For research and publication purposes, the Concord Free Public Library holds and provides access to thousands of images documenting the Concord landscape (natural and built), the town’s people and life, and its historical, cultural, and literary heritage, as well as photographs of unique items—manuscripts and artwork—in the holdings of the William Munroe Special Collections. If you are unable to visit the Library, you can review our list of Most Requested Images (below), which features many representative examples of our visual holdings.
While we are pleased to provide digital image reproductions for reference and personal use, receipt of an image does not confer the right to publish that image in any form. To use an image in a publication (print or online), including student presentations and dissertations, or for an exhibition, it is necessary to obtain formal permission.
The William Munroe Special Collections makes digital copies of works available in accordance with 17 U.S. Code § 107. Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use, which authorizes the use of works protected by copyright without permission for “purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, … scholarship or research.” Usage, transmission, downloading, or reproduction of protected items beyond that allowed by the Fair Use Copyright Law requires the written permission of the copyright owners. While a significant percentage of our image holdings are in the public domain, determining the existence of copyright or any other legal restrictions, as well as obtaining permission from the copyright holder, is solely the responsibility of the user. The William Munroe Special Collections cannot make such determinations on behalf of the user. The William Munroe Special Collections also reserves the right to deny permission to reproduce images of any works in our collections based on copyright considerations and other factors.
Most Requested Images
The following selection of images from the Concord Free Public Library is provided to suggest the range of images available in the Special Collections. It is not intended to limit your selection. If you do not see what you are looking for here, please do not hesitate to contact us to learn more about our holdings. If you find what you want, you may request it by number (indicating that you saw it on this page). If an image is shown in black and white, it is available only in black and white. If it is shown in color (including sepia), please specify whether you want it in black and white or color.
Please direct all requests and questions to the William Munroe Special Collections at SpecColl@minlib.net.
![]() 1. Amos Doolittle. A View of the Town of Concord, 1775 (engraving). |
![]() 2. Amos Doolittle. The Engagement at the North Bridge in Concord, 1775 (engraving). |
![]() 3. Solemn League and Covenant, 1774 (front, showing printed text). |
![]() 4. Solemn League and Covenant, 1774 (reverse, showing signatures). |
![]() 5. Declaration of Independence (Salem: E. Russell, 1776). Concord’s copy, read by William Emerson. |
![]() 6. North Bridge, 1875, with celebration tents for the centennial of the Concord Fight. |
![]() 7. Dining Tent, interior (Centennial of Concord Fight), 1875, by T. Lewis. |
![]() 8. Battle Monument, North Bridge, 1875, by T. Lewis. |
![]() 9. Residence of Judge Hoar with President Grant and Cabinet (centennial of Concord Fight), 1875. |
![]() 10. Concord Square, 1875 (Centennial of the Concord Fight), 1875, by T. Lewis. |
![]() 11. Daniel Chester French’s Minute Man, ca. 1885-1890, by Alfred Winslow Homer. |
![]() 12. North Bridge, 1965, by Keith Martin. |
![]() 13. Edward Jarvis. Map of Concord, Mass., Central Village, as it was from 1810 to 1820, 1883 (drawn from memory). |
![]() 14. Amos Bronson Alcott on the steps of the Concord School of Philosophy. |
![]() 15. Amos Bronson Alcott on a rustic seat. |
![]() 16. Louisa May Alcott, writing at the desk in Orchard House. |
![]() 17. Louisa May Alcott, seated, pen in hand. |
![]() 18. Louisa May Alcott, seated, reading (Conly’s Portraits). |
