Creator(s)	Boston (Mass.)
Contributor(s)	New England Bank Note Co., printer.
Title	Boston water scrip
Variant title(s)	At head of title: Commonwealth of Massachusetts
Link to library catalog	http://catalog.bostonathenaeum.org/vwebv/holdingsInfo?bibId=528138
Date	[1847]
Publisher	[Boston, Mass.] : New England Bank Note Co.,
Physical description	1 sheet ([1] p.) : ill. (engravings) ; 24 x 32 cm
Summary	An engraved bond certificate for Boston water scrip; at head of title: Commonwealth of Massachusetts; amount indicated in upper left corner: 1000 dollars, and in upper right corner: Redeemable [blank]; illustrated with vignettes of allegorical figures, water scenes, and a Native American hunter figure.
Source of Acquisition	Purchase; Osgood Fund; May 8, 2017.
Biographical or Historical	Bonds for Boston water scrip were authorized by the Act for supplying the City of Boston with pure water, enacted by the Legislature in 1846. The bonds were issued to help pay for several million dollars in loans for the new waterworks, which would bring water to the city from Lake Cochituate. Much public debate about incurring the debt took place beforehand, but the celebratory gala and parade on October 25, 1848 was one of the largest in the city's history, memorialized in graphic prints and original music (See: Bookseller's description; and Smith, C. City water, city life, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2013, pages 124-125).
Notes	Printed area, including border, measures 23.1 x 31.1 cm . "This is to certify, that for value received, the City of Boston will pay at the Office of the City Treasurer, on the first day of April [blank] to [blank] or [blank] the sum of one thousand dollars, and will also pay the interest warrants hereto attached, as the same shall become due. This stock being created in pursuance of an act of the Legislature, and an order of the City Council, for the purpose of paying for the introduction of water into the City of Boston. April 1st 1847. [blank] Treasurer; [blank] Auditor; countersigned, [blank] Mayor. "
Local notes	Athenaeum copy has blank spaces filled out in ink: dated: will pay... on the first day of April "1858"; made out to "Thos. J. Lobdell" or "Bearer"; numbered above the title proper: "No. 132"; marked in upper right corner: Redeemable "1858"; signed: "James C. Dunn" Treasurer; "E. Copeland, Jr." Auditor; countersigned, "Josiah Quincy, Jr." Mayor; manuscript signatures have been canceled with punches.
Provenance	Dunn, James C. (Treasurer), signer Copeland, Elisha, approximately 1794- signer Quincy, Josiah, 1802-1882, signer Lobdell, Thomas J., former owner
Subject	Bonds--Massachusetts--Boston--Specimens. Finance, Public--Massachusetts--Boston. Water-supply--Massachusetts--Boston. Cochituate, Lake (Mass.) Boston (Mass.)--Politics and government--1775-1865.
Genre terms	Blank forms. Bonds (negotiable instruments) Broadsides--Massachusetts--Boston--1847. Engravings--United States--1840-1850.
Location	Prints and Photographs Dept. (Appointment required)
Call Number	Bro. 3.207
Source	Boston Water Scrip.tif
Rights	Collection of the Boston Athenaeum. May not be reproduced or quoted without written permission. For more information, see http://www.bostonathenaeum.org/node/46