The Scarlet Letter

Title page of original 1850 edition of The Scarlet Letter published by Ticknor, Reed, and Fields. Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum.

Writes The Scarlet Letter

• After Hawthorne was dismissed from his job as surveyor at the Salem Custom House, he began writing The Scarlet Letter. In 1850 Ticknor, Reed, and Fields published 2,500 copies of the romance.
  • 14 Mall Street in Salem where Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum
  • Room on the second floor of the 14 Mall Street house where Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter. Courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum.
  • 14 Mall Street today. Photograph by Aaron Toleos.
  • Sign on 14 Mall Street today. Photograph by Aaron Toleos
  • An account of Hawthorne's royalties including income from The Scarlet Letter. Courtesy of The House of the Seven Gables Historic Site
• The celebration of the 150th anniversary of the publication of The Scarlet Letter at the Salem Custom House on March 16, 2000, organized by Rae Emerson of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site and Michael Blatty.
  • Crowd gathers at the Orientation Center of the Salem Maritime National Historic Site for the celebration (Dr.Berkley Peabody, Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature from SUNY, Albany and evening speaker in the red tie and Michael Blatty to his right)
  • Celebrants enter the Custom House for the introductory remarks and readings from the "Custom-House" sketch
  • Video/audio and text of remarks by Dr. Berkley Peabody on "The Scarlet Letter: A New Literature for a New Age"
    • Real Player Movie
    • Transcript
  • Cake with letter "A"
  • Poster for 1965 movie version of The Scarlet Letter exhibited at the Custom House celebration
  • Article by Jim McAllister in the March 15, 2000 Salem Evening News on film adaptations of The Scarlet Letter.