Boston in Glitter

The Special Collections Department of the State Library holds hundreds of postcards depicting the State House, and with few exceptions each one is different. Some are postally unused, but many have stamps, postmarks, and messages on the back.

This new postcard came to the Library in early May from one of our regular donors.  It probably dates from between the late 1890’s to the mid 1910’s; it shows the Brigham extension at the rear of the building, but doesn’t show the East and West wings, which were completed by 1917.

In the photograph below, you can see both of the State Houses: the Old State House on Court Street, which was the seat of the state government until 1798, is inside the letter “T” in the word Boston, and the New State House (which isn’t really new anymore) is next-door in the letter “O.”

The best part of this new accession: the letters are outlined in glitter!

For more images of our State House postcard collections, see a small selection on our Flickr site: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mastatelibrary/sets/72157626293651362/.

Beth Carroll-Horrocks
Head of Special Collections

A New Old Postcard

For the past several years the State Library’s Special Collections Department has been collecting postcards of both the exterior and the interior of the Massachusetts State House. The postcards come in as donations and are found almost exclusively at tag sales and flea markets.

This new (old!) card depicting the “Battle Flags of Massachusetts Regiments, at Statehouse, Boston, Mass.” has a postmark of 1913, and is addressed to Master Kermit Nickerson of Belfast, Maine. We are almost certain that this young Master Nickerson grew up to be Maine’s Commissioner of Education, Kermit Spearin Nickerson (1904-1982). The dates and the geographic location fit just right.

Here’s the text as written:

“Am going to Plymouth Mass Saturday and hope it doesn’t rain as it did last Sunday either. I am sending you this card for your collection as these are flags used in war. Some are very badly torn and some there are only parts of it left. Inez.”

We haven’t yet figured out who Inez is.

The State House still has an impressive display of battle flags on the second floor, though the original flags, as shown in the postcard, were moved by textile conservators in 1987 to environmentally controlled storage to keep the flags safe.

Beth Carroll-Horrocks
Head of Special Collections

Vintage Postcards of the State House Now Available on Flickr

The State Library has scanned and uploaded a selection of our postcard collection onto Flickr for your viewing pleasure. Ranging from the early 1900s to the mid 1920s, the postcards primarily depict the iconic golden dome and façade of the Massachusetts State House. Also included are the Shaw Memorial, the General Hooker Monument, the interior legislative chambers, Memorial Hall, and the Brewer Fountain in the Boston Commons.

Most of the collection consists of traditional souvenir postcards, but some are of a more promotional quality. While not available online due to copyright restrictions, there is a group of campaign postcards depicting Massachusetts politicians, such as Governor Frank Sargent and Lieutenant Governor Elliot Richardson. To view these campaign postcards and our complete collection of postcards ranging from the early 20th century to the 1990s, please visit the State Library Special Collections Department, Room 55.

The majority of our collection of nearly two hundred postcards can be found in Souvenir 68, a gift of former State Senator Edward L. Burke. Additional postcards have been recently donated by Beth Carroll-Horrocks.

-- Marissa Sorek, Special Collections Intern