Jim Drago, security guard at the PEM and a friend of my father's

Check out this wonderful profile of a sweet guy at the Peabody Essex Museum, who was a great fan of my father's--and vice-versa

Memorial Service for Crosby Forbes, 6/23/13

The memorial service for my father will take place at the Harvard Club of Boston at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday, June 23, 2013, two days before his 88th birthday. All are welcome. More information on the Harvard Club, including directions and parking, can be found on its website here.

Memorial at Mary Wade

The Mary Wade Home organized a lovely memorial service for Dad on Friday. Senior staff attended, as well as a number of residents and their residents, and Jo and I. I read Dad's poem, "Houqua," which he wrote in high school (see below) and played Artie Shaw's rendition of "Begin the Beguine," which Dad often said was his favorite song. Kristen Paolella, who organized the service, read Emerson's poem, "Terminus," and we talked for a while about Dad--everyone wanted to hear stories.

Bio from the Forbes House Museum

Thanks to Robin Tagliaferri for this:

About Crosby Forbes:

Henry Ashton Crosby Forbes Ph.D., was born on 25 June 1925 in Westwood, MA, the great grandson of China Trade merchant, Captain Robert Bennet Forbes. He attended Dedham Country Day and Milton Academy, and later served as quartermaster in the United States Navy Landing Craft Infantry during WWII. Forbes earned an undergraduate and graduate degree at Harvard University in 1950 and 1961, respectively, and was recognized as an international expert in Asian export art. He married Grace Pierce on 16 July 1955, and is survived by two sons, Robert Pierce Forbes of New Haven, CT and Douglas Bowditch Forbes of New York, NY.

Dr. Forbes was founder of the Museum of the American China Trade, which opened its doors in 1964. He was a highly respected authority on the American China Trade, dedicating his life’s work to the conservation of Chinese export art and family artifacts. Forbes’ heritage included eleven family members who engaged in the China Trade from 1789- 1891.

Among his many accomplishments, Forbes was the author of Chinese Export Silver (published by the Museum of the American China Trade, 1975), a definitive, internationally recognized volume of research.

In 1984 the Museum of the American China Trade became the Captain Robert Bennet Forbes House, and is now the Forbes House Museum. Forbes also spent over two decades as curator of Asian export art at Peabody Essex Museum, in Salem, MA.

For more information on FHM programs, special events, membership and group tours, call the Museum at 617-696-1815 or visit the website www.forbeshousemuseum.org.

There'll always be English shoes

From HACF's journal, Feb. 9, 1963:


     "Ach, if it weren't for small blessings like splendid English shoes and magnificent suitings and good clean-cut clothes, I think I'd die. That's my only unalloyed satisfaction--a nice splendid pair of well-cared for English shoes! The most excellent product of its kind, the summation of generations of carefully preserved skills handed down in almost direct line silnce the days of Greek civilization--the culmination of the shoemaker's craft. That is something to walk in--like the winged shoes of mercury. But why did they always give me bunions until the last pair?"

Bibliography from LibraryThing

• Chinese export silver, 1785 to 1885 2 copies
• Chinese export silver: A legacy of luxury : a loan exhibition from the… 1 copy
• Hills and streams: Landscape decoration on Chinese export blue and white… 1 copy
• Warner Varnham - A Visual Diary of China and The Philippines 1835 - 1843 1 copy
• Shopping in China, the artisan community at Canton, 1825-1830 : a loan… 1 copy
• Massachusetts help to Ireland during the great famine 1 copy

I didn't know about two of these.

Dad at Mary Wade

Concert night, October 2011.

Thanks to all

The informal service at Forest Hills on Friday went extraordinarily well.  Thanks to family and friends who came out. Special thanks to Erin Brown Hastings of Beecher and Bennett, who made all the arrangements. Forest Hills faxed the documentation on the family plot, and requested Erin to find out from my Dad's relationship to the original proprietor, Margaret Forbes:

The answer is, she was Dad's great-great-grandmother--the mother of Robert Bennet Forbes. The cemetery opened in 1848, and Margaret purchased the family plot five years later, in 1853. 

