The Liberty Tree Lantern
When the news of the repeal reached Boston in May 1766, the town hung lanterns in the great elm at Essex and Orange streets that had been, since the previous August, the Liberty Tree, lit an obelisk on the Common, and rang the bells until midnight. This glass lantern, with elm-leaf finials that refer to the tree itself, hung in it. Expert-examined; very few of the lanterns survive.
It is the single most evocative object in the collection, and the one visitors ask to see first. Revere's view of the obelisk, printed from his original plate, records the rest of the evening.
Liberty Tree Lantern
A glass lantern with elm-leaf finials that hung on Boston's Liberty Tree in the illumination for the repeal of the Stamp Act. A very rare surviving lantern, expert-examined; the finials refer to the tree itself. It is the single most evocative object in the collection.