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. ||||| Updated October 9, 2014, 4:30 pm 
 
 Onlookers were rapt this morning, as a century-old time capsule that sat inside the lion statue on top of the Old State House was opened during a ceremony in Woburn. 
 
 The Bostonian Society, the nonprofit that maintains the Old State House in Boston, said in tweets that their archivist was surprised by the great condition of the items inside, and, in a slightly anticlimactic end to the ceremony, that they would go through the contents later in a “controlled environment.” (We’ll update when we know more about the contents.) 
 
 We do, however, know what to expect. A Boston Globe report from 1901 provided details as to what was placed inside — photographs and autographs from top government officials, a population map, a letter from local reporters assigned to cover City Hall, old newspapers, and William McKinley and Teddy Roosevelt campaign buttons. 
 
 But the Bostonian Society said on Twitter that a red book was also found, which was not expected. They did not explain further. 
 
 The lion and another statue, of a unicorn, both dating back to 1901, were removed from their perches on top of the Old State House at the corner of Washington and State streets for repairs last month. 
 
 To gain access to the time capsule, artist Bob Shure of Skylight Studios, who is tasked with refurbishing the statues, removed the lion’s crown and cut the copper bands that were holding the capsule in place inside the lion’s head. 
 
 The Bostonian Society is asking the public to suggest what should be left inside a new time capsule using the hashtag #lionandunicorn on social media. 
 
 Suggestions so far range from Fenway Park dirt, the new iPhone and a miniature version of the “Make Way for Ducklings” sculpture, to unpaid city parking tickets and Big Dig architectural renderings. 
 
 Brian LeMay, the president of the Bostonian Society, told WBUR the organization is already planning to include a Boston Marathon medal, as well as images and documents from the present day. 
 
 LaMay says no matter what else ends up going into the new time capsule, his organization has one requirement: “I think one thing we are going to do is make it a little bit easier to get the time capsule out than the one that is in there now.” 
 
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 Most Popular Expand ||||| Back in 1901, the Superintendent of Boston’s Public Buildings commissioned Samuel D. Rogers, a carpenter, to complete repairs and alterations on the Old State House. In the midst of that job, Rogers also became involved in organizing the contents of the time capsule placed in the head of the building’s lion statue. This Thursday, Oct. 9, Skylight Studios will remove the capsule from the lion’s head, providing a snapshot of what life was like in turn-of-the-previous-century Boston—and, for one Idaho woman, offering some insight into her own family history. 
 
 Heidi Rogers Grundhauser, of Chubbuck, Idaho, is Rogers’s great-great granddaughter and a self-proclaimed “genealogy addict”; she learned about the time capsule when her own father passed along Rogers family heirlooms to her, including Samuel’s letters about the capsule. In 2011, Grundhauser reached out to the Bostonian Society to see if it had ever been opened. 
 
 Up until last week, however, the existence of a capsule in the lion’s head was disputed. The Freedom Trail Foundation wasn’t convinced it was there. But for the Bostonian Society, the letters written by Samuel Rogers were all the confirmation they needed. Elizabeth Roscio, the Library and Archives Manager of the Bostonian Society, said that in his letters, Rogers details the newspapers, photographs and autographs that he added to the capsule. 
 
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 “Samuel left a complete list of what was added but I am hoping there will be a few surprises even for myself,” Grundhauser said. “What I’m most looking forward to seeing is the life sketch Samuel placed in the box as well as the 200-year history of the Rogers family. I love the detective work, I love piecing together the triumphs and the heartache of my ancestors from the pieces of information left behind.” 
 
 Grundhauser’s detective work has already paid off. Her research discovered that Samuel Rodgers was born in 1840, had four children from two wives, served as the superintendent of construction projects ranging from schoolhouses to prisons and served twice in the Civil War. Grundhauser hopes that some of the remaining missing links in her family history will be connected when her great-great grandfather’s capsule contributions are revealed. 
 
 (Courtesy of Rogers/Grundhauser family) 
 
 Grundhauser hopes to attend the opening ceremony of the time capsule with her daughter and father, but traveling to Boston from her home in Idaho may prove expensive and difficult. That won’t stop her from enjoying all this moment in time has to offer for her family. 
 
 “I have great pride in my family,” Grundhauser said. “I stand on their shoulders and benefit from their hard work. I love all of the stories and Samuel’s war time history. I think that Matt Damon needs to produce a movie about them.” 
 
 Note: Due to an editing error, an incomplete draft version of this story was published prematurely. ||||| 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.
– 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.)