Item number: CSMT394
Genuine Antique Broadside
1914
Maker: Humane Society
Antique lifesaving broadside from 1914 published by the Humane Society of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Humane Society was founded in 1786 by a group of Boston citizens who desired to reduce needless deaths resulting from shipwrecks and drownings. It was based on a similar organization established in Great Britain in 1774. Its first lifesaving activities consisted of publishing procedures for dealing with victims of shipwreck and other water-related accidents, and the placement of lifesaving equipment, lifeboats, and shelters on the islands and coast of Massachusetts Bay. This impressive and rare broadside illustrates lifesaving procedures to rescue a drowning person or to revive a person "apparently dead from drowning." The figures are dressed in ways that suggest the story of their accident, some as mariners perhaps victims of shipwreck, some in swimming clothes, and some in daily clothing who may have fallen into the water by accident or been passengers on a wrecked ship. The Massachusetts Humane Society was also crucial in the creation of several Boston hospitals and continues to operate, offering awards to rescuers and grants to programs that educate and train people to save lives. This broadside is both visually and intellectually interesting, and an important part of Massachusetts's maritime history. Very good antique condition with folds as issued and some minor wear on the left side. Measures approx. 26 x 20.5 inches to the paper edges.
Genuine Antique Broadside from 1914
Item Number: CSMT394