Destroyed Boston Buildings; A Massachusetts Historical Society Picture Book
Boston: The Massachusetts Historical Society, 1965. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Wraps. Format is approximately 5.5 inches by 8.5 inches. 31, [1] pages, plus covers. Illustrated front cover. Small 'ding' on back cover. Introduction by Walter Muir Whitehill. This is a Massachusetts Historical Society Picture Book. Each spring since 1954, the Massachusetts Historical Society has published a Picture Book illustrating some aspect of its collections. While the Boston Athenaeum, the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, and the Bostonian Society are more specifically concerned with the architectural and topographical iconography of Boston, the Massachusetts Historical Society has among its paintings, prints, and photographs, some little known and highly useful views in this field. The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. It is the oldest historical society in the United States, having been established in 1791. The Society was founded on January 24, 1791, by Reverend Jeremy Belknap to collect, preserve, and document items of American history. He and the nine other founding members donated family papers, books, and artifacts to the Society to form its initial collection. Its first manuscript was published in 1792, becoming the first historical society publication in the United States. Today the Society continues to collect, preserve, and communicate historical information about Massachusetts and the United States. Walter Muir Whitehill (Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1905–1978) was an American author, historian, medievalist, and the Director and Librarian of the Boston Athenaeum from 1946 to 1973. He was also editor for publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts from 1946 to 1978. From 1951 to 1972 Whitehill was a professor at Harvard University. Whitehill received his AB and AM degrees from Harvard in 1926 and 1929. Shortly after this he married Jane Revere Coolidge, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson and eldest daughter of Julian Coolidge. He then went to England where he received a Ph.D. from the University of London. In 1932 he did in Santiago de Compostela the first full transcription of the medieval Codex Calixtinus. Whitehill was selected to deliver an important televised address about the history and development of Boston on the occasion of the Bicentennial Celebration of the United States. On July 11, 1976, he spoke at the Old State House in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II, the Mayor of Boston, the Governor of Massachusetts, and a large audience. The text of his address was printed in a publication by the Bostonian Society, which operates the Old State House on behalf of the National Park Service. He delivered the commencement address in 1974 at the College of William and Mary. Although Whitehill's publishing career focused on Bostoniana, his significant work on Spanish medieval topics represented the first American interest in the subject. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Boston Fire, Architecture, Destroyed Buildings, Back Bay, Beacon Hill, Old Feather Store, King's Head Tavern, Jonathan Mason, Urban Development, Urban Redevelopment
[Book #82485]
Price: $25.00