Salem Witch Trials artefacts go on display

[Eldorado]

PEM's Phillip's Library holds the largest collection of Salem witch trials materials in the world, including some 550 documents on deposit from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

Now, 47 rare pieces from this chapter of colonial history are being shown for the first time in 30 years.

The fact that they're in a gallery just paces away from shops where tourists can buy Witch City hoodies and pointy black hats isn't lost on Dan Lipcan.

“That witch kitsch stuff can't exist without this stuff, and vice versa,” the head of the Phillips Library said on a recent afternoon, “so it's on us – because we have the original material, because we have the objects and the possessions of the people involved – we felt like it was our responsibility to tell their stories and talk about what the issues really were.”

Full story at WBUR (radio): Link

At the Museum: Link

[acute]

I am deeply concerned about the "stigmatism" of Fairies in Salem, Indiana. 

 

 

Edited October 27, 2020 by acute