Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

Breaking history news: The Rhode Island Historical Society has joined the modern world with a blog of its own, A Lively Experiment.

In keeping with the society's historical bent, the blog was launched with a posting on April 7, but announced in a press release on Thursday.

In addition to announcements about lectures, workshops and other events, says the release, the new blog provides "an insider's view of the raw materials of history and how they are collected and preserved by the Society."

Readers are welcome to submit comments and topic suggestions, but items profiled in recent postings -- the blog is updated about once a week -- include:

* One of the two known copies of the document declaring Rhode Island's independence from the King of England, May 4th 1774: "An Act Repealing an Act Intituled[sic], 'An Act for the More Effectual Securing to His Majesty the Allegiance of His Subjects in this His Colony and Dominion of Rhode-Island and Providence Plantations.'"

* A 1754 pamphlet eliminating debtors' prisons that was printed in Rhode Island and recently cited in the The New Yorker magazine.

* "The Ardent Desire," a religious broadside poem published by James Franklin, Benjamin's brother and Rhode Island's first printer.

* The first Jewish calendar printed in America, at Newport in 1806: a presentation copy inscribed by Naphtali Phillips (1773-1870), a politically active New Yorker who married into the Seixas Family of Newport.

CNN.com, eat your heart out.

Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.