Long-Ago Landscapes

One of the distinctive features of the Emerson House, setting it apart from many other historic house museums, is that it’s been kept largely unchanged since the Emersons lived here. While numerous family relics are on view to visitors—still in their places on desks, dressers, and mantels—others remain tucked away in drawers and closets. These lesser-known pieces of our collection are always a delight to happen upon, and we hope to share more of them with you in the years ahead.

In the gallery below, photos from an Emerson family album dating to the 1890s capture scenes from a Concord, Massachusetts winter over a century ago. The allure of a snow-covered landscape is clearly timeless.

To read a selection of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s own words on the wonders of winter, please revisit our Winter Reflections post from 2023.