The wonderful folks at the Fall River Historical Society in Fall River, MA, have done it again! Usually, when the holiday season rolls around, they carefully wrap up and store away all of their Lizzie Borden artifacts until the spring. I mean, who wants to enjoy the celebration of the season with a visit to a murder trial’s exhibit collection? Well, maybe you and me, but most? Probably not.
So this year, in recognition of the release of Parallel Lives: A Social History of Lizzie A. Borden and Her Fall River, the new 1179 page tome on all things Fall River, including its most (in)famous citizen, the Society has gifted us all with a new exhibition! —A celebration of the genial side of Lizzie Borden, featuring new and never before seen artifacts, letters, images, and ephemera—-all donated to the Society by the families of friends of Lizzie Borden and used in the writing of this new book.
I have visited the exhibit and let me be the first to tell you just how magnificent it is! I oohed and ahhed my way around the room, marveling in the unique pieces—so many of them to behold!
It was nice to see the actual photographs that are being used in Parallel Lives, and see, first hand, the letters and stock certificates that bear her signature. Lizzie’s gold watch is included, as well as a large collection of her holiday cards sent to one family over many years. To imagine the Lizzie Borden of legend while viewing these delicate and friendly items is nearly impossible. For what we are presented with here is proof of another life—one lived with grace, dignity, and courage. A sense of the sweetness of Lizzie Borden is in this collection, which for many will be a completely different experience.
So if you want to think about the horrific events of August 4, 1892, feel free to visit 92 Second Street. But if you want to encounter the private Lizzie Borden of her later years, and touch, if just for a moment, the kindnesses and generosity of a woman who seemed to have lived her life without audacity or malice, then please visit this amazing exhibit now!
