We're open Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 5 PM, Saturday from 10 AM. Call 860-447-2501 or email.
The Frank L. McGuire Library is open by appointment, email.
Admission: FREE for current members, individuals with current military or USCG cadet ID , adult: $10 suggested donation, child to age 18: $5 suggested donation.
NLMS librarian Laurie Deredita's annotated 1874 map of the New London waterfront
New London's Custom House Maritime Museum!
Community Collection -- Antique Miniature & Children's Sewing Machines from the collection of John Desjardins. John Desjardins's interest in sewing machines started eight years ago when he discovered a portable antique model in his in-laws' garage. Soon he was seeking out sewing machines on eBay where he found his first miniature. Invented in France in 1829 -- a mere four years before the New London Custom House was built, the sewing machine revolutionized how clothing was made. miniature sewing machines are smaller working versions of regular-sized machines. Both beautiful and useful, the earliest models date from the latter half of the 19th century.
Community Collection -- Picturing Us at the Beach: Vintage Photography in the Studio and on the Sand, is comprised of vintage photography from the collection of Lisa Kereszi, a critically acclaimed fine art photographer and educator at the Yale School of Art.
Ms Kereszi images of nearby Little Gull Island, photos taken when she visited the privately owned island in 2024 with the NL Maritime Society
Based in the shoreline town of Branford, Lisa Kereszi has been collecting vintage photographs as well as marine and seaside-related objects and ephemera since she was a child, having grown up outside of Philadelphia with regular visits to the Jersey Shore. She wrote: 'An avid beachcomber, I also use my camera as a device to “collect” moments, people, and places that I cannot otherwise take home. This exhibit represents the intersection of two of my collecting obsessions: the beach and photography. Objects that have always caught my eye as I scour flea markets and antique shops for” vernacular” photographs (family photos, snapshots) are Victorian-era souvenir “tintypes” made, presumably at or near the sea, but not outdoors, and instead in a photographer’s studio with a painted backdrop on canvas or other material.'
Laurie Deredita is the librarian of the New London Maritime Society's Frank L. McGuire Library, where she has volunteered for the past 16 years.
Ticket address to come
