Austen Family Papers (MS1) - Alice Austen Correspondence and Social Materials, 1890

PI

Version: 25 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:57:22 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 6:29:54 PM

Added description

Description

Austen Family Papers (MS1) – 1890 Correspondence and Social Materials

Overview

This digitized folder contains a comprehensive set of personal letters, Victorian‑era calling cards, wedding invitations, and a few photography‑related ephemera dated to the calendar year 1890. The items are presented as high‑resolution JPEG scans of the originals, each accompanied by a plain‑text transcription. The collection is part of the Alice Austen House Museum’s Austen Family Papers series, which spans 1883‑1898 and is held in the public domain.

Background

Elizabeth Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering photographer whose studio served Staten Island’s upper‑middle‑class community. In 1890 she maintained an extensive network of friends, relatives, and business associates across the New York metropolitan area and beyond. The Alice Austen House acquired these papers to document Austen’s social milieu, professional practice, and the cultural life of late‑Victorian Staten Island. The 1890 folder reflects the breadth of her personal correspondence and the social customs of the era.

Contents

  • Personal letters (≈ 30–40 items) from close friends and relatives—Julia T. Martin, Julia Bredt, E. Van Rensselaer, and others—covering topics such as skating parties, church events, travel itineraries, condolences for family deaths, and the purchase of a Steinway piano.
  • Calling cards (three items) bearing the names “Doris Austin,” “Mr. John Austen & Family,” and “Mrs & Miss Austin,” all addressed to Rosebank, Staten Island.
  • Wedding invitations (three items) issued by Austen family members to spouses in Moline, Illinois; New York City; and Clifton, Staten Island.
  • Negative sleeves and other photography‑related artifacts that illustrate Austen’s commercial activities, including a record of a sale of images from the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition.
Each item is accompanied by a typed transcription, facilitating textual analysis, and metadata indicating date, sender, recipient, and place.

Scope

The collection covers the calendar year 1890 and focuses on informal, personal correspondence and social ephemera. It is geographically centered on Staten Island and Albany, with occasional references to other New York locales. The materials illuminate Victorian social customs, the business of photography, and the intimate networks that sustained Austen’s career. The collection does not include photographic negatives, prints, or formal business records, which are housed separately in the Austen Family Papers series.

Raw Cheimarros Data

@l_l_tribus:person {full_name: "L. L. Tribus"}

@julia_j_weston:person {full_name: "Julia J. Weston"}

@maria_pratt:person {full_name: "Maria Pratt"}

@friendship:concept {topic: "Friendship"}

@health:concept {topic: "Health"}

@literary_events:concept {topic: "Literary events"}

@family_relationships:concept {topic: "Family relationships"}

@parties:concept {topic: "Parties"}

@social_events:concept {topic: "Social events"}

@travel:concept {topic: "Travel"}

@fashion:concept {topic: "Fashion"}

@opera:concept {topic: "Opera"}

@roads:concept {topic: "Roads"}

@canals:concept {topic: "Canals"}

@military_life:concept {topic: "Military life"}

@weddings:concept {topic: "Weddings"}

@file_pinax:file {title: "Austen Family Papers (MS1) - Alice Austen Correspondence and Social Materials, 1890", type: "Collection", creator: [@alice_austen, @will_v_batchelder, @bessie_strong, @julia_f_bredt, @alice_cornell_austen, @trudie_eccleston, @na_h_strong, @l_l_tribus, @maria_pratt, @george_rodney_booth, @julia_t_martin, @e_van_rensseeler, @julia_j_weston, @ada_c_crewe, @s_c_davis, @ed_vanrensselaer, @charles_h_deere, @henry_c_ferguson, @james_c_m_andrew, @austen_family], institution: @alice_austen_house, created: @date_1890, language: "en", subjects: [@photography:concept, @victorian_social_life, @friendship, @health, @literary_events, @family_relationships, @travel, @fashion, @music, @parties, @opera, @roads, @canals, @calling_cards, @social_events, @condolences, @victorian_era_social_customs, @photography_business, @military_life, @upper_middle_class_staten_island_families, @weddings, @family_matters], description: "A collection of personal correspondence, social cards, and related materials from the Austen Family Papers, spanning 1890. Includes letters to and from Alice Austen and her family, friends, and acquaintances, documenting Victorian-era social life, personal relationships, and various topics such as photography, travel, and engineering.", rights: "Public Domain", places: [@staten_island, @rosebank, @new_brunswick_nj, @washington_dc, @cincinnati_oh, @louisville_ky, @brooklyn_ny, @wshkill_on_hudson_ny, @bennington_center, @newtown_pa, @new_pr, @governors_island, @st_louis, @littleton_massachusetts, @new_york_ny, @rutgers_college, @new_london, @kent, @ironton, @norwich, @hamilton_nj, @fort_douglas, @clifton, @troy_new_york, @albany_ny, @detroit, @natick, @slater_island, @northfield, @sea_bright, @moline_illinois, @new_york_city, @williamson_town, @nition_island]}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @austen_family_papers

