Isaiah Thomas

Isaiah Thomas (1749-1831) was the foremost printer of the generation that came of age during the American Revolution. He was instrumental in starting the Revolution and once the new nation was founded he became its principal and most successful printer, publisher, and bookseller. His success made him one of the wealthiest men in the country. 

In 1812, Thomas founded the American Antiquarian Society, designed to be a learned society and national institution dedicated to preserving the written record of the United States. Thomas’s own collection of books, newspapers, and ephemera formed the basis of this collection, and his philosophy of collecting continues to shape the way Americans understand the past today.

In his diary for November 25, 1805, Isaiah Thomas, then aged 56,  recorded sitting for Boston miniaturist William M. S. Doyle. At the time the portrait pictured here was made, Thomas had been retired from the printing business for several years and was working on the manuscript for The History of Printing in America, which would be published five years later.