ca. 1860-1961
Guide to the Collection
Restrictions on Access
There are restrictions on the use of this collection. Users must sign an agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be given access to the collection.
Glass plate negatives and lantern slides of any size are not available for research use. Copy photographs or scans may be available for alternative viewing. Consult the Reference Librarian for more information.
Abstract
This collection contains photographs, illustrated journals, and other visual materials collected by members of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts.
Collection Description
The Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection contains photographs and other visual material relating to and collected by members of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. The collection contains loose photographs and graphics, two volumes of photographs, glass plate negatives, lantern slides, and illustrated journals. The material dates from ca. 1860-1961, and most of the photographers are unidentified.
Two boxes and two oversize boxes contain loose visual materials, including photographs and chromolithographs. The bulk of the loose visual materials, including oversize, contain photographic and photomechanical portraits of various members of the Carnegie, Channing, and Peabody families, among others, as well as portraits of public figures such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Frances Folsom Cleveland. Many of these portraits are copy photographs made from originals not present in the collection. The loose visual materials also contain photographic and chromolithographic views of various places in Europe and the United States, including snapshot photographs of Boston, Mass. taken ca. 1900; a series of unidentified snapshots of a family on their farm near Pennesseewassee Lake in Maine, taken ca. 1898-1904; and photographic reproductions of portrait paintings. The oversize loose photographs additionally contain large, mounted Underwood & Underwood news photographs, originally taken ca. 1919-1935. These photographs, printed for the Addison Gallery of Art in Andover, Mass., depict women marching for suffrage, industry and labor strikes, Prohibition, the Depression, and war-related events on the homefront during World War I, among other subjects. There are also several oversize, mounted documentary photographs taken by the celebrated photographers Margaret Bourke-White and Berenice Abbott, as well as photographic reproductions of political cartoons.
There are two volumes of photographs in the collection. The first volume relates to the unidentified family snapshots in the loose photographs and also contains snapshot photographs of an unidentified family at a farm near Pennesseewasee Lake in Maine, taken ca. 1898-1904. The second volume contains portrait photographs and autographs of members of the Colonial Society; it was probably assembled ca. 1893-1896.
Six boxes contain a number of glass plate negatives and lantern slides. The glass plate negatives are all negative photographic reproductions of portraits of various members of the Crowninshield and Endicott families, all dating from ca. 1901-1924. The photographers are unidentified. The lantern slides depict portraits and reproductions of portrait paintings of prominent Bostonians; buildings, churches, and other architecture of England, France, Spain, and various places in the United States, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; and reproductions of maps and plans for the development of the cities of New Haven, Conn. and Washington, D.C., among other subjects. All of the lantern slides were created by A. D. Handy Co. of Boston, ca. 1961.
There is also one box of illustrated journals in this collection. These include issues of the illustrated journals Puck, dating from 1895, and an issue of the Illustrated London News, dating from 27 Aug. 1955.
Acquisition Information
The Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection was removed from the Colonial Society of Massachusetts collection, which was deposited by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts in Oct. 1991.
Restrictions on Access
There are restrictions on the use of this collection. Users must sign an agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be given access to the collection.
Glass plate negatives and lantern slides of any size are not available for research use. Copy photographs or scans may be available for alternative viewing. Consult the Reference Librarian for more information.
Restrictions on Use
The Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection has been placed on deposit at the Massachusetts Historical Society. The Massachusetts Historical Society does not claim ownership of the copyright to the Underwood & Underwood, Margaret Bourke-White, and Berenice Abbott photographs in this collection. The Massachusetts Historical Society cannot give permission to reproduce photographs or other materials to which it does not hold copyright. Use of these materials does not imply permission to publish. It is the sole responsibility of the researcher to obtain formal permission from the owners of the copyright to reproduce materials in this collection.
All reproductions, including photocopies and digital photographs, are for personal use only. Personal use copies may not be donated to or deposited in other libraries or archives, or made available to other researchers, without the written permission of the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Detailed Description of the Collection
I. Loose visual materials
This series is divided into the following subseries: (A) Portraits; (B) Views; (C) Family snapshots; and (D) Photographs of paintings.
A. Portraits, ca. 1860-1900
Arranged alphabetically.
This subseries contains photograph portraits of various members of the Carnegie, Channing, Curtis, Endicott, and Higginson families, among others. Included are photographs of portrait artwork. There are also a number of unidentified portraits taken by David Hinkle of Germantown, Pa., ca. 1870-1880.
B. Views, ca. 1870-1913
Arranged alphabetically by place name.
This subseries contains photographic views of various places, including Amsterdam; England; the Garden of the Gods in Colorado; New Hampshire; and various mounted snapshot photographs of Boston, taken in June 1900 by an unknown photographer. There is also one small booklet of chromolithographs entitled "Souvenir of the Beautiful Mississippi River" and published ca. 1913. Most of the photographers are unidentified. Include are film transparencies.
C. Family snapshots, ca. 1898-1904
This subseries contains snapshot photographs of an unidentified family, taken ca. 1898-1904. The photographs depict a family farm on the shores of Pennesseewassee Lake in Maine, as well as various family members and views of the surrounding area, most unidentified. One photograph was taken by Jack Wister; the other photographers are unidentified.
D. Photographs of paintings, ca. 1880
This subseries contains photographs of paintings, taken ca. 1880 by unidentified commercial photographers. Included is one small bound booklet of photographic reproductions of paintings by Rembrandt, entitled "Souvenir de Rembrandt."
