The Scarlet Letter, 1892 edition Cover of 1892 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by the Riverside Press in Cambridge. (courtesy of Dr. Philip Sbaratta}
Cake with the letter "A" for celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Scarlet Letter at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site
Poster from 1965 film version of The Scarlet Letter
Poster advertising 1965 film version of The Scarlet Letter This poster,owned by Peter Blatty, was exhibited at the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Scarlet Letter at the Salem Custom House.
Title page of 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter Early illustrated edition of The Scarlet Letter published in Boston by James R. Osgood and Company, formerly Ticknor, Fields, and Fields, Osgood, & Co. (courtesy of James R. Osgood and Co.)
The Prison Door from "The Custom-House" chapter of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston.Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (49)
Vignette on first page of Chapter 7, "The Governor's Hall" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (118)
The Minister and Leech from chapter entitled "The Leech" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (148)
Mandrake from chapter entitled "Hester and the Physician" inThe Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (211)
"He gathered herbs here and there" from chapter entitled "Hester and Pearl" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston (213)
Arthur Dimmesdale Fig. 4. Wood engraving by Barry Moser for the Pennyroyal Press from the January 1991 edition of the Essex Institute Historical Collection, vol. 127, no. 1; originally printed in 1984 edition of The Scarlet Letter(New York: Harcourt Brace and Jovanovich, 1984)Referring to the image in the 1984 HBJ edition, Dr. Rita Gollin, author of the essay "The Scarlet Letter," points out that "Mosler's images play an active interpretive role in this edition, particularly this final image showing Arthur Dimmesdale with his eyes downcast and the scar of an "A" clearly visible on his chest" (28). (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
Illustration by George Henry Boughton in 1881 for The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne by George Henry Boughton, an Anglo-American painter and illustrator, in 1881 (oil on canvas, 46" x 16")
Description of painting from advertisement for the painting cut from a periodical (in the Hawthorne Graphics Collection, Peabody Essex Museum):
Hester is revealed in his [Boughton's] imaginative recreation as a figure of dignity and strength who glows in the dark and brooding world of New England Puritanism around her....She stands patiently, her bag of needlework in hand, her eyes and composed features testifying to the inner strength which has sustained her through exposure on the public pillory and the continued obloquy of the townspeople....In the background a man and boy hurry through the cold night, their cloaks held to their mouths to protect them from both the frosty air and the evil vapors their imagination conceives as emanating from the scorned adulteress, yet with their eyes drawn furtively to her loveliness.
(courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
Elizabeth Pain Gravestone, 1704. The Elizabeth Pain gravestone, King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter.
King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
King's Chapel, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
King's Chapel Burial Ground, Boston The Elizabeth Pain gravestone is located in King's Chapel, Boston. Local tradition holds that Elizabeth Pain was the prototype for Hester Prynne in Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. (Photography by Joseph R. Modugno)
Photograph of Una, Julian, and Rose, Hawthorne's children, c. 1862 Photograph by Silsbee and Case
Publicity photograph from the 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter starring Lillian Gish as Hester Prynne and Lars Hanson as Arthur Dimmesdale The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director
Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjöström)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Rée. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.
Hester on the Scaffold This image appears in the January 1991 edition of the Essex Institute Historical Collection, vol. 127, no. 1. It is a reprint of the illustration by Mary Hallock Foote from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by James R. Osgood. Dr. Rita Gollin, author of the article in the EIHC entitled "The Scarlet Letter" which features this image, notes that "[w]hile Foote was not the first to illustrate the novel, her portraits of Hester are unusual in their reality, dense detail, and centrality to the composition" (17). (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
Fig. 2. "The Interview." Illustration by F.O.C. Darley.
From The Scarlet Letter (Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1892), opposite p. 96.
"Darley augments Hawthorne's text with such details as the chain on the wall and Hester's lavish dress." caption on image opposite p. 96. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
Pearl and The Scarlet Letter Fig. 3. "Pearl and the Scarlet Letter". Wood engraving
by George M. Richards. From "The Scarlet Letter" (New York:
Macmillan, 1927). Sentimentally elaborating on Hawthorne's text.
Richards presents a cozy room with a sampler on the
wall, balls of yarn in a basket, and a hooked rug on the
floor, in which a slender Hester with downcast eyes
covers her scarlet letter while a smiling Pearl with
flowers in both hands gracefully dances before her. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
Mary Hollingsworth Sampler, Circa 1665 -1670. Mary Hollingsworth came from a wealthy merchant family. In 1673, she married Philip English, one of Salem's most influential and successful shipowners. In 1692 both Mary and Philip were accused of witchcraft. He and his wife escaped,however,only to be found and held in custody until they escaped again and found refuge in New York. They later returned to Salem when the witchcraft hysteria ended.
Gloves, 1640-60 An example of the type of embroidery Hester would have done.
The Ward House Great Room An interior typical of the room in which Hester
Prynne met with the Governor and ministers.
Roses in bloom in front of John Ward House that are typical of what would have appeared in front of buildings in Hester Prynne's time.
The John Ward House is located on Brown St. opposite Howard, (originally at 38 St. Peter St.) and was built after 1684. In December 1684 John Ward, a currier, purchased the land at 38 St. Peter St. and had a one-room-plan house with steep-pitched roof and overhang constructed. After his death in 1732, the house was enlarged. In 1910 the Essex Institute purchased the house, restored it, and moved it to its present location on Brown St. The house is open to visitors and offers a glimpse into life in 17th-century New England.
