On Thursday, May 23 at 4:30 p.m., Maine State Historian Earle Shettleworth will present “The Camera Discovers Monhegan: Island Photography from 1859 to 1900” at the Boothbay Region Historical Society.

Nineteenth century photography in Maine gives us a compelling insight into our past. This illustrated talk begins with the first known photograph of Monhegan, an 1859 image of the light house by William McLaughlin of Portland. McLaughlin was followed by other commercial photographers in the 1870s and 80s such as Isaac Coombs of Wiscasset and Henry Bailey of Augusta. The emerging art colony of the 1890s attracted gifted painters such as Samuel Triscott and Eric Hudson, who used photography to help create their watercolors and canvases of the island. They were joined by Edward Robinson of Thomaston, a college professor who made his own photographic record of the island just prior to 1900. Many photographers have visited Monhegan in the 20th and 21st centuries, but these men were among the pioneers of photography on the island.

“The Camera Discovers Monhegan: Island Photography from 1859 to 1900” kicks off Boothbay Region Historical Society’s 2019 Speaker Series. Doors open for the talks at 4:10. Admission is free.

Shettleworth has lectured and written extensively on Maine history and architecture. He is the current State Historian of Maine, past director of the Maine Historic Preservation Commission, past president of the Maine Historical Society, and past president of the New England Chapter, Society of Architectural Historians.

The Boothbay Region Historical Society is located at 72 Oak Street in Boothbay Harbor, just across the street from The First National Bank parking lot. Admission is free and BRHS is open to the public throughout the year, Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information contact the museum at 633-0820, or email brhs@gwi.net