AFA 18th Anniversary

The Massachusetts legislature established the National Lancers in 1836 to escort and protect the governor of the commonwealth. Now headquartered in Framingham, this volunteer cavalry militia troop continues to exist as a ceremonial component of the Massachusetts Organized Militia. In 1836 the governor of Massachusetts commissioned artist Charles Hubbard to produce the military standard held aloft in the parade seen here on the Boston Common. Hubbard also made the painting of the event reproduced lithographically by Lane. The governor and his entourage on the left review the parade; members of the public are scattered in the middle and on the far left. The coloring was applied by hand at the time the print was published. In 1837 the Massachusetts Charitable Mechanic Association recognized Thomas Moore for his lithographic printing and Lane for his lithographic drawings. The Concord, Massachusetts, printer and Concord Artillery member Elbridge G. Jefts advertised the sale of this view on July 4, 1840, in the Yeoman’s Gazette . He described the print “as a very accurate view of the Monument and the surrounding scenes, and will make a handsome ornament for the parlor.” The dedication of the monument was on July 4, 1837. That year Lane hired fifteen-year-old John S. Keyes to ferry him across the Concord River. Keyes paddled about in the river while Lane made his preliminary drawing. In his memoir, Keyes observed that Lane’s view was “a very correct picture of the place as it then looked.” The view looks towards the town and the light falls strongly on the Battle Monument. In 1840 several thousand Whigs were expected to attend the July Fourth Whig barbecue, parade, and ball in Concord. Certainly the view of the battlefield would have found many admirers and purchasers. 2018 Antiques & Fine Art 171 View of the Battle Ground at Concord, Mass. Drawn by F. H. Lane. Lithograph by B. W. Thayer & Co. Lithography, Boston, 1840. Lithograph on paper, hand-colored, 15¾ x 201⁄16 in. Boston Athenaeum; Gift of Charles E. Mason Jr. National Lancers with the Reviewing Officers on Boston Common . Drawn by C. Hubbard. Drawn on stone by F. H. Lane. Lithograph by Moore’s Lithography, Boston, 1837. Lithograph on paper, hand-colored, 1411⁄16 x 20¼ in. Collection of Hope and Robert Bachelder.