Copy of Paul Revere’s Engraving of the Boston Massacre for “Freeholders Magazine,” Framed

On the evening of March 5, 1770, crowds began to pelt British soldiers with snowballs and rocks. A shot rang out, followed by several soldiers firing their weapons. When it was over, five civilians lay dead or dying. This event became known as the Boston Massacre. Henry Pelham created this design, The Bloody Massacre, a highly dramatized interpretation of the event that became one of the most influential pieces of propaganda in the American Revolution. Paul Revere based his engraving on Pelham’s work. This hand-colored engraving for the Freeholders Magazine was copied from Revere’s original engraving and does not contain the dog in the foreground. A note on the frame’s backing calls this engraving a “pirated” Paul Revere.

Printed in 1770 for the Freeholders Magazine. Acquired in 1981 by W. C. F., unknown owner.[1] Acquired by James Randall, Ahab's Bookshop, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Purchased in the 1980s by Ted Steinbock, private collector, Louisville, Kentucky; Privately purchased in 2020 by Museum of the Bible, Washington, DC.

Notes: [1] An inscription on the frame’s backing states, “Dog missing on the copy, WCF, 12/8/81.”