Lifeways Lectures, Undergarment Collection, Stoop Sale, Ghost Tours and More Set for Merchant's House, June 2013

The Merchant's House Museum (29 East Fourth Street, NYC) has announced its upcoming June 2013 events. See details below! For more information, call 212-777-1089 or visit merchantshouse.org.

19th Century Lifeways Lecture - The Garden: Looking Back, Going Forward

Date: Thursday, June 13

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: We study past historical practices to advance our knowledge and adapt these concepts to our modern contingencies. Enjoy a glass of wine and join Head Gardener John Wm. Rommel in an appreciation of the framework of our "rear yard" that allows for our modern garden interpretation, discussing native and historical plant choices and usage, as well as fads and fashions, then and now.

19th-Century Lifeways is the Museum's new public program series - in which experts lecture on 19th century American decorative arts, architecture, New York City history, preservation, and related subjects. The Merchant's House Museum's intact 1832 landmark building and original collections provides the springboard for the lectures.

$15, MHM Members FREE. Reservations required; call 212-777-1089 or visit merchantshouse.org/calendar.

Take a Peek: 19th Century Undergarments from the Collection

Date: Thursday, June 13 through Monday, September 16

Time: noon - 5 p.m. (closed Tuesday & Wednesday)

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: Defy propriety and come take a peek at rarely seen examples of the Tredwells' undergarments from the 1850s and 60s. On display will be a hand-embroidered chemise, split-leg drawers, steel-boned corset, voluminous petticoat, silk stockings, and cage crinoline. You'll be amused - and amazed - when you learn how much a mid-19th century lady wore under her clothes. Included with regular admission. Reservations not required.

Old-Fashioned Stoop Sale

Date: Saturday, June 15

Time: noon to 6 p.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: Antiques - china & glassware - decorative furnishings - vintage clothes - fashion accessories - costume jewelry - linens, all for a song and all to benefit the Merchant's House. Please donate - it's tax deductible. Free. Reservations not required. Call 212-777-1089 or email nyc1832@merchantshouse.org for more information.

19th-Century Lifeways Lecture - The Bowery: The Rise, and Fall, and Rise Again

Date: Wednesday, June 19

Time: 6:30 p.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: Join David Mulkins, Chair of the Bowery Alliance of Neighbors, for an illustrated lecture on the history of the City's oldest and most-illustrious thoroughfare. The Bowery was an Indian foot path, a Dutch farm road, and in the early 19th century home to wealthy merchants like Peter Cooper and the Tredwells. It was later notorious for gangs such as the Bowery Boys, saloons and dance halls, brothels and flophouses. It was also New York's first entertainment district and cradle for tap dancing, vaudeville, Yiddish theater - and punk rock. In recent years, the Bowery has experienced a ferocious wave of gentrification and real estate speculation, threatening its historic character. This spring, the Bowery was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

19th-Century Lifeways is the Museum's new public program series - in which experts lecture on 19th century American decorative arts, architecture, New York City history, preservation, and related subjects. The Merchant's House Museum's intact 1832 landmark building and original collections provides the springboard for the lectures.

$15, MHM Members FREE. Reservations required; call 212-777-1089 or visit merchantshouse.org/calendar.

Candlelight Ghost Tours of "Manhattan's Most Haunted House"

Date: Friday, June 21

Time: 7 & 7:30 p.m.

Location: Merchant's House Museum, 29 East Fourth Street (btwn Lafayette & Bowery)

Description: Doors slam, floorboards creak, voices call into the night. Venture into The Shadows of history to see the house where eight family members died (and The New York Times called "Manhattan's Most Haunted House") by flickering candlelight and hear true tales of inexplicable occurrences from the people who actually experienced them. Tours are 50 minutes. $20, $10 MHM Members. Reservations required; call 212-777-1089 or visit merchantshouse.org/calendar.

The Merchant's House Museum is New York City's only family home preserved intact - inside and out - from the mid-19th century. Home to a prosperous merchant-class family for almost 100 years, it is complete with the family's original furnishings and personal possessions, offering a rare and intimate glimpse of domestic life from 1835-1865. For more information, visit www.merchantshouse.org, Facebook: www.facebook.com/merchantshouse and Twitter: @merchantshouse.