Collecting Seaweed? It was "Virtuous Amusement" in 19th Century Newport

In the early 19th century, collecting seaweed was all the rage.

Enthusiasts saw the variety of marine plant life as “flowers from the ocean” and they pressed them onto paper, turning “tangles of algae into delicate specimens,” said Elizabeth Sulock, manager of public outreach and living history for the Newport Historical Society.

What better place to collect seaweed specimens than in Newport, also known as the City-by-the-Sea?

The Newport Historical Society holds a collection of seaweed specimens that Kathrinne Duffy, the Society’s 2014 Buchanan/Burnham Fellow, has studied in detail. On Thursday April 16, 2015 at 5:30pm, Kathrinne will discuss this collection, and her research, during the talk Naturalists in Neptune’s Garden: Seaweed Collecting as Virtuous Amusement in 19th Century America.

“Unlike stuffing dead animals, preserving seaweed seemed a gentle pastime, ideal for female naturalists,” Kathrinne explains. “Their physiological forays offered fresh air, exercise and a sense of purpose. Religion also motivated some collectors. By examining algae, pious naturalists felt they could better fathom God’s creation. But around the year 1900, with the acceptance of fun for its own sake, seaweed collecting lost its popular appeal.”

Evolving from the exhibit Flowers of the Ocean: A History of Seaweed Collecting in Newport, which is currently on display at the Museum of Newport History (127 Thames Street), Naturalists in Neptune’s Garden will explore the origins of the algae trend, the lives and motivations of seaweed collectors and the changes in amusement culture that led to the decline of seaweed collecting as a hobby. Attendees can view a nineteenth century album of New England seaweeds from the speaker’s personal collection.

This 5:30pm program takes place at the Colony House on Washington Square. General admission costs $5 per person, $1 for Newport Historical Society members and active duty military with ID. Please RSVP at NewportHistory.org or call 401-841-8770.

Kathrinne Duffy is a doctoral student in American Studies at Brown University. Her areas of focus include nineteenth century America, the history of science, and material culture. She spent the summer of 2014 as a Buchanan/Burnham Fellow at the Newport Historical Society where she curated the Flowers of the Ocean exhibit. To learn more about her work, visit kateduffy.net.