Original c1910 Boston Light Lighthouse Boston Harbor MA Vintage Postcard For Sale

A beacon at the entrance to Boston Harbor—and the birthplace of American lighthouse history.

Original circa-1910 polychrome postcard showing Boston Light on Little Brewster Island in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts. Identified by card number A7632, this early color-printed view captures the celebrated lighthouse during the golden age of postcard publishing and transatlantic steamship travel.

Established in 1716, Boston Light was the first lighthouse built in what is now the United States. Its earliest light guided vessels through the dangerous approaches to one of colonial America’s busiest and most important ports.

The lighthouse also became part of Revolutionary War history. American forces attacked the British-held station, and retreating British troops destroyed the original tower in 1776. Massachusetts rebuilt the lighthouse in 1783, and that post-Revolutionary structure—later raised and improved—is the tower represented in this postcard.

Boston Light’s first keeper, George Worthylake, drowned with members of his family in 1718. The tragedy inspired a young Benjamin Franklin to write and sell a ballad recounting the disaster—an early episode in Franklin’s remarkable publishing career.

More than a picturesque coastal scene, this postcard connects colonial commerce, the American Revolution, early navigation and Boston’s enduring maritime identity.

Postcard Details

• Subject: Boston Light lighthouse
• Location: Little Brewster Island, Boston Harbor, Massachusetts
• Approximate Date: Circa 1910
• Card Number: A7632
• Postcard Type: Original printed polychrome postcard; not an RPPC
• Historical Associations: Colonial navigation and the American Revolution
• Themes: Lighthouses, maritime history, Boston Harbor, coastal navigation and Massachusetts history
• Color: Color
• Orientation: Landscape
• Country of Origin: United States
• Unit of Sale: Single postcard

Historical Significance

• Site of the first lighthouse established in what is now the United States
• Original lighthouse first illuminated in 1716
• Attacked during the American Revolution
• Destroyed by departing British forces in 1776
• Rebuilt by Massachusetts in 1783
• Associated with lighthouse keeper George Worthylake and Benjamin Franklin’s early ballad
• Guided maritime traffic approaching Boston Harbor

Shipping and Packaging

• Ships in a protective postcard sleeve
• Mailed in a rigid “Do Not Bend” cardboard envelope
• Sent via $1.49 buyer-paid Standard Envelope