exhibit catalogue: "an uncommon commitment to peace"
In 2006, the Japan-America Society of New Hampshire published a catalogue of the exhibit “An Uncommon Commitment to Peace: Portsmouth Peace Treaty 1905” 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 catalogue and the continuing exhibit recognized 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:
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.
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.