Visual Descriptions
The Council Chamber / The Humble Petitioner
The top of the spiral staircase which leads to the second floor faces a short hallway. On the left side of the hallway is a long panel with a timeline detailing important moments in the history of petitioning in England and colonial Massachusetts. Dates on this timeline range from 1628 to 1788. This hallway leads into the Governor’s Council Chamber, a room which used to serve as the meeting place for the Royal Governor and his 28-member Council. White decorative wooden paneling, known as wainscoting, lines the bottom of the walls of the room beginning at torso height. The walls above the wainscoting to the ceiling are painted a muted yellow.
North Wall
The wall to the left of the entrance features three large paneled windows adorned with rich red curtains. Between the two windows furthest from the doorway hangs a portrait of Royal Governor Thomas Pownall inside of a gold frame. He is a middle-aged white man with brown eyes and wearing a short white wig with a ponytail tied in a blue ribbon. He is seated at a brown table, only his torso is visible. He is wearing a red jacket with bronze trim and accents. He is holding a piece of paper in his right hand, his left hand is curled lightly into a ball. A white undershirt pokes out from the ends of his jacket cuffs, chest, and collar. The background is black and gray. Beneath this portrait is a medium-sized table covered in a dark green tablecloth with gold trim. On the table sits a large leather book containing excerpts and images of various colonial-era documents which informed the British concept of liberty.
East Wall and Balcony
The wall opposite the entrance features one paneled window to the left and right, each adorned with rich red curtains. In the center of this wall is a window similarly adorned with red curtains and which opens to a balcony. This window looks directly down State Street to Long Wharf. To the left of the balcony window hangs a portrait of King James II inside a gold frame. He is a middle-aged white man wearing a shoulder-length dark gray wig. Directly below his chin is a white lace cravat. His arms, torso, hips, thighs, and knees are covered in shiny metal armor. A blue sash runs diagonally across the breastplate of his armor. The waistline of his armor is gilded and features a large brooch on the right hip. A large dark blue cape with black-spotted white ermine lining conceals his left arm and wraps around his back. The gilded hilt of a sword sits below his left hip. A small segment of chain mail hangs over his groin. Beneath the armor on his legs and knees, he wears light red breeches and socks. He wears beige shoes with a slight heel and jeweled buckles. He holds a short scepter with a black orb and cross on top in his right hand. Behind his right hand (on the left side of the portrait), a bejeweled crown topped with a smaller gold orb and black cross and a bejeweled gold orb topped with a smaller black orb and cross rest on a burgundy pillow. Above the crown and orb is a wall with a column, shield, sword, and spearheads carved into it. Behind him to the right at thigh height, the end of an anchor pokes out from behind his robe. Behind the anchor is a beach, ocean, and large British warship firing its cannons. A plume of white smoke conceals part of the ship. Above the ship is a dark and cloudy sky.
To the right of the balcony window hangs a portrait of King Charles I inside a gold frame. He is a middle-aged white man with shoulder-length brown hair and a light brown van dyke beard. The ends of his mustache are turned up. He is wearing a regal dark blue robe with gold and white ermine fur trim. A wide band of black-spotted ermine white fur runs down the center of the robe from his chest to the bottom edge. The robe covers his arms to his elbow. His sleeves are made of a shiny white silk with lace cuffs. He is also wearing a large dark blue cape with black-spotted white ermine fur lining which hangs to the ground. His shiny white shoes sport large gold pom poms. He stands with his left arm resting on a gold-hilted sword hanging from his waist and his right arm akimbo. Behind him to the right is a column and partly cloudy sky lit at sunset. Next to his left arm, a bejeweled gold crown and gold orb topped with a cross sit on a wall. Behind him to the left is a large gold and red curtain.
Beneath both portraits are sealed brick fireplaces. In front of the left fireplace is a firescreen on a black wooden tripod stand with gold accents. The firescreen contains interpretive text on the first reading of the Declaration of Independence to the people of Boston on July 18, 1776, which took place on the balcony.
