The Man Who REALLY Engraved The Boston Massacre - Henry Pelham
Henry Pelham was a Boston artist who ended up as a Loyalist, but not before playing a very interesting role in the American Founding.
A big thanks to YouTube viewer (and Discord meme machine) Misfit for recommending Pelham.
Henry Pelham
Henry Pelham was born in Boston and was raised primarily by his mother after his father’s untimely death.
Henry became an artist, following in the footsteps of his older (and much more famous) half-brother John Singleton Copely.
The work that brought Copely to the attention of the world was actually the portrait of Pelham as a teenager which can be seen above.
The Steal
After the Boston Massacre, Pelham produced an engraving titled The Fruits of Arbitrary Power, or The Bloody Massacre.
Henry lent a copy of his picture to his friend Paul Revere.
Revere made a copy of this and printed his own...The Bloody Massacre Perpetrated in King Street Boston on March 5th, 1770.
Revere’s painting became, arguably, the most famous piece of anti-administration propaganda against Parliament in the years leading up to the Revolutionary War.
Take a look at the two images, can you tell the difference?
Loyalist
Pelham was furious that Revere published his copy of the engraving a week before Henry could.
He wrote a scathing letter to Revere attacking his honor, though he remembered to remind Paul to send the hinges his mother ordered.
Despite being literally days away from printing an extremely important piece of history, Pelham became an outspoken Loyalist (though one can’t help but think if he had become known for this image, perhaps he’d have chosen a different side).
After the Revolutionary War broke out, Pelham joined his brother in England where he spent the remainder of his life.
Here are some other artists of the American Revolution:
Charles Wilson Peale Paints The Revolutionaries
Gilbert Stuart Captures the Founders for Posterity
If you’d like your very own copy of Paul Revere’s classic engraving, here is a great poster of it.
Pick up a copy through the Amazon affiliate link below (you’ll support this site, but don’t worry, Amazon pays me while your price stays the same).
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The main resource for this article was the Massachusetts Historical Society’s website. Check out their excellent comparison of the two engravings here.
