A Nantucket Night

Mark your calendars! Get ready for one of the most anticipated nights of the summer celebrating island history and spirited tradition in support of the Nantucket Historical Association! A Nantucket Night will take place August 1st, 2026! #nantucket #NHA #ANN #ANantucketNight #Nantuckethistory #nantucketlifestyle #scrimshaw #Nantuckettraditions

We welcome you to the Nantucket Historical Association, where island history feels both connected and close at hand. Nantucket. An island, 30 miles out to sea. In fact, the name, Nantucket, means “Faraway Land” in the original inhabitants’ language. Which appears to indicate that the island and its history are distant. Isolated. But what you’ll discover here at the NHA is anything but. And certainly not what you might expect. Explore our collections, properties, and programs. The Nantucket Historical Association brings the island closer, connecting you to stories that inspire. Every experience reframes how you see Nantucket. Attend our events. What begins as a simple gathering becomes something unexpected, sparking imaginations and connections that reach far beyond the ordinary. Explore our educational opportunities. Step inside and discover new ways of seeing the island, and the world — Experiences that carry you far away from what you thought you knew. Nantucket Historical Association. Faraway from the expected. Video by @septemberfilms #NantucketHistoricalAssociation #nantucket #nantucketisland #nantuckethistory #ack #museum #history #culture #visitma #visitnantucket

A Nantucket Whaling Museum Scrimshaw feature 🖋️ This tooth likely depicts the whaleship Pacific of Nantucket and was made sometime between 1826 and 1829. Edward Burdett (1805-1833) is the earliest identified American engraver of sperm-whale teeth. Born on Nantucket, Burdett was the son of merchant captain Reuben Burdett (1781-1869) and Lydia Ellis Burdett (1781-1843). He went whaling at the age of seventeen on the Nantucket ship Foster (1822–24) under Captain Shubael Chase. He rose through the ranks on successive voyages, including the period of 1825–29, during which he worked aboard the Barclay (1825–26), the Pacific (1826–29), and the William Tell of New York (1829–33). His last voyage, aboard the Nantucket ship Montano (1833–36), Captain David N. Edwards, proved fatal when Burdett became fouled in a harpoon line during a hunt and was dragged overboard to his death. Medium sized cut off base whale tooth with horizontal engraving of port view of whaleship and cutting-in scene. Eleven sequences of slightly curved horizontal line strokes in foreground depicting ocean water. Crew members are hoisting blanket piece of whale’s blubber in background. Olive branch motif engraved at bottom of tooth, on front and back. Gift of Robert and Nina Hellman. Attributed to Burdett, Edward, engraver. 2009.0038.003. Circa 1826-1829. #nantucket #nha #scrimshaw #burdett #edwardburdett

Golden hour, great company, and that unmistakable Nantucket magic! Summer can’t come soon enough! A Nantucket Night - August 1, 2026

Wider World Wednesday 🌎 We’re showcasing objects from the upcoming traveling exhibition coming to the Nantucket Whaling Museum: “The Wider World & Scrimshaw!” Māori maker once known (Aotearoa), kotiate parāoa (short-edged weapon), late 1700s to early 1800s. Whale skeletal bone, 6 x 12 3/4 in. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2001.100.2282.  📍The Nantucket Whaling Museum 📆 April 20, 2026 - Nov. 1, 2026 ⏰ 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM The Wider World & Scrimshaw was organized by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Massachusetts.  Generous support provided by Art Bridges .  Get tickets to visit now here! 🔗/visit/info-times/plan-your-visit/ #nantucket #nha #scrimshaw #history #widerworldandscrimshaw

