the Garden / Special Talk
Damnation Island: Poor, Sick, Mad, and Criminal in 19th-Century New York with Author Stacy Horn
At 6 p.m., author Stacy Horn will relate the chilling account of the infamous Blackwell’s Island (now Roosevelt Island), home to a lunatic asylum, two prisons, an almshouse, workhouses, and a number of hospitals. Built in the mid-19th century, it quickly became a place of abuse, cruelty, torture, and unbelievable neglect for the unfortunates incarcerated there. Following the talk, at 6:30 p.m., take a guided tour of the house, or take a self-guided tour. Included with regular admission.

Tuesday, July 17, 6:30 p.m. CANCELLED DUE TO WEATHER!
How Our Garden Grows!
Members Only Reception & Tour of the Garden in Bloom
With Head Gardener John Rommel
Click here to become a member for an invitation to this
exclusive evening in our “secret” 19th century garden. Light refreshments.
Members, please email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org to reserve.

Thursday, July 19, 7 p.m, Reception in the Garden; 7:45 p.m., Walking (Ghost) Tour
Summer Evenings in the Garden
A “Spirited” Summer Saunter with Boroughs of the Dead
Join us for an enchanting summer evening in our “secret” 19th century garden, followed by a Greenwich Village ghost tour. Arrive at 7 p.m. for a glass of wine in the twilight in the garden, then when darkness begins to descends, follow your guide into a world of ghosts and chilling tales as we visit some of the historic neighborhood’s most notoriously haunted locations. Hear stories of the Merchant’s House’s own strange and inexplicable occurrences; find out whether Washington Irving’s specter still visits town; meet the ghostly acquaintances of John Jacob Astor; discover Henry James’s real-life connections to the spirit world; delve into the dark life of Edgar Allan Poe … and more.
Walking tour lasts approximately 75 minutes, and covers 1.2 miles. Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
$35 per person; includes admission to the garden and walking tour. SOLD OUT
Upcoming: August 16, September 20

Friday, July 20, 6:30 & 7 p.m. LAST GHOST TOURS UNTIL OCTOBER!
Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House”
Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where eight family members died and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)
50 minutes. $30, $20 Members. SOLD OUT

AUGUST EVENTS

Thursday, August 2, through Monday, October 1
Beating the Heat: Keeping Cool in the 19th Century
Fans and parasols from the Tredwell collection illustrate the ways people kept their cool during the dog days of a New York City Summer — before the invention of air conditioning.

Tuesday, August 7, 5 to 8 p.m.
Walking Tour & Garden Reception –
Athens in Manhattan: The Role of Greek Revival Architecture in Early New York City
America turns 242 this year, and even if we start counting from the arrival of the Dutch in 1642, New York City is less than 400 years old — a baby by global standards!

As a burgeoning metropolis in a young republic, 19th-century New York sought to strengthen its position in the world by connecting itself to history—especially Ancient Greece, regarded as the birthplace of democracy. From these efforts, the Greek Revival style of architecture was born, linking New York to the glorious “Golden Age” of Athens in the 5th century BCE.

Join us for a walking tour focused on Greek Revival architecture in the neighborhood of the 1832 Merchant’s House Museum, itself an example of this powerfully symbolic style. Along the way, we’ll learn about the specific features of Greek Revival and compare the realities of Ancient Greek civilization with the ideal presented in 19th-century America. Enjoy Greek nibbles in the garden.

5-6 p.m. – Walking tour #1
6-7 p.m. – Reception in the garden of the Merchant’s House Museum
7-8 p.m. – Walking tour #2

Co-sponsored by the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation.
Reservations required.
Click here for 5 p.m. Walking Tour & Garden Reception
Click here for 6 p.m. Walking Tour & Garden Reception

Sunday, August 12, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho (Second Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming walking tours: September 9, October 14, November 11.

