Colonial Commerce

The East Hampton Library’s Tom Twomey Lecture Series will launch its 2016 season on Saturday at 5 p.m. with “Colonial Commerce,” a discussion featuring Frank Sorrentino, a researcher, and Steve Russell Boerner, an archivist, both of whom draw upon the library’s Long Island Collection.

Mr. Sorrentino, a retired insurance executive who has developed expertise in colonial currencies and accounting practices, will discuss the account books and other documents of Robert Townsend, who was General George Washington’s chief spy in New York.

Mr. Boerner, whose area of specialization is land and cartographic information, will highlight colonial commerce materials in the Long Island Collection. 

Upcoming lectures indicate the range of the series’ topics: the causes and effects of algal bloom (May 7), the history and sound of the harmonica (May 21), and the 2016 Presidential election campaign (June 4).