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ITEMS IN NEED OF CONSERVATION:
Ledger Books - 1769-1803 Abby Ann Muzzey Sampler - 1816 Silk Needlework - 19th Century Muzzey Civil War Flag - c. 1861-1865 Liberty Loan Flags - 1918 & 1919 ITEMS RECENTLY CONSERVED: Anna Munroe Portrait - c. 1830 Daguerreotype of Steam Train - 1846 Dr. Fiske Bill - 1775 Draft of Constitution of Massachusetts - 1780 Jonas Clarke Commemorative Sermon - 1776 Mulliken Family Needlework - c. 1830 Munroe Family Porcelain - 18th Century Muzzey Civil War Scrapbook - 1861-1865 Muzzey Civil War Uniform - c. 1861-1865 Oral Histories on Cassette - 1950-1997 Receipt for Lexington Militia Payroll - 1778 Receipt for Purchase of Drums - 1775 |
Daguerreotype of Steam Train - 1846
This rare and historic image shows the first steam train traveling from Lexington to Boston and is one of the earliest photographic images in the Society’s collection.
According to the Society's historian, Dick Kollen, Lexington resident Benjamin Muzzey spearheaded the effort to bring a railroad line through Lexington so that local businesses might benefit by the additional commercial traffic. He also had aspirations for a progressive Lexington, which at that time was a small farming community. Kollen writes of the railroad: Passenger service began on August 25, 1846. Present was Jonathan Harrington, the last surviving member of the Captain Parker's company. This early railroad featured a passenger locomotive called "The Muzzey" and a freight engine called "Old Pittsfield." But "The Tudor," a small cable engine pulling one passenger car, left the Depot in the center on the Lexington Branch's inaugural run. The daguerreotype was one of the earliest successful forms of photography, and it was widely utilized from the 1830s into the 1860s. Treatment needed: Cleaning, deacidification of paper label, digitization and creation of custom-made housing. Conservation completed by the Northeast Document Conservation Center (NEDCC) in Andover, MA. Total Cost to Conserve: $1,200 |