Postcard Depicting the First Reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston

Artwork, Ephemera

ca. 1940

Accession #:06_10_000073
Identifier:64468

Digital Commonwealth

Color image of a postcard titled "Reading of the Declaration of Independence from the Old State House, July 18, 1776." The postcard features a color drawing in the center with a yellow-orange border. The drawing depicts a crowd of white people actively walking towards and gathering in front of the Old State House, a three floor brick building with a bell tower at the top and two lion statues on the front of the roof, one on the right edge and the other on the left edge. The crowd comprises men in breeches, knee-length coats, and tricorne hats, women in dresses and bonnets, and children. The crowd is jovial. People are pushing into the Old State House on the first floor and spilling out onto the balcony on the second floor. They sky is blue with few clouds. The colors of the image are vibrant and warm.

This postcard ca. 1940 depicts the first reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston at the Old State House.

This postcard depicts the first reading of the Declaration of Independence in Boston. While the image originates in the 1940s, it shows an event that occurred on July 18, 1776. The reading took place from the balcony of the Old State House in downtown Boston. Abigail Adams attended the reading and wrote to her husband, John Adams, that “the cry from the balcony was ‘God save our American states!'”

Boston’s Revolutionary War

Demonstration

Legislation

Words

Artwork Ephemera