From the Collections

In 1889 James Clare (J.C.) Derby (1867-1928), a resident of Concord, New Hampshire, repaired watches at 54 N. Main St. The Concord Directory records that he later worked at Holland & Derby at the same address. By 1898 his occupation was that of jeweler. Derby worked that same year with Mary Baker Eddy and Henry P. (H.P.) Moore, a local artist and photographer, to produce and issue a portrait of Eddy.…

In 1897 a diamond hair ornament, shaped like a crown, was given to Mary Baker Eddy. The ornament contains 12 diamonds, six large pearls, and 39 small pearls set in an 18-karat gold crown, with a band of indigo blue enamel across its middle. Engraved on the back is the inscription “Mother 1897.” The ornament is a “combination pin,” as described by its donor, Amanda Baird — meaning it could be worn as a hair pin or used as a brooch.

The “Peace Flag,” on display on the second floor of The Mary Baker Eddy Library, is an artifact with a history that tells us a great deal about the peace movements active in the United States and Europe in the early twentieth century.

This month’s Object of the Month is a bit unusual—our object is not part of The Mary Baker Eddy Library’s collections. But it is nonetheless one that many visitors to the Boston area with interest in Eddy’s history have seen: The Mary Baker Eddy Memorial at Mount Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Mary Baker Eddy’s celebrity made her a target for many solicitations. The Book of the Presidents is one interesting example of this. Hundreds of documents in the Library’s collections tell us about the negotiations and discussions; it’s a story with many twists and turns.