Northampton History

I took another walk to help along my recovery from foot surgery, including a short visit to the Historic Northampton Museum (in case you're confused, it's Northampton Massachusetts, not England :) The museum is between special exhibitions, so I perused the modest permanent exhibition; it's small but very well done--this is part of it.

In the left foreground is a Florence Sewing Machine, which came on the market in 1861, manufactured in Florence, just north of Northampton. Above is a photo of the employees of a dress making shop owned by Harriette Ferry, described as one of the few occupations in which women could make an independent living.

On the far wall is a poster for the Northampton Cycle Co., with a small photograph of the author Henry James, on the left, taken when he visited Northampton in 1907.