Portsmouth Athenæum

A non-profit membership library, gallery, and archive, incorporated in 1817 and located in the heart of historic Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Armsden Photographic Project

In 2018, the Athenaeum received the photographic collection of prolific photographer Douglas J. Armsden (1918-2009). This collection of mainly mid-20th century images of Portsmouth will nearly double the Athenaeum’s entire photograph collection. Find out how you can help preserve this important collection.

The third-floor Shaw Research Library and Randall Gallery are open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday thru Saturday. For elevator access, please call (603) 431-2538.

Check our calendar for tours of the first-floor Sawtelle Reading Room.

UPCOMING EVENTS

September 28, 2023
  • Tour of Sawtelle Reading Room

    September 28, 2023 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

    The first-floor Sawtelle Reading Room in the 1805 building is open for tours. Donations accepted.

  • Author Nancy Hammond Book Signing and Talk

    September 28, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 6:30 pm
    Portsmouth Athenaeum, 9 Market Square, Portsmouth, NH 03801, USA

    A presentation and book signing by Proprietor Nancy Hammond, whose new book, The Life and Times of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall, 1748-1808, Poet – Lawyer – Patriot, resurrects a forgotten Portsmouth celebrity.

    As a young man, Sewall revered Gen. George Washington, and he was in attendance for President Washington's visit to Portsmouth in 1789, penning three odes and performing them to the country's first president. Sewall also wrote a versification of Washington's farewell address when he left office and an eulogy of Washington; both items are in the Athenaeum collection.

    Through Nancy's research, you learn about Sewall's fascinating life as well as Portsmouth during the Colonial era and into the New Republic.  

    Please RSVP to 603-431-2538 for the discussion in the Shaw Research Library.

October 3, 2023
  • Mission Statement Talk

    October 3, 2023 @ 5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

    Keeper and Executive Director Tom Hardiman will hold an informal discussion session to gather members' input on the new statements and talk about how we might make the Athenaeum better and stronger for the future. NO RSVP necessary.

    The discussion will be in the third-floor Shaw Research Library at 5 p.m.

HOURS

 

Shaw Research Library &

Randall Gallery

 

Tuesday through Saturday

 

1 to 4 p.m.

 

 

Reading Room Tours

 
Volunteer Dependent
Some Saturdays &
Thursdays this summer
 
1 to 2 p.m.
(Check our calendar.)

EXPLORE THE ARCHIVES

The Athenæum houses an outstanding collection of documents and artifacts relating to local history. It also preserves what is undoubtedly the finest collection in the state of materials relating to the history of New Hampshire’s only major seaport.

2023 PACM Concert: Rasa String Quartet

2023 PACM Concert: Rasa String Quartet

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 8, 3 p.m. RASA STRING QUARTET at St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth Currently in residence at Philips Exeter, Boston-based Rasa String Quartet violinists Maura Shawn Scanlin and Kiyoshi Hayashi, violist Emma Powell, and cellist...

read more
Nancy R. Hammond Book Signing and Talk

Nancy R. Hammond Book Signing and Talk

Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023 5:30 p.m. Shaw Research Library   A presentation and book signing by Proprietor Nancy R. Hammond, whose new book, The Life and Times of Jonathan Mitchel Sewall, 1748-1808, Poet – Lawyer – Patriot, resurrects a forgotten Portsmouth...

read more
2023 PACM Concert: Noree Chamber Soloists

2023 PACM Concert: Noree Chamber Soloists

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 3 p.m. St. John's Episcopal Church, 101 Chapel Street, Portsmouth The Portsmouth Athenaeum Chamber Music series presents Noree Chamber Soloists. A frequent visitor to Portsmouth, NH, Noree Chamber Soloists is a NY-based chamber music ensemble...

read more

We, the Proprietors of the Portsmouth Athenaeum, associate to promote learning and advance useful knowledge among our constituents and the wider community by facilitating convivial interchange and intellectual discourse; maintaining our historic buildings and library; and collecting and preserving materials relevant to the history and culture of Portsmouth and the Piscataqua Region.