The Old Manse

Massachusetts History, Concord, MA, vintage silver print glossy 8 x 10 inch fiber photograph depicting The Old Manse.

The Old Manse is a historic manse famous for its American literary associations. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations. The house is located on Monument Street in Concord, Massachusetts, and it neighbors the North Bridge over the Concord River, a part of Minute Man National Historical Park.

The Old Manse was built in 1770 for Rev. William Emerson, father of minister Rev. William Emerson and grandfather of transcendentalist writer and lecturer Ralph Waldo Emerson. In November 1834, Ralph Waldo Emerson moved to the Manse where he lived with his aging step-grandfather Ezra Ripley. While there, he wrote the first draft of "Nature," a foundational work of the Transcendentalist movement. In 1842, the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne rented the Old Manse for $100 a year. He moved in with his wife, transcendentalist Sophia Peabody, on July 9, 1842, as newlyweds.

Printed in the second half of the 20th century as part of the American Heritage Publishing Archive.

Verso bears original filing notations and/or credit stamping. In very good condition.

Provenance: From the American Heritage Publishing Archives.