Images of Governors of Massachusetts, 1629-1894

The State Library has recently digitized over fifty images of governors of Massachusetts between the years 1629 and 1894. The collection, known as Picture 1-55, includes an image of the Province House, the official residence of royal governors of the Province of Massachusetts, and one image each of the Old State House and the "New" State House (1798), where the State Library is located. These images are available on the Library’s Flickrpage.

Sincere thanks to Special Collections Department intern Kate Boutin, who scanned and described the images in this collection.

Special Collections Department

Washington's Birthday

This proclamation issued by U.S. President John Adams, on January 6, 1800, is the first official observance of George Washington’s Birthday. Eight days later on January 14th the Governor of Massachusetts, Moses Gill, issued a similar proclamation but with many more details. By order of the Massachusetts General Court both proclamations were printed on one sheet and delivered across the Commonwealth.

Springfield Illustrated, 1882

The State Library has an extensive collection of books about cities and towns in Massachusetts, some of which contain beautiful historical photographs. One such book is Springfield Illustrated, which consists of a collection of 32 photographs taken by James Dwyer Gill and was published in 1882 of Springfield, Mass. The images have been digitized and can be viewed on the Library's Flickr page.