Scottish Rite Masonic Museum & Library

Boston Tea Party Tea Leaves in Vial with Wooden Case and orignal label
ca. 1773
Maker not marked
USA
a: tea; b: glass; c: cork; d-e: wood; paper; f: paper; ink
b & c) 2-1/2"h. x 5/8"dia.; d) 1"h x 3-7/16"w x 1-1/2"d; e) 7/16"h x 3-7/16"w x 1-1/2"d; f) 1-3/4"h x 3"w
Loaned by the Grand Lodge of Masons in Massachusetts
GL2004.1868a-f

Boston Tea Party tea leaves in vial with wooden case. a) Dark brown ground tea leaves b) clear glass vial with sticker "1523" c) cork in neck stored in d) hollowed out wooden case with sticker "1523" on bottom with e) wooden lid f: typed label with drawn blue ink boarded: "Relic of the Boston Tea Party / December 16, 1773. / This sample of tea / is said to have been taken from / the boots of one of the "Indian" / participants in the affair. / Donor: Wor. Paul F. Dudley / Milton Lodge" and on reverse: "Receipt No. 1523".

In 1773, the East India Company, on the verge of bankruptcy, petitioned the British government for assistance. The Tea Act granted it a virtual monopoly on tea within the American colonies. East India Company representatives were able to undersell the local merchants, which helped merge Boston's business interests with popular concern for the principles of representation, liberty and taxation. Colonists staged a boycott. Then, when the first tea ships arrived in the port, the Sons of Liberty protested. On December 16, 1773, about 150 men disguised as Native Americans dumped 342 chests of tea into Boston harbor. The tea in this vial is said to have come from the boots and clothing of a Boston Tea Party participant. For further information on a-c, see Newell, Aimee, et.al., "Curiosities of the Craft: Treasures from the Grand Lodge of Massachusetts Collection", 2013, p. 224-225; and blog post, June 26, 2012 http://nationalheritagemuseum.typepad.com/library_and_archives/2012/06/a-tax-protest-relic.html