Description

Historical print based on lore depicting a 1774 meeting in Boston between British Massachusetts Royal Governor General Thomas Gage and a "committee" of boys about British troops infringing their rights by destroying their snow hills and skating ice when unprovoked. Depicts the rotund Gage seated in a palatial drawing room decorated with an ornate rug; damask-style, blue wallpaper; red drapery; a large painted portrait of King George III; a book case; and a fireplace with a mantle adorned with a gold sculpture of the British lion. Gage, in uniform, sits in an arm chair near two of his officers, in uniform. One is seated at a table, covered in a cloth with an ornate design and the other stands next to him. A ledger and sheets of paper rest on the table. A delegation of boys, in long jackets, pantaloons, and tri-corn hats, enters the room through an open door. The lead boy extends his hand toward Gage as the others look at the room, each other, and the royal governor. An African American male servant, attired in a blue jacket and pantaloons and depicted with simian-like features, tends to a fire in the fireplace behind Gage. Written about in children's history texts beginning with Samuel Griswold Goodrich's in the 1830s, the episode is likely based on a 1775 incident involving a servant of General Frederick Haldiman, Haldiman, and a group of Boston boys about which Gage heard and then commented they had "caught the spirit of the times."; Max...

Record Contributed By

The Library Company of Philadelphia

Record Harvested From

PA Digital