South Wall
The wall to the right of the entrance features three large paneled windows adorned with rich red curtains. Between the two windows furthest from the doorway, directly across the room from the portrait of Governor Pownall, hangs a portrait of Royal Governor William Shirley in a gold frame. He is a white middle-aged man wearing a white wig which disappeared behind his back. He is wearing an elegant patterned red jacket and waistcoat. A white undershirt pokes out from the ends of the cuffs of his jacket and collar. He stands in front of a window to his left (the right side of the portrait). Five small sailboats can be seen on the water visible through the window. The sky is beginning to light with a rising sun. A dark curtain hangs behind him, one of its tassels hangs in the open window in front of the sky. He holds a rolled up document in his left hand. His right hand rests on a table, which holds another document or tablecloth.
Between the two paneled windows on the right wall nearest the doorway stands a tall dark brown grandfather clock. The base of the clock rises to around knee height and is as wide as the length from elbow to fingertips. It features two fluted columns carved into the corners. The base and top of these columns are polished brass. The body of the clock is narrower than the base and stands from around knee to eyeline height and also features two fluted columns carved into the corners, based and topped with polished brass. A small keyhole sits to the left in the middle of the length of the clock body. The top of the clock is as wide as the base and is several feet tall. Two thinner fluted columns with polished brass bases and tops stand on the left and right sides of the clock face, which is behind glass. The clock face features three concentric circles. The outermost circle features Arabic numerals, with 60 at the top, then moving in increments of five, starting with the number 5 in the 1 o’clock position. The circle within this contains Roman numerals denoting the hour. The innermost circle is a brass plate. At the top of this plate is a small circle which counts seconds, beginning with 60 at the top and labeled in increments of five. At the bottom of the plate is a small square opening which displays the date. It currently displays the number 31. Just below the midline of this plate are two small open circles with gray metal pegs in the center. The hour and minute hands of the clock sit in front of the clock face, currently frozen at 2:46. The four corners around the clock face contain embossed gilded patterns, each featuring a small face wearing a floral crown. Above the clock face sits a raised brass circle with the words, “Gawen Brown Boston” inside. This raised circle features a leaf pattern around the edge. On the left and right of the Gawen Brown circle are more embossed gilded patterns featuring dragons on either side. A small brass keyhole sits on the left edge of the glass case in front of the clock face. Above the clock face, the top of the clock head continues with two carved and molded semicircular arches. The lower of the two arches features a gilded background. Above the arches is the top of the clock head. It is a trident-like shape with gilded finials atop each of the three points. Beneath the center finial is a delicately carved cutout with a gilded background.
West Wall
Directly above the entrance doorway into the chamber sits a large reproduction of the coat of arms of Great Britain. The seal is dominated by two large animals. To the left is a gold lion reared up on its hind legs wearing a crown on its head. To the right is a silver unicorn reared up on its hind legs wearing a gold crown around its chest. A small red rose sits next to the lion’s back left leg, and a small gray thistle sits next to the unicorn’s back right leg. Between these two animals is a seal divided into four quadrants, each containing symbols of Great Britain. The top-left quadrant contains three small gold lions arranged in a vertical line against a red background (representing England) and one larger red lion inside of a red border against a gold background (representing Scotland). The top-right quadrant contains three gold fleur-de-lis arranged in an upside down triangle against a blue background (representing France). The bottom-right quadrant features a silver horse against a red background (representing Hanover) and two small gold lions against a red background and a blue lion against a gold background with small red hearts (representing Brunswick-Lüneburg). In the middle of this quadrant sits a small gold crown with a red background. Finally, the bottom-left quadrant features a gold harp against a blue background (representing Ireland). A gold knight’s helmet topped with a gold crown sits above the seal. Atop the crown sits a small gold lion standing on all four legs wearing a smaller crown. Beneath the seal running along the bottom of the coat of arms are waving blue-gray ribbons containing the words, “Dieu Et Mon Droit,” or “God and my right,” in English. Against the wall to the right of the entrance hangs a black and white map of London. To the right of the map is a white door, which is replicated on the far left side of the entry wall.