That's a long time ago.

Obit in the Globe

FORBES, Henry Ashton Crosby 87, of Cambridge, MA, died of natural causes on Sunday, July 22, 2012 at the Mary Wade Home in Fair Haven. Born in Westwood, MA, on June 25, 1925, the youngest of five siblings, to the late Allan and Josephine Crosby Forbes, he was the beloved husband of 48 years to the late Grace W. (Pierce), loving father of Robert Forbes & his wife Joanne Foodim of New Haven and Douglas Forbes & his wife Heidi of Manhattan, NY, and devoted grandfather to Rachel and David. A descendant of Robert Bennet Forbes, one of America's great China trade merchants, Forbes charted an unlikely path for himself when, in 1965, he founded the Museum of the American China Trade in a home he'd inherited from his aunt. One of the earliest scholars to look specifically at this type of cross-cultural art and history, Forbes was a leading force in the field for over forty years. He was a frequent lecturer and writer on all aspects of Asian export art and in 1975, Crosby wrote (with John Devereux Kernan and Ruth Wilkins) Chinese Export Silver: 1785-1885, which remains the definitive volume on the subject. Forbes' kindness and generosity made him beloved by nearly everyone he met. He loved music, rarely missing the BSO, and was an active member of the St. Botolph Club, the Club of Odd Volumes, and many other societies. In 2011 he moved to New Haven to be closer to his children. A Memorial Service will be held in December. Contributions may be sent to the Forbes House Museum, 215 Adams Street, Milton, MA 02186. Beecher & Bennett, 2300 Whitney Ave., HAMDEN, in care of arrangements. To send a condolence to his family, please seeobituaryat:www.beecherandbennett.com

Published in The Boston Globe on July 29, 2012

Here's a beautiful bio by Karina Corrigan of the PEM.

From: Karina Corrigan <karina_corrigan@pem.org>
Date: Mon, Jul 23, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Subject: Henry Ashton Crosby Forbes
To: Every User <everyuser@pem.org>

Last night, we received the sad news that Crosby Forbes, Curator Emeritus of Asian Export Art died peacefully over the weekend in New Haven.

A descendant of Robert Bennet Forbes, one of America's great China trade merchants, Crosby charted an unlikely path for himself when, in 1965, he founded the Museum of the American China Trade in a home he'd inherited from his great aunt.

One of the earliest scholars to look specifically at this type of cross-cultural art and history, Crosby was a leading force in the field for over forty years. He was a frequent lecturer and writer on all aspects of Asian export art and in 1975, Crosby wrote (with John Devereux Kernan and Ruth Wilkins) Chinese Export Silver: 1785-1885, which remains the definitive volume on the subject.

Crosby continually expanded the scope of the field, later redefining the museum's collecting goals to include works from throughout Asia and for diverse markets - Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. In 1984, the China Trade Museum (as it was then called) merged its Asian export art with the Peabody Museum to form one of the world's great collections of this type of art. A rigorous scholar, Crosby and his wife Grace were also generous donors, contributing hundreds of works from their own collection to the museum.

He led a vibrant life outside of the museum, serving on boards of many organizations and was always willing to share his considered opinions - sometimes with people who were perhaps less eager to hear them. A passionate preservationist, Crosby was never afraid to challenge his alma mater and neighbor, Harvard University, about the disposition of its many historic structures.

He was the devoted husband of Grace Pierce Forbes, a book editor and Russian scholar, loving father of two sons, Robert and Douglas Forbes, and grandfather of Rob's two children Rachel and David.

Crosby was too ill to make it up from New Haven this year, but I feel confident that he would have been delighted by the fresh breeze that Freeport [No. 5]: Michael Lin has brought the Asian export art wing including the silver galleries that bear his name. I hope you'll take the opportunity to spend some time this week in the collection he helped to build, remembering the life of this inspiring, charming, and wonderful man. And I'm sure he'd be delighted if you had a piece of chocolate cake in his honor as well!

