The history and provenance of Diamond the rocking horse, a beloved family artifact in the Emerson House nursery. Already an antique when Lidian Jackson bought it in 1825, Diamond took a circuitous route to Concord, its story touching on themes of childhood, illness, family, and domesticity—and involving two dramatic incidents at sea.

A reflection on Emerson’s trip to the White Mountains in the summer of 1832 as he considered leaving the ministry after the death of his first wife, Ellen. Taking wisdom from his surroundings, it was there that Emerson made the decision to resign. Mountains continued to occupy a place in his imagination, itineraries, and poetry for the rest of his life.

On Christmas Day of 1832, Emerson sailed for Europe for the first time. He’d recently resigned as pastor of the Second Church in Boston and was still mourning the loss of his first wife, Ellen. In Europe, he hoped to find relief from an illness and to meet with writers he viewed as kindred spirits. He spent several months in Italy, was profoundly affected by the Jardin des Plantes in Paris, and met the writers Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Wordsworth, and Thomas Carlyle, the last of whom became a lifelong friend.

In the spring of 1871, Ralph Waldo Emerson joined John Murray Forbes—his daughter Edith’s father-in-law—and family on a train trip to California. After Emerson gave a series of lectures in San Francisco, the party moved on to Yosemite Valley, where a young John Muir arranged to meet the man he so admired.

Starting in 1833, Ralph Waldo Emerson earned his living by lecturing across the country, and eventually in Europe as well. Leveraging a rising enthusiasm for the lyceum movement, he spoke to audiences on a broad range of topics and maintained a rigorous schedule of speaking engagements.

In October 1847, Emerson embarked on an eight-month European lecture tour. While in England, he reconnected with his friend Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish writer and philosopher whom he’d first met 14 years earlier. While the two men didn’t always agree, they maintained a lifelong friendship and correspondence.