Council Table
In the center of the room sits a long wooden meeting table covered in a green tablecloth with gold trim. The table is flanked by reproduction Governor’s Council chairs. On top of the table sit candle stands with candle sticks, inkwells with quill pens, laminated copies of petitions submitted to the Governor’s Council, and (at the head of the table) a writing desk. Above the table hangs a brass chandelier with two tiers of electric candlelights. Each tier contains ten lights. The petitions on the table are contextualized and discussed further in The Humble Petitioner exhibit, which the Governor’s Council Chamber currently hosts. This exhibit contains objects and stories pertaining to petitioning the government that met on the second floor of the Old State House in colonial Massachusetts. There are four cases in the chamber, one in each corner of the room containing objects and stories highlighting four different groups of people who could not vote in colonial Massachusetts, but who could and did submit petitions. Going clockwise from the case in the near left corner from the doorway, those groups are: women, Indigenous people, working-class white men, and Black people.
The Humble Petitioner – Women’s Voices
The case on women’s petitions in the near-left corner of the room from the entrance features the stories of two women: Abigail Faulkner, who petitioned to have her name cleared and reparations paid following the Salem Witch Trials, during which she was accused and imprisoned for being a witch; and Freelove Scott, who petitioned for a portion of her loyalist husband’s estate after he fled colonial Massachusetts during the American Revolution. The case contains reproductions of both Faulkner and Scott’s petitions, a reproduction letter from John Andrews, and a small brown book with a blue spine on the history of the Salem Witchcraft Trials. In the near-left corner of the case, a dark brown tree root fragment the size of a fist rests on a light gray box about five inches up from the floor of the display case. The surface of the fragment facing the front pane of the display case is flat with cracks on its right and bottom sides. It has the words, “Root of the tree upon which the Witches of Salem were hung,” carved into it. In the back right corner of the case, a dress fragment about the length and width of a child’s torso is mounted upright. It is in the shape of an upside down triangle, but the bottom end is flat, not pointed. The top left and right corners of the fragment feature broad pink vertical stripes overlaid with thin black lines. On the inside (toward the center) edge of the broad pink stripes are narrow stripes with black and gray lines in an alternating zigzag pattern. Running down the center of the fragment is another broad pink stripe with thin black lines bordered on both sides by black and gray zig zag stripes. Two ribbons featuring an alternating pattern of pink stripe with thin black lines bordered on either side by black and gray zig zag stripes and off-white silk run from the flat bottom of the fragment to the top, covering the edges of the center pink stripe, then flaring out to each corner along the top of the fragment. All of this is laid over an off-white silk background.
The Humble Petitioner – Native Voices
The case on Indigenous petitions in the back left corner of the room from the entrance features the story of Reuben Cognehew, a Mashpee leader who traveled to England to hand-deliver a petition asking King George II for protection of Indigenous fishing rights in and use of Mashpee (located on Cape Cod) from European colonists. The case contains reproductions of a land deed from Quichatasset (an Indigenous leader from the 17th century), the Mashpee petition delivered by Cognehew, and King George II’s response. It also contains a copy of a sermon on the death of King George II and the accession of King George III. Finally, in the front and center of the case sitting on a light gray square riser about one inch from the floor of the case are three instruments used by colonists to fish in New England. On the back right corner of the riser lie two large fishing hooks, both of which would occupy most of the length of a person’s hand. The first is relatively smooth, shiny, and black. Its shank (or main body) runs about two inches before flaring out slightly into its bend which terminates in a sharp point. At the eye (the top end of the shank), the hook bends at 90 degrees away from the point to form a separate very short point. Behind this hook lies another. This one is matte, gray, and marked with light scratches. Its shank balloons out to about the size of a finger before returning to a slender bend, terminating in a point with a barb pointing in the opposite direction. The eye of this hook points up in the same direction as the shank, but flattens and widens out. In front of both of these hooks sits another fishing tool. It is a dark rusty brown color and slightly longer than the span of an average hand. The base is threaded screw which then flares out into a trident-like head. Two broad metal stripes protrude and bend out before nearly meeting at their flat, triangular ends. Running directly out and between these two pieces is a narrow metal point, which terminates between where the two outer pieces almost meet.
