Turned Lead Window Casing (Archaeological Find)

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The malleability of lead made it a popular choice for building components. Due to its low melting point, lead is rarely found fully in tact and is typically bent or twisted.
The window maker's initials were often found on the lead casing. This was not visible in a completed window but instead served to identify failed window makers.
Small, diamond-paned windows with one casement opening were very common in the 17th century. Lead bars commonly held these windows together.
The Indian College exhibiting the symmetrical window and door placement in the Colonial style of architecture in New England. This College served to house American Indian students.
Windows were symmetrically aligned with doors and additional windows along the entire building. The symmetry exhibited in the 17th century buildings can still be found in more modern buildings at Harvard.
This map shows the relative location of the Old and Indian College in the 17th century.

Title:

Turned Lead Window Casing

Subject:

Turned lead is often found on colonial sites and was used to hold glass and window frames together in the 17th century. The size of glass panes was restricted so architects would use rods of lead to create larger windows. Modeling the English, Harvard’s buildings typically followed a Colonial style during this time where windows had no trim or shutters. In the early 17th century, glass was expensive and difficult to obtain in New England, making glass windows an item of luxury. Since glass was imported from England, New England buildings with windows often only had small, diamond paned windows with one casement opening. Glassless windows were usually filled with oilpaper. Although generally precious at the time, Harvard invested in glass for its windows in the buildings as an attempt to pour resources into the College. During the construction of Harvard, the College bills showed a fair amount of repairs being done on the buildings with a capped budget, however the amount spent on glass did not have a limit. The amount of resources allocated towards Harvard, such as its glass, represented its importance within New England and the Colony more broadly. In 1643, the College announced its mission of the college: "To advance Learning and perpetuate it to Posterity; dreading to leave an illiterate Ministry to the Churches." Harvard’s political and religious impact on Massachusetts Bay promoted intellectual advancement in the Colony as being the first higher education institution to exist.

Source:

https://www.hsmcdigshistory.org/pdf/Lead.pdf
https://newengland.com/today/living/homes/new-england-architecture/
https://www.peabody.harvard.edu/node/477
http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/newsplus/a-new-view-of-harvard-in-the-17th-and-18th-centuries/
Davis, Andrew McFarland. The Early College Buildings at Cambridge. 19th-century Legal Treatises ; No. 37138. Worcester [Mass.]: C. Hamilton, 1890.
http://www.news.harvard.edu/guide/intro
http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/leadstainedglass/lead_stained_glass.htm
http://teachersinstitute.yale.edu/curriculum/units/1978/4/78.04.03.x.html
https://www.wychavon.gov.uk/documents/10586/157693/wdc-planning-her-windowsleaflet1.pdf
http://www.antiquehomesmagazine.com/info.php?info_id=6

Object Name:

Turned Lead Window Casing

Inventory Description:

The turned lead window casing is soft and malleable, used for connecting pieces of glass in windows in the 17th century.

Peabody Number:

2016.29.465

Intrasite:

H929 Level 5

Depth:

80-95cm

Class 1:

Metal

Class 2:

Hardware

Class 3:

Turned Lead

Quantity:

1

Collection:

2017 Assignment 2

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