Alice Austen Correspondence and Envelopes Collection, 1885

PI

Version: 10 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:53:49 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:18:59 PM

Added description

Description

Alice Austen Correspondence and Envelopes Collection, 1885

Overview

The Alice Austen Correspondence and Envelopes Collection, 1885, is a digitized assemblage of personal letters, envelopes, and ancillary items that document the social and professional life of Elizabeth Alice Austen during a single year of the late Victorian era. The collection is part of the larger Alice Austen Papers (MS1) housed at the Alice Austen House Museum and is presented as high‑resolution JPEG scans accompanied by OCR‑derived text files.

Background

Elizabeth Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering American photographer based in Staten Island, New York. The 1885 collection captures her interactions with a network of friends, family, and business associates, reflecting the cultural milieu of upper‑middle‑class Staten Island society. Correspondents include Trude (from Fort Monroe, Virginia), Earl R. Hartwell (Louisville, Kentucky), Julia T. Bredt (Albany, New York), Grace Simonson, and others. The material was compiled by the museum to preserve Austen’s personal correspondence and to illuminate the social context surrounding her photographic career.

Contents

  • Personal letters: Multiple handwritten and typed letters covering topics such as social events (tennis, croquet, parties), travel, family matters, and photography business updates.
  • Envelopes: Five scanned envelopes addressed to Austen in August 1885, showing stamps, postmarks, and handwritten addresses that provide insight into Victorian postal practices.
  • Calling cards: Victorian‑era social cards that illustrate Austen’s social network.
  • Negative sleeves: Photographic accessories that hint at Austen’s studio operations.
  • Transcriptions: Plain‑text files of the handwritten letters for easier reading.
  • Metadata: Subject headings (correspondence, social life, recreation, travel, family relationships, photography, postal history, Victorian era) and place information (Staten Island, Fort Monroe, Albany, Louisville, etc.).

Scope

The collection focuses exclusively on the year 1885, documenting Austen’s personal and professional exchanges within that calendar year. It spans geographic locations across the United States, including Staten Island, Fort Monroe, Albany, and Louisville. The materials provide a window into the everyday social life, leisure pursuits, and business concerns of a pioneering photographer and her contemporaries during the late nineteenth‑century Victorian era.

Raw Cheimarros Data

@file_pinax:file {type: "metadata", description: "PINAX record for Alice Austen Correspondence and Envelopes Collection"}  

  

@alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection:collection {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence and Envelopes Collection, 1885", creator: [@trude, @grace_simonson, @earl_hartwell, @julia_bredt, @alice_austen], institution: @alice_austen_house, created: @date_1885, language: "en", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Social life","Recreation","Travel","Family relationships","Education","China painting","Tennis","Croquet","Social visits","Photography","Postal History","Victorian Era"], description: "Collection of correspondence, envelopes, and related materials from Alice Austen's personal papers, spanning 1885, including letters discussing social activities, personal matters, and photography, plus envelopes providing insight into her social network and postal history."}  

  

@file_pinax -> documents -> @alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection  

  

@alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection -> contains -> @alice_austen_correspondence_from_trude_1885  

  

@alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection -> contains -> @alice_austen_correspondence  

  

@alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection -> contains -> @alice_austen_envelopes_collection  

  

@alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection -> contains -> @hartwell_to_austen_collection  

  

@alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection -> associated with -> [@staten_island, @fort_monroe, @albany, @mr_morris_park, @louisville_ky, @new_york_ny, @west_bethlehem, @richmond_county, @mapleton]  

  

@alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection -> about -> [@correspondence, @personal_letters, @social_life, @recreation, @travel, @family_relationships, @education, @china_painting, @tennis, @croquet, @photography, @postal_history, @victorian_era]  

  

@trude -> contributed to -> @alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection  

  

@grace_simonson -> contributed to -> @alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection  

  

@earl_hartwell -> contributed to -> @alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection  

  

@julia_bredt -> contributed to -> @alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection  

  

@alice_austen -> subject of -> @alice_austen_correspondence_and_envelopes_collection  

  

@correspondence:concept {}  

  

@personal_letters:concept {}  

  

@social_life:concept {}  

  

@recreation:concept {}  

  

@travel:concept {}  

  

@family_relationships:concept {}  

  

@education:concept {}  

  

@photography:concept {}  

  

@postal_history:concept {}  

  

@victorian_era:concept {}

Metadata

Title
Alice Austen Correspondence and Envelopes Collection, 1885
Type
Collection
Creator
TrudeGrace SimonsonEarl R. HartwellJulia BredtAlice Austen
Institution
Alice Austen House
Created
1885
Language
en
Subjects
Correspondence, Personal letters, Social life, Recreation, Travel, Family relationships, Education, China painting, Tennis, Croquet, Social visits, Photography, Postal History, Victorian Era
Place
Staten Island, Fortress Monroe, VA, Albany, Mr. Morris Park, Louisville, KY, New York, NY, West Bethlehem, New York, Richmond County, Mapleton
Source
PINAX

Version History (10 versions)

  • ✓ v10 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:53:49 PM
    "Added description"
  • v9 · 12/9/2025, 9:12:25 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v8 · 12/9/2025, 7:57:46 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v7 · 12/9/2025, 7:21:37 PM · View this version
    "Reorganized into 5 groups"
  • v6 · 12/9/2025, 7:21:36 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28ZPX5FDPQTFQTH5SMNTZ8"
  • v5 · 12/9/2025, 7:21:34 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28ZNGNEG1DDWXR4GQFYP1B"
  • v4 · 12/9/2025, 7:21:33 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28ZM78CN9WXYFSTZR0WB9A"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 7:21:31 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28ZJT1FMPGAEYEH3Z1WNVQ"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:21:30 PM · View this version
    "Added child entity 01KC28ZH8E2ENCF65W6SD10JDP"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:18:59 PM · View this version
    "Alphabetical chunk 3/3 (23 files)"

Additional Components

reorganization-description.txt
# Reorganization Summary

Organized files primarily by correspondent, grouping letters from the same sender together. Created separate groups for Trude, Grace Simonson, Earl Hartwell, and Julia Bredt based on their distinct correspondence styles and content. All envelopes were grouped together as postal items. No files remained ungrouped as all content fit logically into these categories.

## Groups Created

- **Correspondence_from_Trude**: Letters to Alice from Trude discussing summer activities and social life
- **Correspondence_from_Grace_Simonson**: Letters from Grace Simonson discussing school prizes, tennis, and social visits
- **Correspondence_from_Earl_Hartwell**: Letters from Earl R. Hartwell with playful banter and social updates
- **Correspondence_from_Julia_Bredt**: Letters from Julia Bredt discussing summer activities and photography
- **Envelopes**: Envelopes addressed to Alice Austen

Parent

↑ 01KC260V5GH1VT7TQRTNEE46PT

Children (5)