Historians opened the 113-year-old time capsule inside the Old State House’s golden lion statue Thursday, and were surprised by what they found: a mystery red book resting on top of the box’s contents. 
 
 Onlookers at a press-only unveiling gasped when the sealed box was pryed open. Library and Archives Manager at the Bostonian Society Elizabeth Roscio had every intention of assessing each content in the box, but decided not to remove the items once she noticed the box was so tightly packed. 
 
 Items won't be removed. But all seems in "remarkably good condition." No mold, no yellowing of paper. pic.twitter.com/3xPFZXpmmt — Lara Salahi (@BostonLara) October 9, 2014 
 
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 As much of the contents of the box we'll be seeing today... (Mystery red book!) pic.twitter.com/fr3noPhQkb — Lara Salahi (@BostonLara) October 9, 2014 
 
 Instead, the items will be sorted in a clean and controlled environment, Roscio said. 
 
 A 1901 Boston Daily Globe article listed the many items that were placed in the box, including photographs of political leaders, letters, and newspapers of the time. But a red book was not mentioned. 
 
 Roscio speculated that the book could be the family history of Samuel Rogers. Indeed, the 1901 Globe article says a “History of the Rogers and Fernald families, deposited by S. D. Rogers, who did the alteration work on the old state house, 1901” was placed in the capsule, but does not say the color of the book. 
 
 Bob Shure, the president of Skylight Studios in Woburn, where the statue is undergoing repairs, took off the crown of the lion statue and took the shoebox-sized time capsule out of its head. 
 
 A new time capsule with modern day items will replace the extracted box, the historians said. 
 
 Some items the public has suggested to the society include an iPhone 6, a photo of Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, and a Mike’s Pastry cannoli, Roscio said. 
 
 Brian LeMay, president of the Bostonian Society, told Boston.com he would like to see photos of items from the opened time capsule put into the new one that will be created, which the society plans to do. ||||| WOBURN, Mass. (AP) — The highly-anticipated opening of a time capsule that been hidden in the head of a lion statue atop a historical landmark for more than a century yielded at least one surprise Thursday: a hardcover book. 
 
 FILE - In this Sept. 14, 2014 file photo, a lion statue is removed from atop the Old State House on Washington Street in Boston. The Bostonian Society on Thursday Oct. 9, 2014 hopes to delicately remove... (Associated Press) 
 
 The Bostonian Society had expected the time capsule to include letters, newspaper clippings and other items from 1901, the year it was placed in the statue on the Old State House. Papers were found, along with the red book inside the copper box roughly the size of a modern shoebox. The book had no visible markings, and nothing was taken out of the box because of the items' fragile condition. So, the contents of the book remain a mystery, for now. 
 
 The inside of the box and its contents — there was no mold or water damage — thrilled society President Brian LeMay. 
 
 LeMay said he was "absolutely delighted" with the conditions inside the box. 
 
 The time capsule was sealed inside the lion's head since 1901 and then forgotten — until recently. Rumors of its existence were confirmed last month when the statue was taken down from the Old State House for refurbishing. 
 
 The delicate removal of the box took place at a sculpting studio in suburban Woburn. 
 
 Robert Shure, owner of Skylight Studio, first removed a crown atop the copper and gold-leaf lion's head, cut cables holding the box in place inside the head, and removed the rectangular box, which weighed between five and 10 pounds and measured 8-by-12 inches in length and about 6 inches deep, according to Shure. 
 
 The society, which manages the Old State House, first learned about the possible existence of the time capsule years ago from the great-great-granddaughter of Samuel Rogers, a craftsman who had worked on building renovations and was believed to have placed the time capsule in the lion's head and catalogued its contents. A 1901 article from The Boston Globe surfaced later, alluding to contents of a copper box "which will prove interesting when the box is opened many years hence." 
 
 Elizabeth Roscio, the Boston Society's archivist, said the box will be brought to an environmentally-controlled setting where the contents can be carefully removed and studied. They will be put on public display at a later date. 
 
 One of Boston's most popular tourist attractions, the Old State House has a storied history. It was once the seat of English rule in the northern colonies, and the original lion statue and an accompanying unicorn statue symbolized the unification of England and Scotland. 
 
 It was just outside the building that British regulars opened fire on a crowd of protesters in 1770, killing five people in what would become known as the Boston Massacre. 
 
 In the summer of 1776, the newly-signed Declaration of Independence was read for the first time to Bostonians from a balcony of the building, which would later serve as the first seat of Massachusetts government. 
 
 The plan is to put a new time capsule in the lion's head, this one made of titanium. The society is currently soliciting suggestions of what to put in it, but said one item will be a medal from the ill-fated 2013 Boston Marathon. ||||| Archivists with the Bostonian Society provided the first images of the contents of the 113-year-old time capsule that was found inside the Old State House’s lion statue. Perhaps most importantly, the mystery of the red book has been solved. 
 
 Last Thursday, archivists opened the head of the Old State House’s golden lion and took out a sealed time capsule that had originally been placed there in 1901. The Boston Globe’s article from that time listed the items that were placed inside, but upon opening the box, a mystery red book appeared on top. That surprise brought out a gasp from archivists and press onlookers. 
 
 The unveiling proved to be a bit anti-climatic, as Bostonian Society library and archives manager Elizabeth Roscio decided not to take any items out of the box until they could be taken to a clean and controlled environment. 
 
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 On Wednesday, the Bostonian Society emailed a detailed list of the capsule’s contents and some images to boot. The red book turned out to be “Foreign Relations of the United States, 1896,” an annual publication by of the Secretary of the Commonwealth. 
 
 The insides of the time capsule’s mystery red book. Bostonian Society 
 
 “We are not sure why the book was not listed,” Bostonian Society’s Heather Leet said in an email to Boston.com. “But we speculate that it was actually just used [as] a filler to fill space in the capsule so that everything was secure and did not move around.” 
 
 That’s not the most exciting answer for the book’s identity, but it appeared to do its space-filling job well. Roscio noted that the condition of the materials was “remarkably good,” with little deterioration in the ink or paper quality. 
 
 Another surprise find was a piece of the older version of the lion statue from when it was made of wood. It was replaced with a sturdier copper lion, with a time capsule in its head, in 1901. 
 
 “Wood from the Old Lion” Bostonian Society 
 
 Photos of political leaders of the time were in good condition. 
 
 Boston political leaders from the turn of the 20th century had some impressive facial hair. Bostonian Society 
 
 A number of newspapers from the time also were well-kept in the time capsule. Recognize this one?
– New York City opened an old time capsule today that turned out to be ... kind of boring. Boston, on the other hand, has itself a mysterious red book, reports WBUR. Historians today removed a copper box that was placed inside the lion atop the Old State House back in 1901 and were surprised to find the hard-cover book on top, apparently in great condition. The curious will have to wait a little longer, however, because officials didn't open the book or anything beneath it inside the box—they'll do that later in a controlled environment to make sure nothing gets ruined. Expect old photos, letters, newspapers, and similar memorabilia. But as for the book, no mention of it was made in a newspaper article of the time about the time capsule. An official with the Bostonian Society guesses that it might be a family history of a carpenter named Samuel Rogers, reports the Boston Globe. Rogers worked on the building and helped prepare the time capsule, notes a separate Globe story. And while he did reportedly pop a family history inside, there's no account of it being in a red book. Eventually, all the items will go on public display, and a new time capsule will go back inside the lion. One thing for sure that will be included: a medal from the 2013 Boston Marathon, the one hit by bombs, reports AP. (Click for more on a time capsule that was opened 40 years late.)