Wider World Wednesday 🌎 We’re showcasing objects from the upcoming traveling exhibition coming to the Nantucket Whaling Museum: “The Wider World & Scrimshaw!” Niuean maker once known (Niue), hiapo (tapa cloth), ca. 1880–1890. Barkcloth (mulberry). New Bedford Whaling Museum, 00.200.452.    “Decorated barkcloth called tapa is made across Oceania. This versatile fabric is used for clothing, mats, and memorial and ceremonial purposes. Each community has a word for the craft. In Niue it is called a hiapo. The bark cloth featured here was made in Niue between 1880 and 1900. It illustrates local plants and seeds, traditional patterns, and a Western European or American square-rigged sailing ship with people climbing the rigging. Biological forms around the ship may be crayfish in tide pools that lived around the edges of the island. This hiapo illustrated a period of change in Niue, when travelers and missionaries arrived. The creation of hiapo decreased dramatically by 1900 with the introduction of cotton. Recently, contemporary practitioners have begun making hiapo again.”  —Ymelda Rivera Laxton, New Bedford Whaling Museum  📍The Nantucket Whaling Museum 📆 April 20, 2026 - Nov. 1, 2026 ⏰ 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM The Wider World & Scrimshaw was organized by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Massachusetts.  Generous support provided by Art Bridges .  Get tickets to visit now here! 🔗/visit/info-times/plan-your-visit/ #nantucket #nha #scrimshaw #history #widerworldandscrimshaw

Do people actually dance at A Nantucket Night? I’ll let these photos answer that 😉 #nantuckethistoricalassociation #anantucketnight #nantucketevents #nantucketisland

Custom stitches under the tent ✨ @its.fornow brought live embroidery to A Nantucket Night 2024, stitching custom designs in real time and turning everyday pieces into keepsakes!

Only four more months until we’re under the tent, celebrating and bringing the NHA’s mission to life🥂 A Nantucket Night is August 1, 2026 Supporting Sponsor @pure_insurance #ANN #anantucketnight #nantuckethistoricalassociation #nantucketevents #nantucketisland

Wider World Wednesday 🌎 We’re showcasing objects from the upcoming traveling exhibition coming to the Nantucket Whaling Museum: “The Wider World & Scrimshaw!” Aboriginal maker once known (Aboriginal Australian, possibly Eden), Dreamtime tooth (front), 1800s. Engraved sperm whale ivory, 2 5/8 x 5 ¼ in. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 00.195.47.    The “Dream Tooth” was likely executed by an Australian Aboriginal whaler, perhaps from Eden, an area on the South Coast of New South Wales. Whaling ships operated around Eden starting in 1791, and the first shore whaling venture founded in 1828 employed local Thawa Aboriginal people. The tooth pictures six men sailing a proa (boat). One wields a harpoon. A sperm whale lurks beneath.     Sperm whales have about forty-six teeth, which were prized for scrimshaw. After being extracted from the whale’s mouth, the teeth were scraped smooth and polished. Crewmen kept, traded, or decorated them as personal souvenirs or gifts. Engraved whale teeth are considered an iconic scrimshander’s artform and the pinnacle of whaling art.  📍The Nantucket Whaling Museum 📆 April 20, 2026 - Nov. 1, 2026 ⏰ 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM The Wider World & Scrimshaw was organized by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Massachusetts.  Generous support provided by Art Bridges .  Get tickets to visit now here! 🔗/visit/info-times/plan-your-visit/ #nantucket #nha #scrimshaw #history #widerworldandscrimshaw

nantucket days, easy nights 🥂 just good people, good vibes August can’t come soon enough!

Wider World Wednesday 🌎 We’re showcasing objects from the upcoming traveling exhibition coming to the Nantucket Whaling Museum: “The Wider World & Scrimshaw!” Art Thompson (Tsa qwa sup) (Nuu-chah-nulth, 1948–2003), bentwood box, 1992. Cedar, leather, and paint, 10 1/4 x 18 1/8 x 11 1/4 in. New Bedford Whaling Museum, 2001.100.3433.    “Art (Tsa Qwa Supp) Thompson was born in the Ditidaht village in Whyac. He was both of Nuu-chah-nulth and Coast Salish Roots. Thompson developed his art form and craft over decades, studying with Nuu-chah-nulth artists Ron Hamilton and Joe David, and working with carver Duane Pasco. He was part of a group of contemporary artists who grounded their work within their culture and cultivated the popular appeal of Native Northwest Coast art to broader audiences in printmaking and beyond.”  —Ymelda Rivera Laxton, New Bedford Whaling Museum  📍The Nantucket Whaling Museum 📆 April 20, 2026 - Nov. 1, 2026 ⏰ 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM The Wider World & Scrimshaw was organized by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, Massachusetts.  Generous support provided by Art Bridges .  Get tickets to visit now here! 🔗/visit/info-times/plan-your-visit/ #nantucket #nha #scrimshaw #history #widerworldandscrimshaw