The Humble Petitioner – Working Men’s Voices
The case on working class white mens’ petitions in the back right corner of the room from the entrance features the stories of two men: Benjamin Gault, who petitioned for a tavern license after being diagnosed with a condition which rendered him unable to perform manual labor; and John Barnard, who petitioned for an increase in pay as master of the North Grammar School in Boston. The case contains reproductions of both Gault and Barnard’s petitions and several objects. In the near left corner sitting on a large gray square rise about one inch off the case floor lie two tools. The first has a smooth brown contoured handle which connects to a small ferrule (cylindrical metal base). A black rod protrudes out from the ferrule and has a thin triangle slightly larger than an average palm fixed perpendicularly on top. The edges of the triangle are sharp and the sides bend very slightly inward from point to point. The second tool has a dark, rough wooden handle which is nearly uniform in circumference throughout its length. At the end of the handle, a dark rusted metal band in the shape of an oval protrudes out at a 90 degree angle. It is connected to the handle by a metal slat which has been hammered directly into the handle. A small square gray riser sits on the near-right corner of the same large gray riser holding the tools. On top of this riser sits a miniature model wooden barrel about an inch and a half tall. In the near right corner of the case, three sterling silver coins are presented in a line on an upright gray board. The coin to the left is stamped with a tree, and features a portion of the word, “Massachusetts,” around the edge. The middle coin is stamped with a year in the center, perhaps 1632, and features the words, “New England,” around the edge. The coin to the right has an “X” scratched onto its surface and features a fragment of the word, “Massachusetts,” around the edge. Each of the coins have lost detail due to use, though they retain a shiny surface. In the center of the case on a gray riser about eight inches tall sits a large silver tankard about one foot tall. It features an elegant and large handle topped with a hinge which connects to the tankard lid. The lid itself is topped with a small finial in the shape of a pinecone sitting in a cup. On the surface of the tankard opposite the handle is etched a crest or insignia. At the top is a snake whose body is in a winding ess orientation. Beneath each end and the middle of the snake are ovals which hold up a floral curtain. Beneath the middle oval is a larger oval with a thin border and the letters “ALD” in cursive script in the center. Two flowers surround the large oval beginning at its base and running up its sides to the floral curtain.
The Humble Petitioner – Black Voices
The case on Black petitions in the near-right corner of the room from the entrance features the stories of three petitions: the petition of Felix Holbrook, Peter Bestes, Sambo Freeman, and Chester Joie, four enslaved Black men calling for the abolition of slavery in colonial Massachusetts; the petition of Anthony Vassall and his wife Coby, requesting land as reparations for their enslavement at the hands of loyalist families who fled Massachusetts during the American Revolution; and the petition of Belinda Sutton, requesting reparations for her enslavement at the hands of the loyalist Royall family of Medford, who fled Massachusetts during the American Revolution. The case features reproductions of each of these three petitions, and two images. One image sits on a gray riser in the back left corner of the case about two inches from the floor of the case. The image is roughly the size of a piece of computer paper (8.5 x 11 inches) and features a depiction of the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow House in Cambridge. In the foreground of the image is a street with the front half of a blue car passing by pointing left. The driver is just visible on the right edge of the picture. Behind the car, taking up the top two thirds of the image is the Longfellow House. It is yellow with four white columns roughly equidistant from each other across the front side. A large white door is in the center of the middle two columns. Two windows flank the left and right sides of the door between the outer columns and inner columns. The second floor features five windows, one between the middle two columns and two on either side between the outer columns and inner columns. A tall light brown tree in front of the house obscures part of this view. A blue sky hangs in the background behind the house. Prior to being owned by Longfellow, the house was owned by the Vassalls, who enslaved Anthony Vassall.
The second image sits on a stand at 45 degrees directly on the floor of the case. It is a black and white print about the size of a piece of computer paper in a landscape orientation. In the center of the image is Wendell Phillips, a middle-aged white man in a coat and pants standing on a set of stairs. He holds a hat in his left hand down by his side and holds his gaze and right arm up toward the sky. He is surrounded on all sides by white and a few black men in coats, formal jackets, top hats, and canes, and white women in dresses and bonnets. Most look upon him with rapt attention. The bottom of this print features text describing the anti-slavery meeting that was led by Phillips depicted in the image above.