The Various Collections
The Museum Archives include several collections under each of these categories: general, family, photographs, artifacts, and oral histories. Click on the category buttons to learn more.
Search across our Archives Collections here, complete with searching tips! Need help? Contact our archivist year-round – Archives Info below.
General Collection
Photograph Collection
The Photograph Collection contains over 5000 photos of Woods Hole and Quissett going back to the 1850s, including family albums and photos, village scenes, boats, yachts, steamships, pictures of the early days of the scientific community starting in the 1880s with the U.S. Fish Commission and the Marine Biological Laboratory, as well as albums showing MBL activities in the 1920s and 1930s.
You can browse through over 3000 photos from our collection.
At Quissett Beach.
A photo from the Marshall Family Collection
Painting and Artifacts Collection
The Painting Collection includes artwork by William H. Littlefield, Peggy Clark Kelly, R. Swain Gifford, Dr. Leroy M. Yale, Jr., Franklin Lewis Gifford, artwork by and of members of the Fay family, and paintings and artwork by many local artists. The archives houses an extensive clothing collection dating from the 1840s to the 1930s; in addition there are a few quilts and paisley shawls. Other artifacts include ephemera, china, tools, crafts, maritime objects and boat models pertaining to the village of Woods Hole and environs.
Painting by Franklin L. Gifford
Oral History Collection
The Oral History Collection contains over 600 recordings of interviews and “conversations” (public talks) with local residents and visiting scientists, collected since 1974. About 200 of these have been transcribed. The collection is constantly added to by digital recordings made from the monthly Conversation program. Most recordings are available in digital form.
Al Lunn, who was interviewed in September 2019 by P.K. Simonds, alongside the model of the US Coast Guard ship that he built.
The Reading Room – the museum’s Research Library
The Reading Room is located on the second floor of the Bradley House – the museum’s main building. The research library contains over 300 reference books on maritime history, boat building, Woods Hole, Cape and Islands history, Massachusetts history and some genealogy. Books are for reference only and may not be withdrawn.
The Reading Room is open year-round. Appointments are encouraged. See below.
Archives Info
The Reading Room is open for research year round on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 am to1 pm. Appointments are encouraged.
Contact the Museum Archivist, Colleen Hurter, with questions or to schedule an appointment: whhmarchives@gmail.com.
