The Treaty of Portsmouth (Portsmouth Peace Treaty)

Portsmouth Peace Treaty Exhibit Catalogue Released

“An Uncommon Commitment to Peace” Volume Features Exhibit Panels, Artifact Photographs, New Essays

Portsmouth NH (July 26, 2006) -- The Japan-America Society of New Hampshire has published a catalogue of the exhibit “An Uncommon Commitment to Peace: Portsmouth Peace Treaty 1905” which remains at the Portsmouth Historical Society's museum through October.

The exhibit opened in 2005 to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty in Portsmouth in 1905. The publication of the new catalogue and the continuing exhibit recognize that 2006 is the 100th anniversary of the Nobel Peace Prize awarded to President Theodore Roosevelt for his role in helping to end the Russo-Japanese War with the Treaty negotiations.

The Japan Society's publication of the catalogue was made possible with assistance from the Japan Foundation's Center for Global Partnership, Toyota Motor Company and Boynton, Waldron, Doleac, Woodman & Scott, P.A. as well as the dozens of private collectors who loaned items to the Portsmouth Historical Society for the exhibit.

The full color, 55-page catalogue includes:

· Complete reproductions of all of the Portsmouth Peace Treaty exhibition panels detailing the history of the Russo-Japanese War and the Treaty proceedings, including a fold-out, day-by-day timeline of the negotiations, illustrating the interplay among the multiple tracks of diplomacy at work in Portsmouth

· The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Trail Map with accompanying text by historian Richard M. Candee highlighting the many local sites and social events that supported the formal negotiations.

· Photographs by noted photographer Richard Haynes of the artifacts collected by the exhibit team that relate to both the war and the negotiations: personal items, souvenirs and ephemera, including pens and Baron Komura's chair from the Treaty signing.

· An essay introducing the artifacts by exhibit curator Hayato Sakurai

· “The Path to Peace” diagram that Portsmouth architect Patrick Stevens created to trace the workings of multi-track diplomacy in 1905 Portsmouth.

· Reproductions of the Treaty and Ratification documents -- exact copies that were produced for the exhibit by special arrangement with the Diplomatic Record Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan

In his foreword to the catalogue, Portsmouth Peace Treaty Anniversary Committee co-chairman Charles Doleac notes, “In 1905 in Portsmouth, NH, an uncommon commitment to peace became a common virtue. The Portsmouth Peace Treaty Exhibit honors and continues that tradition.” In presenting the catalogue he added, “The catalogue for the Portsmouth Peace Treaty exhibit is an important addition to the library of anyone who is interested in the history of the War, the Peace and the process that made Portsmouth an important element in world history. It includes information and insights found nowhere else. ”

Copies of the catalogue may be purchased for $25 through the PortsmouthPeaceTreaty.com website, from the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire (82 Court Street, Portsmouth NH 03801) or at the Portsmouth Historical Society Museum shop, John Paul Jones House, corner of State and Middle Street in downtown Portsmouth. To download a copy of the catalogue, click here.

Calendar of Events

For a month's view Calendar, click here.

For information about ordering fine art prints of this Treaty Centennial symbol, and other commemorative items, click here.

Twitter.com: @PortsmthTreaty

To learn more about the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire

Mailing address:
82 Court Street
Portsmouth NH 03801

To join the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire online, click here.

For information about the Russia Society of New Hampshire, write to
PO Box 177
Concord NH 03302-0177

For a Russian-language description of the Treaty exhibit click here.

For the Russian-language Library of Congress description of the Treaty of Portsmouth, click here.

News and Links

To learn nore, the following books are available:

Heroes & Friends: Behind the Scenes of the Treaty of Portsmouth by Michiko Nakanishi

There Are No Victors Here: A Local Perspective on the Treaty of Portsmouth by Peter E. Randall

Also available:

An Uncommon Commitment to Peace Exhibit Catalogue published by the Japan-America Society of NH

Blessed Are the Peacemakers: The Service of Thanksgiving for the Portsmouth Treaty, September 5, 1905 by Marina Grot Turkevich Naumann

Original 1905 newsreel footage on DVD

Treaty of Portsmouth 1905-2005 book of reproduction historical postcards.

The Portsmouth Peace Process: Guide for Teachers by Northeast Cultural Coop

Portsmouth Peace Treaty Trail

For hours, directions, details on the Portsmouth Historical Society museum where the Portsmouth Peace Treaty exhibit is displayed, click here.

For hours, directions, details on Strawbery Banke Museum and the Shapiro House, owned by one of the founders of Temple Israel who figured in the Treaty citizen diplomacy, click here.

For information about Portsmouth Naval Shipyard and Building 86 where the formal negotiations were held. click here.

For more information about Wentworth By the Sea Hotel, where both delegations stayed, click here.

For more information about Green Acre Bahai School and Sarah Farmer's commitment to the peace process, click here.

The Portsmouth Public Library maintains an micorfilm archive of local newspapers and an index of the relevant Treaty reporting and other related materials. The archive of original newspapers, photographs and other documents is maintained by the Portsmouth Athenaeum.