Dedham Historical Society & Museum’s Paul Revere bell is continuing its journey as part of the traveling exhibition “Beyond Midnight: Paul Revere,” with its current stop at the Worcester Art Museum. The exhibit runs through June 7, 2020 and then travels to Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas for its final stop before returning to Dedham by November 2020.
For details on the WAM exhibit visit https://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/paul-revere
For details on the Crystal Bridges Museum exhibit from July 4-October 11, 2020 visit https://crystalbridges.org/exhibitions/paul-revere
WAM exhibition caption:
Paul Revere Foundry, Active 1792-1801
Courthouse bell, 1798
Cast bronze
In 1792 Revere made his first bell—and the fist ever to be case in Boston. During his time in the bell-casting trade, most bells consisted of copper alloys. The metals in the alloy, however, varied depending on each bell maker’s closely guarded formula. Revere seems to have subscribed to the superstition that adding a small amount of silver would produce a sweeter sounding bell. This courthouse bell, smaller than most church bells, was made for the Norfolk County Courthouse in Dedham, Mass., and was used to announce the opening of court sessions.