The Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) in Salem, established in 1799. It combines the collections of the former Peabody Museum of Salem and the Essex Institute. PEM is the oldest continuously operating museum in the United States and holds one of the major collections of Asian art in the United States.
The PEM holds more than 840,000 works of historical and cultural art covering maritime, American, Asian, Oceanic and African art, Asian export art and two large libraries with over 400,000 books and manuscripts.
Source:
pem.org