Thursday, August 16, 7 p.m, Reception in the Garden; 7:45 p.m., Walking (Ghost) Tour
Summer Evenings in the Garden
A “Spirited” Summer Saunter with Boroughs of the Dead
Join us for an enchanting summer evening in our “secret” 19th century garden, followed by a Greenwich Village ghost tour. Arrive at 7 p.m. for a glass of wine in the twilight in the garden, then when darkness begins to descends, follow your guide into a world of ghosts and chilling tales as we visit some of the historic neighborhood’s most notoriously haunted locations. Hear stories of the Merchant’s House’s own strange and inexplicable occurrences; find out whether Washington Irving’s specter still visits town; meet the ghostly acquaintances of John Jacob Astor; discover Henry James’s real-life connections to the spirit world; delve into the dark life of Edgar Allan Poe … and more.
Walking tour lasts approximately 75 minutes, and covers 1.2 miles. Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
$35 per person; includes admission to the garden and walking tour. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming: September 20

SEPTEMBER EVENTS

Sunday, September 9, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members.Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming walking tours: September 23, October 14, October 28, November 11, November 25.

Thursday, September 20, 7 p.m, Reception in the Garden; 7:45 p.m., Walking (Ghost) Tour
Summer Evenings in the Garden
A “Spirited” Summer Saunter with Boroughs of the Dead
Join us for an enchanting summer evening in our “secret” 19th century garden, followed by a Greenwich Village ghost tour. Arrive at 7 p.m. for a glass of wine in the twilight in the garden, then when darkness begins to descends, follow your guide into a world of ghosts and chilling tales as we visit some of the historic neighborhood’s most notoriously haunted locations. Hear stories of the Merchant’s House’s own strange and inexplicable occurrences; find out whether Washington Irving’s specter still visits town; meet the ghostly acquaintances of John Jacob Astor; discover Henry James’s real-life connections to the spirit world; delve into the dark life of Edgar Allan Poe … and more.
Walking tour lasts approximately 75 minutes, and covers 1.2 miles. Please wear comfortable walking shoes.
$35 per person; includes admission to the garden and walking tour. Click here to purchase tickets.

Sunday, September 23, 11:30 a.m.
Garden & Graveyard Walk: The Green Spaces of Little Italy, NoHo, Bowery & the Lower East Side.
This unique guided tour will visit graveyards, catacombs, and gardens, many not often open to the public, as well as the sites of the long-vanished Vauxhall Gardens and the Second African Burial Ground. Tour begins at the Merchant’s House and lasts approximately two hours. SOLD OUT. Click here to join the wait list.
Co-sponsors: Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, Elizabeth Street Garden, Liz Christy Garden, M’Finda Kalunga Garden, New York City Marble Cemetery, New York Marble Cemetery, and St Patrick’s Old Cathedral.

Sunday, September 23, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming walking tours: October 14, October 28, November 11, November 25.

OCTOBER EVENTS

Thursday, October 4 – Monday, November 5
Exhibition –
A Good Death: 19th Century Lessons in Dying Well
Including rarely exhibited items of Tredwell family mourning dress and accessories from the collection.

Poignant recreated scenes of death and grief during the 19th century explore a time when families gathered by the bedside of the dying and funerals were held at home. Pay your last respects at family patriarch Seabury Tredwell’s deathbed upstairs, then join in the mourning in the double parlor, hung with black crepe and set with a coffin for his funeral. In the 20th century, with advances in medicine, hospitals became the place of death and many customs of dying, bereavement, and remembrance disappeared. Today, many of these customs are making a resurgence as a Good Death takes on new meaning.

NEW this year! 19th century postmortem portraiture from The Burns Archive and 21st century neo-conceptual artist Heide Hatry‘s posthumous portraits created out of human cremated remains: Icons in Ash.

We invite you to stage your own pre-postmortem photograph in our 19th century coffin. Then share with your friends on Instagram and Twitter #mhmcoffin2018. Included with regular admission; reservations not required.

