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Secondary sourcePainting1899

Samuel Adams illustration from A History of the United States

C. L. Ricketts · 1899

A black-and-white textbook illustration of Samuel Adams, made in 1899 for Alma Holman Burton's history book. It is a later picture, not a likeness drawn from life.

Shows how Samuel Adams was presented to American school readers decades after his death.

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Black and white engraved-style illustration of a man with long, wavy hair pulled back, wearing a high collar and cravat, in a close-up portrait with hatching shading. Caption below reads: SAMUEL ADAMS 1722-1803.
C. L. Ricketts, Samuel Adams illustration, From A History of the United States, page 124, by Alma Holman Burton, 1899.

About this source

What it is

This is an engraved-style illustration of Samuel Adams, drawn by C. L. Ricketts. It appeared on page 124 of A History of the United States by Alma Holman Burton, published in 1899. The picture shows a man with long, wavy hair pulled back, a high collar and a cravat. The caption below reads 'SAMUEL ADAMS 1722-1803'. It was made decades after Adams died in 1803.

Why it matters

Textbooks of the late 1800s shaped how American students pictured the Founders. This illustration shows how Adams was presented to readers long after the Revolution. It is a secondary image, so it tells us more about how his memory was shaped than about how he looked.

Look closer

  • What details of clothing and hair does the artist include, and what might they suggest about Adams?
  • Why might a book published in 1899 choose a drawing rather than a photograph?
  • What does the picture leave out about Adams's actions and beliefs?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Samuel Adams on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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