Elizabeth (Howe) Bolles (1853-1920)

She inherited various family heirlooms and with her husband they began adding to them with museum-quality examples of furniture, glass, china and textiles from 1630 to 1815, filling their house at 401 Quincy Street, Dorchester. After exhibiting their 434-piece collection in New York, they agreed to sell the collection in tact (displayed in period room settings) with funds made available from Mrs Russell Sage to the Met Museum, hence it is known as the Sage Collection rather than the Bolles Collection.