II. Oversize visual materials
This series is divided into the following subseries: (A) Oversize portraits; (B) Oversize views; (C) Underwood & Underwood photographs; (D) Documentary photography; (E) Photographs of political cartoons; and (F) Miscellaneous oversize photographs.
A. Oversize portraits, ca. 1860-1940
Arranged alphabetically by subject.
This subseries contains oversize photographs of various people associated with the Colonial Society, including William Francis Channing, William Henry Channing, and George Peabody, among others. There are also portraits of other public figures such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Daniel Webster. Most of the photographers are unidentified.
Back row, from left to right: Augustus Hemenway, Henry Sargent Hunnewell, Richard Middlecott Saltonstall, Francis Henry Appleton, Charles Sprague Sargent, William Crowninshield Endicott, John Collins Warren, Francis C. Welch, and William Caleb Loring. Front row, from left to right: Charles Pelham Curtis, John Eliot Thayer, Nathaniel Ingersoll Bowditch, Charles Francis Adams, and Francis Lee Higginson.
B. Oversize views, ca. 1870-1880
This subseries contains one oversize view of the Fisher family house in New Bedford, Mass. It was taken ca. 1870-1880 by an unidentified photographer.
C. Underwood & Underwood photographs, ca. 1919-1935
Arranged in numerical order according to the Addison Gallery accession numbers printed on the verso of each photograph.
This subseries contains oversize, mounted copy photographs of Underwood & Underwood news photos, originally taken ca. 1919-1935. These photographs are all identified as having come from the Addison Gallery of Art at Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. and were probably created for an exhibit there in 1943. Subjects include women marching for suffrage, labor strikes, the Depression, Prohibition, factories and industry, World War I, and other major events of the early 20th century.
D. Documentary photographs, ca. 1929-1955
This subseries contains oversize photographs taken by the celebrated photographers Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) and Berenice Abbott (1898-1991). There are two photographs by Bourke-White that depict the Ford Factory in River Rouge, Mich. and machinery at the American Woolen Company, as well as two photographs of a lumberjack and a felled tree taken by Berenice Abbott for the Red River Lumber Company.
E. Photographs of political cartoons, ca. 1870-1921
This subseries contains oversize, mounted copy photographs of political cartoons, originally dating from ca. 1870-1921. The photographer is unknown.
F. Miscellaneous
This subseries contains a mounted photograph of a painting entitled "Monitor and Merrimac," painted in 1883 by Warren Shepard. The photographer is unknown.
III. Photograph albums
A. Vol. 1. Family photograph album, ca. 1898-1904
This volume contains snapshot photographs of an unidentified family, taken ca. 1898-1904. The photograph depict a family farm near Pennessewassee Lake in Maine, as well as views of the surrounding area and various family members. The photographer is unknown. Loose photographs removed from the volume are stored with the volume.
B. Vol. 2 (oversize). The Colonial Society of Massachusetts Portraits and Autographs of Members photograph album, 1893-1896
Arranged in the order in which they appear in the volume.
This oversize volume contains mounted photographs of members of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts, collected between 1893-1896. Some pages contain autographs only. The photographers are all unknown, as are the dates of the photographs, except where indicated. There are a number of blank pages at the end of the volume that are marked with the names of members who did not contribute photographs or autographs.
III. Glass plate negatives, ca. 1901-1924
This series contains 7 medium and 1 large glass plate negatives, all of which are portraits of various Crowninshield and Endicott family members. Some of the negatives are photographs of portrait paintings, and some also include manuscript notes or envelopes that were originally stored with the negatives. The negatives were taken ca. 1901-1924 by unidentified photographers.
THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE RESTRICTED.
Please note that glass plate negatives are stored in a separate collection: Glass plates/lantern slides--collections (Photo. Coll. 6).
Glass plate negatives, glass plate positives, and lantern slides of any size are not available for research use. Copy photographs or scans may be available for alternative viewing. Consult the Reference Librarian for more information.
IV. Lantern slides, ca. 1961
This series contains 111 lantern slides, most of them made by A. D. Handy Co. of Boston, Mass. and depicting buildings, churches, and other architecture of England, France, Spain, and various places in the United States, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania. These slides include maps and plans for the development of the cities of New Haven, Conn. and Washington, D.C. There are also a number of slides of reproductions of portrait photographs and paintings of prominent Bostonians, as well as a few that depict pages from a June 1961 issue of Mademoiselle magazine. Most of the slides were probably made ca. 1961.
THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE RESTRICTED.
Please note that glass plate negatives are stored in a separate collection: Glass plates/lantern slides--collections (Photo. Coll. 6).
Glass plate negatives, glass plate positives, and lantern slides of any size are not available for research use. Copy photographs or scans may be available for alternative viewing. Consult the Reference Librarian for more information.
Included are various views of churches in Ashmont, Cambridge, and Groton; views of Boston, including the construction of the Boston Globe building in 1955-1958; and of other historic buildings in Longwood and Topsfield.
Included are views of the city, as well as reproductions of maps, models, and plans of the city from the Pierre L'Enfant's original plan, the Senate Parks Commission Plan of 1901, and the city's Plan for Year 2000, created in 1961. Many of the plans are reproduced from publications.
VI. Illustrated journals, 1895 and 1955
This series contains issues of the illustrated journals Puck, dating from 1895, and an issue of the Illustrated London News, dating from 27 Aug. 1955.
Preferred Citation
Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection, Photo. Coll. 53, Massachusetts Historical Society Photo Archives.
Access Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.