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In 1913 Historic New England received a small gift of early nineteenth century jewelry from Mr. Newton Mackintosh of Roxbury, Massachusetts. Through subsequent bequests, gifts and accessions the collection has grown to include over 2,000 pieces of personal adornment.
The collection is diverse in forms and materials and represents the variety of jewelry fashions that were popular with New Englanders over the past three centuries. It also reflects the rich history of jewelry making in New England beginning with individual goldsmiths in the 18th century and ending with the large costume jewelry companies of the 20th century.
Complementing the jewelry collection are many objects, portraits, photographs and ephemera from Historic New England’s fine and decorative art collection and library and archives. These related items help to give a deeper and better understanding of the history of jewelry in New England.
This exhibition was made possible through the generous support of the Tiffany & Co. Foundation.
The exhibition was written by Sarah H. Sherman with the assistance of Juliet Friedman. Please direct all questions about the collection or a particular object in the exhibition to Sarah Sherman at ssherman@historicnewengland.org.
All objects featured in this online exhibition are from Historic New England’s collection. Information about each piece can be found in either the Themes section or is listed by type in the Checklist section.
To begin your journey through Historic New England’s jewelry collection please click on one of the two links below.
The following links provide additional information about the collection and the history of jewelry.
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