Massachusetts Historical Society

Highlights from Our Collections

Browse a selection of objects from the Society's vast collection showcasing a range of items—from iconic treasures to quirky historical artifacts. You can limit your search by topic or format. There are many more items accessible through our Online Resources.

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British side drum captured at the Battle of Bunker Hill

unidentifed English maker

This British side drum was captured at the Battle of Bunker Hill in June 1775 and repainted with the patriotic motto: "Independence be your boast, ever mindful what it cost." The drum was later used by the 33rd Massachusetts Infantry during the Civil War.

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Tea leaves in glass bottle collected on the shore of Dorchester Neck the morning of 17 December 1773

This small glass bottle contains tea leaves gathered on the shore of Dorchester Neck, across the harbor from Boston, the morning after the Boston Tea Party. This is one of five relics of the Boston Tea Party (including tea caddies and a china punch bowl) in the collections of the MHS.

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Pocket watch belonging to Cotton Mather

by Daniel Quare. England

This watch, made by master clockmaker Daniel Quare of London, belonged to the Puritan clergyman Cotton Mather. According to family tradition, it was "carried by him among the Indians, who, hearing the ticking, were frightened and thought he carried the Devil in his pocket, and ran away from him."

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Margaret Hall and a soldier standing outside an American Red Cross canteen tent

unidentified photographer

Massachusetts-born Margaret Hall worked as a member of the American Red Cross in France during World War I. On her return home, she compiled a typescript narrative from the letters and diaries that she wrote overseas, illustrating the text with her own photographs of soldiers, canteens, and the extensive destruction following the war.

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No Slavery! Fourth of July! The Managers of the Mass. Anti-Slavery Soc'y ...

In 1854, the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society sponsored a Fourth of July rally in Framingham, Mass. Noted abolitionists, including William Lloyd Garrison, Sojourner Truth, and Henry David Thoreau, addressed the crowd. Garrison burned copies of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law and the U.S. Constitution, which he called "a covenant with death and an agreement with hell."

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John Adams

Benjamin Blyth

This pastel portrait of John Adams was painted by Benjamin Blyth of Salem. This and Blyth's companion portrait of Abigail Adams are the earliest known likenesses of the couple. It was painted shortly after the Adams' marriage when Blyth was just 20 years old.

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The Bloody Massacre perpetrated in King Street, Boston on March 5th 1770 by a party of the 29th Regiment

Paul Revere

Visual representations of the Boston Massacre began to appear soon after the event. Powerful images of coffins and skull-and-crossbones symbols punctuated news accounts and broadsides. This hand-colored engraving by Paul Revere, emotional but historically inaccurate, was based on an earlier drawing by Henry Pelham. Revere got his print to market first.

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The branded hand of Captain Jonathan Walker

Southworth & Hawes

Capt. Jonathan W. Walker was an ardent abolitionist who was convicted and sentenced for attempting to assist seven freedom seekers in 1844. His hand was branded with the letters "SS" for "slave stealer," as shown in this daguerreotype photograph by Southworth and Hawes. The reverse image, consistent with the daguerreotype process, depicts Walker's right hand.

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Elizabeth Freeman

Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick

This watercolor-on-ivory miniature portrait was painted by Susan Anne Livingston Ridley Sedgwick in 1811. Its subject is Elizabeth Freeman, known as "Mumbet," an enslaved woman who sued for her freedom in 1781 and set the legal precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts.

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In Congress, July 4, 1776. A Declaration by the Representatives of the United States of America, in General Congress Assembled.

The first printing of this founding document is the single most important published item at the MHS. On 18 July 1776, Abigail Adams was in the crowd that gathered outside Boston's Old State House to hear the Declaration read aloud—perhaps from this very copy.

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