The Concord Museum's Henry David
Thoreau Collection, the world's largest collection of objects related to Concord's native
son, numbers over 250 artifacts--furniture, ceramics, glass, metalwork, books,
photographs, manuscripts and textiles. The Museum is honored to be the steward of this
national treasure. The Concord Museum's unparalleled collection includes the desk, bedstead, and chair from Thoreau's house at Walden Pond.
Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) is most often associated with his sojourn at Concord's Walden Pond and the book that followed. Yet as a cultural historian, abolitionist, naturalist, teacher, surveyor, poet, Transcendentalist, anthropologist, inventor, and social critic, he used his keen eye, sharp mind, and sense of humor to "survey” his world in a myriad of ways. Thoreau's legacy to subsequent generations continues to shape and enrich our lives. His work has been translated into countless languages and has influenced some of the most noted leaders of the 20th century, including Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Henry Thoreau's relationship with Cummings E. Davis, an early collector of Americana and the Museum's founder, helped establish the ongoing tradition of local residents donating artifacts to the Museum. For more than 100 years, the Museum has served as the repository for Thoreau-related artifacts provided by his family, his neighbors, friends and admirers, and others.
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An Observant Eye: The Thoreau Collection at the Concord Museum