Saturday, October 6, and Sunday, October 7, 2 to 5 p.m.
Sidewalk Sale to Save the Merchant’s House!
Decorative items, china, glass, collectibles, costume jewelry, antiques (non-Merchant’s House!), all at bargain prices to benefit our Legal Fund to Defeat the Developers. Or pay double as a donation!

NEW this year!
Wednesday, October 10, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Walking Tour: Edgar Allan Poe in Greenwich Village
With Boroughs of the Dead
Join us on a two-hour literary and historical walking tour that traces a path into Edgar Allan Poe’s life in Greenwich Village in the 1840s, where the author lived and worked at the height of his fame — before plunging irrevocably into the final, abysmal chapter of his short life. On this tour, you will visit the site his former home, learn of his contemporary rivals and admirers, and see where he wrote some of his most famous stories and poems. Interweaving some of his most famous tales with Greenwich Village’s macabre secret histories, this tour is guaranteed to enthrall fans of Poe’s literary grotesques while honoring his legacy in New York City.

This tour is approximately 2 hours in duration and approximately 1.5 miles in length. Runs rain or shine. Tour ends near West Third Street.

$25. Limited capacity. Reservations required. SOLD OUT!

NEW this year!
October 12 – October 31
Killing an Evening with Edgar Allan Poe:
Murder at the Merchant’s House
Join us in the museum’s Greek Revival double parlor as the masterful John Kevin Jones takes on the 19th century master of horror Edgar Allan Poe performing The Tell-Tale Heart, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Raven, as Poe himself did at the literary salons of the period. The double parlor will be appropriately dressed for death with a coffin and mirrors veiled in black crepe. It will be a bone-chilling evening of irrational revenge, obsession and premeditated murder, dismemberment, and the very, very dark.

Presented in association with Summoners Ensemble Theatre.
Limited engagement; tickets $18.

Saturday, October 13, 2 to 5 p.m.
Sidewalk Sale to Save the Merchant’s House!
Decorative items, china, glass, collectibles, costume jewelry, antiques (non-Merchant’s House!), all at bargain prices to benefit our Legal Fund to Defeat the Developers. Or pay double as a donation!

Sunday, October 14, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m. $15; FREE for Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming Tours: October 28, November 11, November 25.

Sunday, October 14, 3:30 to 5 p.m.
“Sacred to the Memory:” 1865 Funeral Reenactment
In the 19th century, death and funerals took place at home. Join us in the Museum’s double parlor as we recreate the 1865 funeral service of family patriarch Seabury Tredwell.

NEW this year! After the funeral service, you’re invited to experience living (and dying) history at the Merchant’s House. Eliza Tredwell, assisted by her children, will receive guests in her bedroom upstairs. Come pay your respects to the grieving widow and talk with her about how death and dying were a natural and ever-present part of daily life.

In the double parlor, the Rev. Samuel Cooke will discuss funeral customs (undertaking was a relatively new occupation; this task would have fallen to Rev. Cooke himself). And in the kitchen, Bridget Murphy will pass out funeral biscuits and tell visitors just how much extra work a funeral made for the servants.

Mourners may also tour the museum and view the current exhibition, A Good Death: 19th Century Lessons in Dying Well. And stage their own pre-postmortem photographs in our 19th century coffin. Then share on Instagram and Twitter #mhmcoffin2018.

$35, $25 MHM Members. 19th century costumes encouraged.

Thursday, October 18, 7 p.m.
Chant Macabre: Songs from the Crypt
Ghosts, ghouls, and goblins haunt the lyrics of the 19th century. Come be spooked by these harrowing tales as the Bond Street Euterpean Singing Society bewitches your imagination and sings shivers down your spine, echoing sumptuous, rarely performed songs in an authentic period parlor. Singers Anthony Bellov, Amy Gluck, Jane Elizabeth Rady, and Dayle Vander Sande. Music by Schubert, Liszt, Debussy, Duparc, Loewe, Mussorgsky, Humperdinck, and others.