![]() 19. Orchard House and Concord School of Philosophy. |
![]() 20. Ellery Channing (copied by A.W. Hosmer from original photograph). |
![]() 21. Ralph Waldo Emerson, looking to his right, by Black. |
![]() 22. Ralph Waldo Emerson, in lecture stance, by Black. |
![]() 23. Ralph Waldo Emerson, seated, by Black. |
![]() 24. Ralph Waldo Emerson, head and shoulders, by Black) |
![]() 25. Ralph Waldo Emerson, by Gutekunst). |
![]() 26. Title-page, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Nature (Boston: James Munroe, 1836). |
![]() 27. Wrapper, The Dial, Vol. 1, No. 1, July 1840. |
![]() 28. Lidian Emerson holding young son Edward, ca. 1847. |
![]() 29. Old Manse (centennial of Concord Fight), 1875, by T. Lewis. |
![]() 30. Old Manse, ca. 1890-1895, by Alfred Winslow Hosmer. |
![]() 31. Residence of R.W. Emerson, 1875. |
![]() 32. Ralph Waldo Emerson House, by Alfred Winslow Hosmer. |
![]() 33. Margaret Fuller (copied by A.W. Hosmer from an engraving). |
![]() 34. Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1860 (London: Mayall) |
![]() 35. Wayside, showing Nathaniel and Sophia Hawthorne. |
![]() 36. Hawthorne’s Home, “The Wayside,” Concord, Massachusetts. |
![]() 37. Elizabeth Palmer Peabody. |
![]() 38. William Torrey Harris and Elizabeth Palmer Peabody by the Concord School of Philosophy, by Alfred Winslow Hosmer. |
![]() 39. Franklin Benjamin Sanborn. |
![]() 40. Henry David Thoreau, 1854 (crayon portrait), by Samuel Worcester Rowse. |
![]() 41. Benjamin Maxham. Henry David Thoreau, 1856 (A.W. Hosmer copy from one of three daguerreotypes that initially belonged to H.G.O. Blake, by Maxham). |
![]() 42. Edward S. Dunshee. Henry David Thoreau, 1861 (carte de visite copy from original ambrotype). |
![]() 43. Thoreau's birthplace, Virginia Road, Concord, Mass., by Alfred Winslow Hosmer |
![]() 44. Alfred Winslow Hosmer. Thoreau’s Walden furniture (displayed in the Concord Antiquarian Society building). |
![]() 45. Henry David Thoreau. Walden Pond, 1846 (manuscript survey, ink on paper). |
![]() 46. Title-page, Henry David Thoreau, Walden, or, Life in the Woods (Boston: Ticknor and Fields, 1854). |
![]() 47. Walden Pond and cairn, ca. 1890-1895, by Alfred Winslow Hosmer. |
![]() 48. Herbert Wendell Gleason. Overlooking Walden Pond toward Mt. Wachusett, from Pine Hill, Apr. 28, 1906. |
![]() 49. Egg Rock, Oct. 31, 1899, by Herbert Wendell Gleason. |
![]() 50. Canoe under the Leaning Hemlocks, Assabet River, by Alfred Munroe. |
![]() 51. Monument Square from Lexington Road (showing Wright Tavern, Middlesex Hotel, flagpole, Soldiers’ Monument). |
![]() 52. First Parish in Concord, before the 1900 fire and rebuilding, by Alfred Munroe. |
![]() 53. Wright Tavern, by Alfred Munroe. |
![]() 54. John Warner Barber. Central Part of Concord, Mass., 1839 (engraved by J. Downes; published in 1840 in Barber’s Historical Collections). |
![]() 55. Soldiers’ Monument, Monument Square, by A.H. Putnam. |
![]() 56. Middlesex Hotel. |
![]() 57. City Hall (Town House), Concord, Mass., 1875. |
![]() 58. Monument Square and Town House, before 1895, by Alfred Winslow Hosmer. |
![]() 59. Concord Square, Concord, Mass. (looking west; showing trolley). |
![]() 60. Concord Center, south side, looking west, ca. 1865. |
![]() 61. Concord Center, looking east (toward Monument Square). |
![]() 62. Concord Bank building (Concord Center, north side), late 1850s. |
![]() 63. Concord Free Public Library, ca. 1880. |
![]() 64. Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, Concord, Mass. |
![]() 65. Station, Concord Junction, Mass. |
![]() 66. Depot, Concord Junction, Mass. |
![]() 67. Union Square, Concord Junction, Mass. |
![]() 68. Commonwealth Avenue. Concord Junction, Mass. |
![]() 69. Buildings of the Allen Chair Co., Concord Junction, Mass. |
![]() 70. Boston Harness Co., Concord Junction, West Concord, Mass. |
![]() 71. Damon Mill building, West Concord, Mass, ca. 1895, by Alfred Winslow Hosmer. |
![]() 72. Concord Reformatory, Concord, Mass, 1937. |
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