John Ward House, Brown St. opposite Howard, (originally at 38 St. Peter St.) built after 1684 This is one of the best examples of 17th century wood-frame-and-and clapboard houses in New England. In December 1684 John Ward, a currier, purchased the land at 38 St. Peter St. and had a one-room-plan house with steep-pitched roof and overhang constructed. After his death in 1732, the house was enlarged. In 1910 the Essex Institute purchased the house, restored it, and moved it to its present location on Brown St. The house is open to visitors and offers a glimpse into life in 17th-century New England.
Great Room in John Ward House This photograph of the Great Room in the John Ward House shows the beams and the low ceiling typical of a seventeenth century house. This is the type of room in which Hester Prynne would have met with the governor and ministers.
The Great Room of the John Ward House This photograph shows the rope bed and diamond-case window in the Great Room of the John Ward House. The windows reflect the lattice pattern described of those in the Governor's hall as described by Hawthorne in The Scarlet Letter
Swift in the Great Room of the John Ward House This was used to wind yarn from a spinning wheel. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
Sideboard with pewterware in Great Room of John Ward House These furnishings in the John Ward House are typical of those that would have been found in the Governor's Hall and in the widow's house in which Dimmesdale and Chillingworth lived.
The Lonesome Dwelling from chapter entitled "Hester at Her Needle" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (93)
Hester in the House of Mourning from chapter entitled "Another View of Hester" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (185) (195)
"Wilt thou yet forgive me?"from chapter entitled "The Pastor and His Parishoner" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (237)
"Shall we not meet again?" from chapter entitled "The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston (311)
Hester's Return from chapter entitled "The Conclusion" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston (320)
Illustration entitled "Sooner or later he must needs be mine!" from frontispiece of The Scarlet Letter in volume containing The Scarlet Letter and The Blithedale Romance. from volume V of the 1883 Standard Library edition of The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne in fifteen volumes
Pearl and The Scarlet Letter Fig. 3. "Pearl and the Scarlet Letter". Wood engraving
by George M. Richards. From "The Scarlet Letter" (New York:
Macmillan, 1927). Sentimentally elaborating on Hawthorne's text.
Richards presents a cozy room with a sampler on the
wall, balls of yarn in a basket, and a hooked rug on the
floor, in which a slender Hester with downcast eyes
covers her scarlet letter while a smiling Pearl with
flowers in both hands gracefully dances before her. (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
Publicity photograph from the 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter starring Lillian Gish as Hester Prynne and Lars Hanson as Arthur Dimmesdale The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director
Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjöström)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Rée. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.
The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjöström)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Rée. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.
Pearl (Joyce Coad), Hester Prynne (Lillian Gish)and the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale (Lars Hanson)in the final scene of the silent version of The Scarlet Letter The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjöström)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Rée. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.
Part of the cast and crew of the silent film version of The Scarlet Letter in 1926 Victor Seastrom,the Swedish director of the film,is seated on the ground in this photo taken of the cast in North Hollywood. Lillian Gish, star of this feature, is seated on his right, and on the other side is Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Rée. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.
Hester on the Scaffold from the 1926 silent film version starring Lillian Gish/Watch The Scarlet Letter(1926) on TCM The 1926 silent film version of The Scarlet Letter by the Swedish director Victor Seastrom (Victor Sjöström)starred Lillian Gish and Lars Hanson. Other members of the cast included: Henry B. Walthall, Karl Dane, Marcelle Corday, William H. Tooker, Fred Herzog, Jules Cowles, Mary Hawes, Joyce Coad, James A. Marcus, Nora Cecil, Dorothy Gray, Margaret Mann, Polly Moran.A Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, the film was based on an adaptation of the novel by Frances Marion. Set design was by Cedric Gibbons and Sidney Ullman, and costume design by Max Rée. Cinematography was by Hendrik Sartov and editing by Hugh Wynn. This was Gish's second film in a five film contract with MGM.
"She was led back to Prison" from chapter entitled "The Recognition" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (78)
"The Eyes of the Wrinkled Scholar Glowed" from chapter entitled "The Interview" of The Scarlet Letter Chillingworth is called to prison cell as healer to aid Hester and her ailing Pearl in this illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (87)
Lonely Footsteps from chapter entitled "Hester at Her Needle" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (99)
A Touch of Pearl's Baby-Hand from the chapter entitled "Pearl" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration of Hester and her baby Pearl from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (113)
The Governor's Breastplate from chapter entitled "The Governor's Hall" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (125)
"Look thou to it! I will not lose the child!" from chapter entitled "The Elf-child and the Minister" of The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (135)
"They stood in the noon of that strange splendor" from chapter entitled "The Minister's Vigil" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (185)
Photograph of Una, Julian, and Rose, Hawthorne's children, c. 1862 Photograph by Silsbee and Case
Photograph from a daguerreotype of Una and Julian Hawthorne, two of Nathaniel Hawthorne's three children Photograph from a daguerreotype of Una and Julian Hawthorne, two of Nathaniel Hawthorne's three children
Pearl on the Sea-Shore from chapter entitled "Hester and Pearl" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (217)
A Gleam of Sunshine from chapter entitled "A Flood of Sunshine" in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from Chapter "A Flood of Sunshine" from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (249)
The Child at the Brook-side from the chapter of the same name in The Scarlet Letter Illustration from the 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Charles R. Osgood & Co. in Boston. Illustration drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A.V.S. Anthony. (257)
Illustration of Pearl from p. 114, Chapter VI of The Scarlet Letter in volume containing The Scarlet Letter and The Blithedale Romance from volume V of the 1883 Standard Library edition of The Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne in fifteen volumes (courtesy of Peabody Essex Museum)