75 minutes. $30, $20 MHM Members. Limited capacity.

Friday, October 19 & Saturday, October 20
Wednesday, October 24 – Tuesday, October 30

50-minute tours begin every half hour from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Candlelight Ghost Tours of ‘Manhattan’s Most Haunted House’
(The New York Times)
Updated with the latest eerie happenings!
ALL tours include 4th Floor Servants’ Quarters!
Seven family members died in the house; their funerals were held in the double parlor hung with black crepe. We invite you to venture into the dark and ghostly shadows of history by flickering candlelight to hear chilling tales of restless phantoms, voices calling into the night, and unsettling occurrences, all from the people who actually experienced them.
$40, $25 MHM Members.

NEW this year!
At the Stroke of Midnight
Friday, October 19, & Saturday, October 20
Friday, October 26, & Saturday, October 27
Dead-of-Night Candlelight Ghost Tour & Investigation
With Paranormal Investigator Dan Sturges
On this special midnight candlelight ghost tour, join renowned paranormal investigator Dan Sturges on a real-time ghost hunt of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House.” Mr. Sturges will lead you through the house at the darkest hour, discussing his methodology and sharing some of his most chilling experiences and eeriest findings. At the end of the tour, you can flex your own ghost-hunting muscles and see whether you capture any mysterious and otherworldly phenomena.
Tour is 75 minutes; capacity strictly limited to 20.
Doors open at 11:50 p.m.; NO LATE ENTRY once the tour begins at midnight. $100, $90 MHM Members.

Saturday, October 27 – Saturday, November 3
Reimagine End of Life New York
A week exploring big questions about life and death. Join us for a community-wide exploration of death and celebration of life through creativity and conversation. Drawing on the arts, spirituality, healthcare, and design, Reimagine End of Life is a week long series of events that break down taboos and bring diverse communities together in wonder, preparation, and remembrance. Reimagine End of Life envisions a world in which we are all able to reflect on why we’re here, prepare for a time when we won’t be, and live fully right up until the end. Click here for events and more information.

Sunday, October 28, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members.
Upcoming walking tours: November 11, November 25.

NOVEMBER EVENTS

Thursday, November 1, 6:30 p.m.
The Art of Mourning: 19th Century Postmortem and Memorial Photography
Illustrated Talk by Elizabeth A. Burns
At the time of the birth of photography in 1839, death was a natural and pervasive part of everyday life and mostly took place at home. People used photography to memorialize their loved ones with a reverence little understood today; often these photographs were the only images the bereaved had of the deceased. They are testament to an era when the magic of photography offered the hope of extending relationships. At the moment people were most vulnerable, photography offered a memento that seemed real — a tangible visual object that allowed continued closeness to the deceased. We can feel the power of these photographs generations after the images were made. We relate to these pictures of strangers because they speak a universal language of emotions — tenderness, affection, need, hope, loss and despair — uniting the human family in common experience.
$20, MHM Members $10. Click here to purchase tickets.

Elizabeth A. Burns is the Creative and Operations Director of The Burns Archive, which houses over one million historic photographs from the birth of photography through the atomic age. She co-authored Sleeping Beauty II: Grief, Bereavement & The Family in Memorial Photography, American and European Traditions produced in conjunction with the Musée d’Orsay exhibition, Le Dernier Portrait. She has curated and worked on hundreds of exhibits, publications and films on memorial photography. Liz lives in New York City and actively promotes history and photography through publications, exhibitions and events. www.burnsarchive.com

Friday, November 2, 6:30 p.m.
Icons in Ash: Contemporary and Historic Mourning Practices
Presentation by Heide Hatry and Zoë Crossland
In the 19th century, mourning practices and remembrances, such as postmortem photography and hair jewelry, were closely linked to the physical remains of the dead. By the 20th century, as death became more medicalized and no longer took place in the home, mourning became less focused on physical connections with the dead body and more on memories. Recently, there has been a resurgence of interest in the material traces of the dead, particularly in relation to cremated remains.

