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Peabody Essex Museum,
Salem, MA

Always Wear A Helmet

Begun in 1799 by seafaring entrepreneurs who collected art on their voyages, the Peabody Essex is this country's oldest continuously operating museum. Boasting one of the most active acquisitions programs among American museums, its expansive collections reflect its energetic commitment to art. It has, among its most prized holdings, the world's largest and most important collections of Asian decorative arts produced for American and European art connoisseurs. For those interested in maritime arts and history, the museum's maritime collection is the most comprehensive and the most renowned in America.

Website: http://www.pem.org
Email: pem@pem.org

Peabody Museum's Maritime Section
Nathanial Bowditch 1773 - 1838	Born in Salem in 1773 and with little formal education (ending at the age of 10), Nathaniel Bowditch produced in 1802 one of the most remarkable scientific books published in early America -The New American Practical Navigator. The book helped give the new United States credibility in the world scientific community. The manual has saved countless lives and fortunes by making the latest knowledge accessible to the ordinary sailor. All naval ships still carry a "Bowditch." He made many more significant scientific contributions and was recognized with membership in virtually every national and international scientific society of the age.


The Peabody Museum has an extensive wildlife section.	Much of the museum is devoted to Asian artifacts.





On exhibit through July 1, 2001 Kalighat: On the Sublime and the Ridiculous. The temple of the goddess Kali was the spiritual center of the great colonial city of Calcutta. In the surrounding neighborhood, known as Kalighat, a community of painters produced inexpensive pictures for thousands of pilgrims and visitors. The artists chose to paint the divinities of the Hindu pantheon, especially the goddess Kali, as well as Calcutta's fashionable set - sometimes subjects of sharp satire.