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@will_v_batchelder -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@bessie_strong -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@julia_f_bredt -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@alice_cornell_austen -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@trudie_eccleston -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@na_h_strong -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@l_l_tribus -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@maria_pratt -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@george_rodney_booth -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@julia_t_martin -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@e_van_rensseeler -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@julia_j_weston -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@ada_c_crewe -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@s_c_davis -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@ed_vanrensselaer -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@charles_h_deere -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@henry_c_ferguson -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@james_c_m_andrew -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@austen_family -> contributed to -> @file_pinax

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @photography:concept

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @victorian_social_life

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @friendship

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @health

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @literary_events

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @family_relationships

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @travel

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @fashion

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @music

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @parties

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @opera

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @roads

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @canals

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @calling_cards

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @social_events

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @condolences

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @victorian_era_social_customs

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @photography_business

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @military_life

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @upper_middle_class_staten_island_families

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @weddings

@file_pinax -> covers_subject -> @family_matters

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @staten_island

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @rosebank

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @new_brunswick_nj

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @washington_dc

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @cincinnati_oh

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @louisville_ky

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @brooklyn_ny

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @wshkill_on_hudson_ny

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @bennington_center

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @newtown_pa

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @new_pr

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @governors_island

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @st_louis

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @littleton_massachusetts

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @new_york_ny

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @rutgers_college

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @new_london

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @kent

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @ironton

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @norwich

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @hamilton_nj

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @fort_douglas

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @clifton

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @troy_new_york

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @albany_ny

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @detroit

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @natick

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @slater_island

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @northfield

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @sea_bright

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @moline_illinois

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @new_york_city

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @williamson_town

@file_pinax -> associated_place -> @nition_island

Metadata

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v25 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:57:22 PM
    "Added description"
  • v24 · 12/9/2025, 9:24:12 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v23 · 12/9/2025, 8:06:35 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v22 · 12/9/2025, 7:19:00 PM · View this version
    "Split into 4 alphabetical chunks"
  • v21 · 12/9/2025, 7:18:58 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28TX9GAAC8K5RM76MVQ25F"
  • v20 · 12/9/2025, 7:18:57 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28TVV2J2JZTHFKX1G16VQJ"
  • v19 · 12/9/2025, 7:18:55 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28TSYZGHJP74DM3QEGNJ9S"
  • v18 · 12/9/2025, 7:18:53 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28TQPGXRMM7H20G1NZNMPR"
  • v17 · 12/9/2025, 6:48:16 PM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 1 file"
  • v16 · 12/9/2025, 6:47:04 PM · View this version
    "Added OCR to 10 files"

More versions available (pagination not yet implemented)

Additional Components

chunking-description.txt
# Alphabetical Chunking

Directory split into 4 alphabetical chunks for processing.

Total files: 137
Files per chunk: up to 40

## Organization Strategy

Organize by correspondent. Create groups for each primary correspondent found in the letters (Will V. Batchelder, Bessie Strong, Julia Bredt, Alice Cornell Austen, etc.). Put unidentified or miscellaneous correspondence in 'Other Correspondence'. Additionally, create a separate group for 'Envelopes/Cards' for standalone address labels and calling cards.

Parent

01KC25ZJ5BGKTRSFQCX4KBYHJK

Children (4)