Mad about the Massachusetts Historical Society’s Collections

The Massachusetts Historical Society is celebrating its 225th anniversary this year with, among other things, this online exhibit of 225 notable objects from its collection.

Those objects don’t appear to include the broadside titled “Wolfe’s summit of human glory” which I wrote about here and is one of my personal favorites.

But they do include the Samuel Selden powder horn and many other treasures from the Revolutionary period:

• Phillis Wheatley’s writing desk.
• a panorama of besieged Boston based on the work of Lt. Richard Williams.
• Col. Henry Knox’s diary for the winter of 1775-76.
• epaulets worn by Gen. George Washington.
• Washington’s address to the officers at Newburgh, written in his own hand.
• the Bucks of America medallion from (I believe) the mid-1780s.
• Elbridge Gerry’s notes on the Constitution.
• the one known image of Lucy Knox, a caricature in silhouette.
• Paul Revere’s most detailed description of his ride on 18-19 Apr 1775.

And much more. Some of the material even comes from other historical periods.

Starting today, the M.H.S. is hosting some sort of bracket competition involving 64 of those objects, designated by red dots on the collection page. Since that hasn’t started yet, I don’t know how it works, but I’m sure the webpage will be happy to explain.

In addition, the society’s exhibit on “The Private Jefferson” has opened and will be free to visitors Monday through Saturday until 20 May. There’s also a new illustrated book highlighting Thomas Jefferson documents in the society’s collections.

A Look at Samuel Selden’s Horn

Back when I reviewed the “We Are One” exhibit at the Boston Public Library [closing this weekend!], I finished by saying, “Over the next couple of days I’ll discuss a couple of the ‘We Are One’ items in more depth.“

The first of those artifacts was the Crispus Attucks teapot, and looking into that led to a much longer series of postings about Attucks than I expected. As a result, I never got to the second.

That neglected artifact is the Samuel Selden powderhorn, owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society. Here’s a blog post from the M.H.S. about it.

The Selden horn is dated March 9, 1776. It identifies its owner (not necessarily its carver) as “MAJOR SAMUEL SELDEN” of Lyme, Connecticut, and identifies itself as “MADE FOR THE DEFENCE OF LIBERTY.” The horn’s main decoration is a schematic map of the fortifications on “BOSTON NECK.” The “YANKES BRESTWORK” and “REDOUTS” with a big “MORTER” face off against “THE REGULARS BRESTWORK.”

But the horn’s unique graphic is a picture of a ship labeled “SHIP AMARACA” flying two flags. At the topmast is a banner with a tree—either the Liberty Tree or a variation of the “Appeal to Heaven” pine tree. At the aft is a flag with a Union Jack near the staff (but not exactly in the place of a canton) and a field that could be a series of horizontal stripes or a colored field denoted by hatching. Thus, it’s possible—but not in my eyes definite—that this horn is one of the earliest representations of the flag that the Continental Congress designed for its navy at the end of 1775.

I held the Selden horn in my (gloved) hands while examining two other powder horns owned by the Massachusetts Historical Society three years back. It was striking to see it again on display at the Boston Public Library.

Not until I came home from the exhibit, however, did I realize that Samuel Selden (1723-1776) was an ancestor of mine. Another branch of the family still uses “Selden” as a given name. After finishing the Boston campaign, Col. Selden took his regiment down to New York. He was captured in a skirmish during the Landing at Kip’s Bay on 15 Sept 1776, fell ill while imprisoned in City Hall, and died on 11 October.