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The Massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th, 1770

The Massacre perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th, 1770 Engraving
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Engraving by unidentified artist based on Henry Pelham

image 15.3 cm x 10.5 cm; whole page 20.5 cm x 12 cm.

Frontispiece from A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston... Printed by order of the town of Boston : London : Reprinted for E. and C. Dilly, in the Poultry; and J. Almon, in Picadilly, 1770


This engraving by an unidentified artist illustrates the events of the Boston Massacre, and served as the frontispiece to the second English printing of A Short Narrative of the Horrid Massacre in Boston (Dilly, 1770). Based closely on Henry Pelham's version (available from the American Antiquarian Society), noticeable variations in this version include no moon in the sky to the left of the State House, a ninth column in the cupola, a third smoking chimney on the right side of King Street (now State Street), and, visible above Capt. Thomas Preston, standing behind his troops, is the word "Boston" rather than "Custom House".