In a talk sponsored by Lincoln County Historical Association, maritime historian Lincoln Paine will offer insights to the collection of the Maine Maritime Museum. The talk, which is the first in LCHA’s winter lecture series, will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 7 in the Communications Building behind the Lincoln County Court House in Wiscasset.

Paine's illustrated lecture, “The Seductions of Maritime History,” will be of interest to people well acquainted with maritime history as well as those for whom the phrase "maritime history" conjures up images of little more than Hollywood pirates, shipwrecks, and mal de mer. 

Paine draws on the museum's extensive collections, including many items not normally exhibited, presenting a behind-the-scenes view of the museum in particular, and of how historians look at and interpret physical objects generally. 

A trustee of the Maine Maritime Museum, Paine is also an award winning author. His book, "Down East: A Maritime History of Maine," is “a delight for anyone curious about the past or interested in the future of the great State of Maine,” according to Walter Cronkite. His award-winning, "The Sea and Civilization: A Maritime History of the World," is called “an extraordinary and lucid feat of compression” by The Literary Review.

Admission to the winter lecture series is free. A donation of $5 is suggested. Coffee and pastries will be served. For more information about the lecture, call Christine Hopf-Lovette at 207-522-6397. 

The Lincoln County Historical Association is an all-volunteer non-profit organization that provides stewardship for the 1754 Chapman-Hall House in Damariscotta, the 1761 Pownalborough Court House in Dresden, and the 1811 Old Jail and Museum in Wiscasset. For a complete listing of 2015 Winter Lecture Series presentations, please visit www.lincoln