In this presentation, artist Heide Hatry and Professor Zoë Crossland reflect on contemporary mourning practices, what they share with older and abandoned traditions, and where they differ. What might this tell us about changing attitudes to death and mourning in the modern world? Free. Reservations required; click here to reserve.

Heide Hatry is a New York based German artist best known for her performance work, her conceptual work using unconventional materials, and her collaborative conceptual artist’s books. Her most recent body of work, Icons in Ash (2017), consists of portraits made from the cremated remains of their subjects, a social art project that has made a contribution to a re-imagining of our relationship to the dead.

Zoë Crossland is Director of the Center for Archaeology and Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Columbia University. Her research and published work explore the problems of archaeological and forensic evidence and archaeology’s relationship to the dead body. Her current project, The Speaking Corpse, explores the evidence of the forensic corpse, the ways in which it is explained for popular consumption, and the history that lies behind the treatment of the dead as evidence.

Through Saturday, November 3
Reimagine End of Life New York
A week exploring big questions about life and death. Join us for a community-wide exploration of death and celebration of life through creativity and conversation. Drawing on the arts, spirituality, healthcare, and design, Reimagine End of Life is a week long series of events that break down taboos and bring diverse communities together in wonder, preparation, and remembrance. Reimagine End of Life envisions a world in which we are all able to reflect on why we’re here, prepare for a time when we won’t be, and live fully right up until the end. Click here for events and more information.

Through Monday, November 5
Exhibition – A Good Death: 19th Century Lessons in Dying Well
Including rarely exhibited items of Tredwell family mourning dress and accessories from the collection.

NEW this year! 19th century postmortem portraiture from The Burns Archive and 21st century neo-conceptual artist Heide Hatry‘s posthumous portraits created out of human ash.

We invite you to stage your own pre-postmortem photograph in our 19th century coffin. Then share with your friends on Instagram and Twitter #mhmcoffin2018.

Included with regular admission; reservations not required.

Sunday, November 11, 12:30 p.m.
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Upcoming walking tours: November 25.

Friday, November 16, 6:30 & 7 p.m.
Pre-Thanksgiving Candlelight Ghost Tour of “Manhattan’s Most Haunted House”
Haunted by the prospect of your relatives at Thanksgiving? Join us on a Candlelight Ghost Tour to get in the mood. Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the dead of night. Venture into the shadows of history to see the house where seven family members died (and The New York Times called “Manhattan’s Most Haunted”) by flickering candlelight and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them.
50 minutes. $30, $25 Members. Click here to purchase tickets.

“#1 Most Haunted Place in NYC” (TimeOut New York)

Exhibition Open Friday, November 23, through Monday, January 7
At Home with the Tredwells: A 19th Century Christmas
Step back in time to the 1850s and join Seabury and Eliza Tredwell as they celebrate the season with elaborate holiday parties, festive food, and gift giving. Their elegant parlors are decorated with swags of evergreens, brilliant holly berries, white mistletoe, and red-leafed poinsettias – and a table top tree festooned with ribbons and candles. In the kitchen, the Irish servants are preparing the plum pudding, shucking the oysters, and readying the punch bowl. Upstairs in the bedrooms, the gifts for relatives and friends are set out and the Tredwell daughters are dressing in their finest silks.

Discover how many of our modern holiday traditions, from table-top Christmas trees, to presents and stockings, Christmas carols and songs (and Santa Claus, too) originated in mid-19th century New York. Included with regular admission.

