The celebration of the 143rd birthday of the playwright, actor, and songwriter John Howard Payne (1791-1852) was held throughout the Town of East Hampton between June 9 and June 28, 1934. Guild Hall, the Home, Sweet Home Museum, the East Hampton Library, and Clinton Academy all participated in the festivities, offering visitors free entry on the first day and providing events for the community throughout the month.
The Long Island Collection's founder, Morton Pennypacker (1872-1956), displayed materials pertaining to John Howard Payne at Home, Sweet Home, where the museum's first curator, Ruth Benjamin (1882-1957), hosted visitors.
In addition to celebrating Payne's birthday, the town sought to honor its own history. Guild Hall, which opened in 1931, held a two-week-long exhibition displaying historical objects belonging to East Hampton families, curated by the artist Hamilton King (1871-1952) and the Guild Hall Art and Exhibitions Committee.
Descendants of East Hampton's early settlers lent a variety of objects to Guild Hall representing the town's history from the 17th through 19th centuries. Items featured included furniture and clocks produced by the Dominy family, silverware made by Col. David Hedges (1779-1857), a portrait of the Rev. Samuel Buell (1716-1798), and the cane of Samuel (Fish Hooks) Mulford (1645-1725).
This photograph from The East Hampton Star's archive shows the 28-foot whaleboat that belonged to Capt. Joshua B. Edwards (1830-1915), on loan from the Edwards family, on Guild Hall's grounds.
Organized by the town, this celebration, in honoring the life of John Howard Payne and commemorating East Hampton's past, brought the community together to collaborate and share in a collective history.
Megan Bardis is a librarian and archivist in the Long Island Collection.