Burial will be private, but a memorial service is planned for later this year. 

H. A. Crosby Forbes

Henry Ashton Crosby Forbes, 87, of Cambridge, MA, died of natural causes on Sunday, July 22, 2012 at the Mary Wade Home in Fair Haven, CT.  Forbes was the youngest and last surviving sibling of five, beloved husband of 48 years of the late Grace W. (Pierce) and loving father of Robert and Douglas. He founded the China Trade Museum of Milton, MA, which merged with the Peabody Essex Museum of Salem, where he was a curator. He greatly advanced the discipline of Asian export art, and created the field of Chinese export silver.  His Chinese Export Silver, 1785 to 1885 (written with John Kernan and Ruth Simmons) remains the definitive work on the subject. He was a gifted lecturer and an excellent photographer and artist.

Forbes’ kindness and generosity made him beloved by nearly everyone he met. He loved music, rarely missing the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and was an active member of the St. Botolph Club, the Club of Odd Volumes, and many other societies.  In his later years dined almost nightly at the Charles Hotel. In 2011 he moved to New Haven to be closer to his children. To the end of his life he retained his clear grey eyes and his iron grip.

A memorial service will be held in December. Contributions may be made to the Forbes House Museum, 215 Adams Street, Milton, MA 02186.

H.A. Crosby Forbes, June 25, 1925-July 22, 2012

Family and friends,

We have sad news to convey. This afternoon, shortly after 1:00, Dad passed away peacefully. The staff at Mary Wade were wonderful. As Selina said, "We don't cry for all of them."  

A memorial service will be held later in the year, probably in December. We will post details here and on our Facebook pages.

The current situation

Dad is hanging in there, but he's continuing to lose weight. He does a good job drinking milk (chocolate and regular), but has rejected solid food for about a week, at least while I've been there. He continues to make a huge hit with his nurses and aides--that hand-kissing wins them over every time, and he means it, too.

Garden visit, 7/16/12

The fact that it was over 90 degrees out didn't bother Dad in the least.

Visit from the Pierces

Lee, Shelby, and Allen came by to visit Dad today. He was overjoyed to see them.

Dad's 87th

Joanne and I celebrated Dad's birthday a day early on Sunday, with Douglas and Heidi and Jo's sister Stacey. Eleanor at Dad's table thinks he's a kid.

~*~

Happy Father's Day!

Talked to Dad this afternoon on the phone. He declared himself to be "happy as a clam." Well, good.

Garden weather!

As most readers of this blog know, Dad was very frail for quite a while after contracting the flu in April. He's now back at the Mary Wade Home, and after a scare at the end of the month, when he wasn't eating or drinking, he's coming back nicely. He spent an hour in the beautiful Mary Wade garden this morning with Martin, a high school volunteer, and we had some milk and Ensure while waiting for lunch. Visitors are most welcome, particularly May 16-June 19, when I'll be out of town on a fellowship.

Ice cream

Joanne thought she was taking a snapshot.  So much the better.

This was taken on March 18.

A moment from David's bar mitzvah

Rob, Crosby, and George Posener, Congregation Beth El-Keser Israel, October 16, 2004

Photo by Charlie Ludwig

Jo and Dad

Checking out a photo book.

Crosbys in Dresden, c. 1896

  Henry Ashton Crosby Jr.         Mary Leavitt Crosby (Mae)              John Player Crosby (Jack)
        Josephine May Ashton Crosby Sheldon Leavitt Crosby (Chuffy)   Beatrice Wells Crosby (Betty)

New Year's Day

More like it

Back from a walk

New Year's Eve in the Country Kitchen

Happy New Year to all!

Wonderful lunch at Coachman Sq. this afternoon, with immediate familly and some family friends.