Exhibition Open Friday, November 23, through Monday, January 7
Charles Dickens Performs ‘A Christmas Carol’ in New York, December 1867
In December 1867, Charles Dickens arrived in New York City for a month of sold-out performances of his beloved 1843 holiday classic, A Christmas Carol. Dickens performed at the 2,500 seat Steinway Hall on 14th Street, the center of cultural life in the city, and just a few blocks from the Tredwell home. And the critics raved: “The Christmas Carol becomes doubly enchanting when one hears it performed by Dickens.” (New York Herald, 1867)

Sunday, November 25, 12:30 p.m. (Last of the year! Walking Tours resume in March.)
A Walking Tour of Historic 19th Century Noho
(Second & Fourth Sunday of Every Month)
Join us for a journey back in time to the elite ‘Bond Street area,’ home to Astors, Vanderbilts, Delanos – and the Tredwells, who lived in the Merchant’s House. You’ll see how the neighborhood surrounding the Tredwells’ home evolved from a refined and tranquil residential enclave into a busy commercial center. Visit important 19th century landmark buildings on this tour through 21st century NoHo.
And what’s a plunge into the past without a little scandal? On the bustling Astor Place, imagine the drama of events that led to the Opera House riot of 1849, among the bloodiest in American history. And visit the site of the notorious 1857 Bond Street murder of Harvey Burdell, one of the City’s still unsolved crimes!
Tour is one hour and begins promptly at 12:30 p.m.
Promenaders will return to the Museum in time to take the 2 p.m. Guided Tour if they wish.
$15; FREE for Members. Click here to purchase tickets.
Next walking tours: March 2019!

6th SMASH Year and almost sold out!
Limited engagement November 27 through December 29.
A Christmas Carol at the Merchant’s House, Charles Dickens in New York, 1867
Join Mr. Dickens, portrayed by John Kevin Jones, as he tells his timeless Christmas tale in the museum’s elegant double parlor. Surrounded by 19th century holiday decorations and flickering candles, you’ll be transported back 150 years in this captivating one-hour performance created from Dickens’ own script. Perfect for families. Meet Mr. Dickens and toast the holidays before the performance. Mulled wine, cider, and light fare. Click here for tickets, performance schedule, and more information.

Sunday, December 16, 2 to 6 p.m.
Members Only ($500+): Holiday Celebration at the Historic 1853 Salmagundi Club
The Salmagundi Art Club, 47 5th Avenue
The lights are twinkling, there’s music in the air, and we are celebrating this festive season by stepping back in time, through the doors of the elegant façade at 47 Fifth Ave. The Salmagundi Art Club’s landmark double-wide 1853 house is lovingly maintained and full of art, historic details, and ephemera that tell the story of the house and the Club itself, whose strong legacy provides a center for representational art.

Members of the Merchant’s House Museum, the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, and the Salmagundi Art Club are invited to venture up the steps to see the art, enjoy a cocktail in the vintage bar, watch 5th Avenue go by from the elegant period parlor, and explore the building’s library and countless original details. Spend time with friends new and old, learning about the important work our three organizations are doing to preserve our historic buildings, our neighborhood, and the legacies of art, community, architecture, and music.
Co-sponsored by the Salmagundi Art Club, GVSHP, and the Merchant’s House Museum. Email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org to RSVP.
This event is not fully accessible.

Not a member at the $500 level, but want to attend? Click here to join or increase.
Or call 212-777-1089.

DECEMBER EVENTS

The Merchant’s House Museum will close at 5 p.m. on Thursdays in December.
Thursday evening hours resume in January 2019.

HOLIDAY RAFFLE!
Win Two Tickets to HAMILTON on Broadway, and lots and lots more!
All proceeds go to our Legal Fund to defeat the developers.
Drawing on New Year’s Day. Click here to purchase tickets.

A PHANTOM FETE: ATTEND IN SPIRIT
Don’t Save the Date, Save the Merchant’s House!
All donations (fully tax-deductible) will go directly towards real-world legal and engineering expenses to defeat the proposed development next door.
Click here to DONATE. Any amount will help!
The developers won’t have a ghost of a chance!

“The Christmas Carol becomes doubly enchanting when one hears it performed by Dickens.” New York Herald, 1867

“… a celebration of not only the holiday season, but of the value of everyday kindness.”
BroadwayWorld.com

“Masterful storytelling” and a “tour de force”