John Whipple. National Congregational Council at Plymouth, June 22, 1865. Albumen print, ca. 1865. The Pilgrim relationship to this glacial boulder may be ungrounded, but Plymouth Rock has a history that speaks to American society's need for colonial roots. Declared to be the exact spot where our forefathers first set foot upon the New World, it was covered by a colonial warehouse, split into two sections for two displays, (one section was broken when dropped during a move, both were reduced by souvenir hunters), and all the while held as sacred by Mayflower descendants. This particular group is gathered around the lower stump section of Plymouth Rock, after the demolition of the warehouse and prior to the upper sections being reattached in the 1880s.

A.N. Thompson. Raised Remains of British Sloop. Gelatin silver print. 1903. About 1903, an archeological treasure was raised from the bottom of Lake George in upstate New York—the wreck of a British sloop-of-war from the French and Indian War. The 44-foot vessel was quickly chopped up for souvenirs. Photographs taken of the wreck intact are now important as archeological information.