Box, Shadow

Object Name:

Box, Shadow

Object ID:

2018.044

Date:

1888-1900

Description:

Shadow box containing 33 veterans', fraternal, and commemorative badges, ribbons, and pins, mostly from conventions and reunions, 1888-1900. Mounted on black velvet in box with hinged carved chestnut frame and glass window. Collected and displayed by Civil War veteran Henry E. Conant (1843-1911). Contents:
1. Ribbon badge, "Reception Committee / NEW ENGLAND / LAUNDRYMEN'S / AND / ALLIED TRADES / ASSOCIATION. / BOSTON, MASS. / SEPTEMBER 13-15, 1897." Made by Whitehead & Hoag Company, Newark, NJ.
2. Ribbon badge, "AD / U. A. M. / PARADE / AUG. 13, '94 / CONCORD, N. H." Made by John P. Kelley, Concord, NH. Silk torn.
3. Pin button with ribbon, "EDWARD R. RAYMOND CONSISTORY. / Annual Convocation of the / A.A. SCOTTISH RITE BODIES / SITTING IN THE VALLEY OF NASHUA / April 13, 1899". Made by Lewis Minks Jr., Baltimore, MD.
4. Ribbon badge, 13-star American flag, "D. OF L".
5. Bronze badge with ribbon, "ADAMS / NATIONAL / STAFF / COMMANDER IN CHIEF D. A. R. / 1894". Reverse: "PRESENTED / BY / ADAMS / STAFF / ASSOCIATION / 1894 / PITTSBURGH".
6. Ribbon badge, "U. A. M. / DANIEL WEBSTER / COUNCIL / No 22, / CONCORD, N. H." Made by John P. Kelley, Concord, NH.
7. Pin button with ribbon, G.A.R.
8. American flag pin, brass and enamel.
9. Cross pendant, carnelian (?).
10. Ribbon badge, "22ND ANNUAL / ENCAMPMENT / N. H. VETERANS' ASS'N / THE WEIRS, / AUG. 23-26, 1898. / CAMP FRED. M. EDGELL." Made by Whitehead & Hoag.
11. Bronze badge with ribbon, G.A.R.
12. Metal badge with ribbon, "BOSTON / G. A. R. 1890 / BEANS".
13. Large felt badge in shape of a sunflower, embroidered "KANSAS".
14. Pin button with ribbon, "GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC / DEPT. OF / N. H. / NAT'L ENCAMP'T, / Cincinnati, O. / SEPT. 5-10, 1898." Made by Whitehead & Hoag. Identical to #31.
15. Gold-plated badge with ribbon, "GAR / MASSACHUSETTS". Reverse: "DEPT. OF MASS." Made by Pretat, Boston, MA.
16. Ribbon with mineral pieces forming eagle and star; includes pyrite and quartz.
17. Ribbon badge, "G. A. R. / DEPT. OF / New Hampshire / 24th NATIONAL / ENCAMPMENT / AUG. 12TH, 1890 / Boston, Mass.", with Old Man of the Mountain.
18. Ribbon, " 'OLD KENTUCKY' / NATIONAL / ENCAMPMENT / G.A.R. / IN FAVOR OF / LOUISVILLE / 1895."
19. Silver badge with ribbon, "H. E. Conant. / Co. K. 21st Mass."
20. Brass medallion, Columbian Exposition; obverse: "COLUMBUS 1492-1892"; reverse: FATHER. SAVIOUR. DEFENDER." (George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Ulysses S. Grant).
21. Ribbon badge, G.A.R., "28TH NATL. ENCAMPMENT PITTSBURGH, PA. / 1894". Made by Torsch & Lee, Baltimore, MD.
22. Brass pin in shape of a bean pot, "BEANS".
23. Silver pin in shape of Old Man of the Mountain, "G.A.R. / COLUMBUS, OHIO / 1888".
24. Ribbon badge, "20TH TRIENNIAL CONCLAVE / LADIES / 1895 / DEMOLAY / K.T. / BOSTON, MASS."
25. Bronze badge with ribbon, "1894 / PITTSBURGH / DEPARTMENT OF INDIANA / G. A. R."
26. Pin button with ribbon, "BALTIMORE / 1894 / M.H.P. AND D. / ASSOCIATION / U.S.A."
27. Ribbon badge, "A D / SECOND / MID-WINTER / CARNIVAL / Feb. 7&8, '93 / CONCORD, N.H". Made by John P. Kelley, Concord, NH.
28. Ribbon, "SOCIETY / OF THE / BURNSIDE / EXPEDITION / AND OF THE / NINTH / Army Corps".
29. Nut on ribbon.
30. Bronze badge, "21 / REGT MASS. VOLS."
31. Pin button with ribbon, "GRAND ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC / DEPT. OF / N. H. / NAT'L ENCAMP'T, / Cincinnati, O. / SEPT. 5-10, 1898." Made by Whitehead & Hoag. Identical to #14.
32. Ribbon, "DEDICATION / MEMORIAL ARCH / CONCORD, N. H. / JULY 4, 1892 / ENTERTAINMENT". Made by John P. Kelley, Concord, NH.
33. Bronze badge, "29TH / NATIONAL ENCAMPMENT / SOUVENIR / 1895". Reverse: "GAR". With ear of corn.

Material:

Wood
Chestnut
Glass
Textile
Silk
Metal

Dimensions:

H-36 W-23.5 D-2.5 inches

Provenance:

Henry Estes Conant (1843-1911) was born in Barre, MA, son of George W. and Laura (Cheney) Conant. He was educated in the public schools of Barre and Springfield, MA, and Norwich, CT. He enlisted in Company K, 21st Massachusetts Infantry, in 1861, serving for three years, and, at the close of his term of service, re-enlisted for another period of three years. He moved to Concord, NH, in 1879 and worked for the Concord Steam Laundry. After service there for five years, he started Conant's Steam Laundry. He was active in public service, first serving as a member of the Board of Water Commissioners of the City of Concord, for the term of three years beginning in 1892. In 1894 and 1896, he was elected to the city Board of Aldermen. He was a member of Blazing Star Lodge, Free and Accepted Masons, of Trinity Chapter, Horace Chase Council, Mount Horeb Commandery, and of Edwin A. Raymond Consistory, and was a 32nd degree Mason. He was also a member of Aleppo Temple, Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, of Boston, White Mountain Lodge, Penacook Encampment of Odd Fellows, E. E. Sturtevant Post, and the Grand Army of the Republic. He was active in the Society of the Army of the Potomac and Burnside's Association of the Ninth Army Corps.

Henry Conant married Josephine E. Huntley (1848-1915), in Manchester, NH, in 1878. They had one daughter, Laura (1891-1987), who married Waldo Hutchinson Quimby (1888-1962) in 1914. Their son, Roger Conant Quimby (1927-2018), married Jeanne C. Bennett in 1947. The Quimbys lived in a large Victorian house located on the corner of West and Dakin streets in Concord, built by Henry E. Conant in 1890.

Credit Line:

Gift of Anne Q. Hartshorn

People:

Conant, Henry E. (1843-1911)

Subjects:

Civil War, Veterans' organizations, Veterans, Badges, Old Man of the Mountain