1886_11-16-Nov 1002 copy.jpg

Alice Austen Social Invitations Collection, 1886

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:54:08 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:19:55 PM

Added description

Description

Alice Austen Social Invitations Collection, 1886

Overview

This collection contains six digitized letters addressed to Elizabeth Alice Austen, a pioneering Staten Island photographer, received in 1886. The items are scanned photographs of handwritten correspondence, each accompanied by OCR‑derived text. They represent personal invitations and social announcements exchanged among upper‑middle‑class families in the New York metropolitan area during the late Victorian era.

Background

The letters were gathered by the Alice Austen House, the historic residence that now serves as a museum preserving Austen’s life and work. The collection is part of the larger Austen Family Papers (MS1) and reflects the social milieu in which Austen lived and worked. The correspondents—Kitty McAndrew, the Engham family (Commodore and Mrs. Engham), Laura H. Capri Chilton, Margaret Butler, and an unnamed Clifton sender—were friends and acquaintances of Austen, many of whom resided in Staten Island’s Clifton neighborhood or in Albany.

Contents

The six letters invite Alice to a range of social activities: a day with Aunt Marrow, an informal evening at 8 p.m. on November 16, a euchre game scheduled for January 6, 1887, a drawing session on May 18, a farewell gathering on May 12, and a request to join a woodland outing. The correspondence is written in polite, contemporary Victorian English and includes details such as dates, times, and locations. The scanned images preserve the original handwriting and paper texture, while the OCR text provides searchable content.

Scope

The collection covers the calendar year 1886, with geographic references to Staten Island (Clifton), Albany, and the surrounding region. It documents social interactions among upper‑middle‑class families and offers insight into the informal networks that supported Austen’s personal and professional life. The collection is limited to invitations and related correspondence; it does not include other types of documents such as business records or photographs.

Raw Cheimarros Data

@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth_year: @date_1866, death_year: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer"}

@alice_austen_house:organization {location: @staten_island}

@staten_island:place {state: @new_york, country: @united_states}

@albany:place {state: @new_york, country: @united_states}

@clifton:place {city: "Clifton", borough: "Staten Island", state: @new_york, country: @united_states}

@alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886:collection {title: "Alice Austen Social Invitations Collection, 1886", creator: @alice_austen, institution: @alice_austen_house, created: @date_1886, subjects: ["Social invitations","Victorian social life","Upper-middle-class families","Staten Island","19th century correspondence"], places: [@staten_island, @clifton, @albany]}

@kitty_mcandrew:person {full_name: "Kitty McAndrew"}

@betty_mcquicken:person {full_name: "Betty McQuicken"}

@frisley_jones:person {full_name: "Frisley Jones"}

@laura_capri_chilton:person {full_name: "Laura H. Capri Chilton"}

@engham_family:person {title: "Commodore", spouse: "Mrs. Engham"}

@margaret_butler:person {full_name: "Margaret Butler"}

@unknown_clifton_sender:person {description: "Unnamed correspondent from Clifton"}

@letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated001:document {author: @kitty_mcandrew, recipient: @alice_austen, type: "personal invitation", content: "Ask Alice to spend the day with us tomorrow (Saturday) as Aunt Marrow is coming up"}

@letter_engham_1886_11_16:document {author: @engham_family, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1886_11_16, type: "invitation", content: "Commodore and Mrs. Engham will be happy to see Miss Austen Tuesday evening 16th at 8 o'clock very informally"}

@letter_laura_capri_chilton_1886_12_29:document {author: @laura_capri_chilton, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1886_12_29, type: "invitation", content: "Invitation to join friends for euchre on Thursday Evening January 6th"}

@euchre_game_jan_6_1887:event {date: @date_1887_01_06, type: "card game", activity: "euchre"}

@letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated002:document {author: @kitty_mcandrew, recipients: [@betty_mcquicken, @frisley_jones], type: "invitation", content: "Run through the woods"}

@letter_margaret_butler_1886_05_18:document {author: @margaret_butler, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1886_05_18, type: "invitation", content: "Drawing at quarter past eight on Saturday night"}

@letter_unknown_clifton_1886_05_12:document {author: @unknown_clifton_sender, recipient: @alice_austen, date: @date_1886_05_12, location: @clifton, type: "farewell invitation", content: "Farewell to friends on Saturday night"}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886

@file_1886ish_kitty_mcandrew_undated001_copy_jpg -> documents -> @letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated001

@file_1886_11_16_nov_1002_copy_jpg -> documents -> @letter_engham_1886_11_16

@file_1886_12_29_dec_2002_scofield_copy_jpg -> documents -> @letter_laura_capri_chilton_1886_12_29

@file_1886ish_kitty_mcandrew_undated002_copy_jpg -> documents -> @letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated002

@file_1886_5_18_may_1003_copy_jpg -> documents -> @letter_margaret_butler_1886_05_18

@file_1886_5_18_may_1002_copy_jpg -> documents -> @letter_unknown_clifton_1886_05_12

@letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated001 -> part of -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886

@letter_engham_1886_11_16 -> part of -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886

@letter_laura_capri_chilton_1886_12_29 -> part of -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886

@letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated002 -> part of -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886

@letter_margaret_butler_1886_05_18 -> part of -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886

@letter_unknown_clifton_1886_05_12 -> part of -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection_1886

@kitty_mcandrew -> wrote -> @letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated001

@engham_family -> wrote -> @letter_engham_1886_11_16

@laura_capri_chilton -> wrote -> @letter_laura_capri_chilton_1886_12_29

@kitty_mcandrew -> wrote -> @letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated002

@margaret_butler -> wrote -> @letter_margaret_butler_1886_05_18

@unknown_clifton_sender -> wrote -> @letter_unknown_clifton_1886_05_12

@alice_austen -> received -> @letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated001

@alice_austen -> received -> @letter_engham_1886_11_16

@alice_austen -> received -> @letter_laura_capri_chilton_1886_12_29

@alice_austen -> received -> @letter_kitty_mcandrew_1886_undated002

@alice_austen -> received -> @letter_margaret_butler_1886_05_18

@alice_austen -> received -> @letter_unknown_clifton_1886_05_12

@letter_laura_capri_chilton_1886_12_29 -> invites -> @euchre_game_jan_6_1887

@date_1866

@date_1952

@date_1886

@date_1886_11_16

@date_1886_12_29

@date_1886_05_18

@date_1886_05_12

@date_1887_01_06

Metadata

Files (6)

1886_11-16-Nov 1002 copy.jpgJPEG
449.08 KB
OCR Text

Commodore and Mrs. Engham will be happy to see Miss Austin Tuesday evening 16th at 8 o'clock very informally. Progressive Ladies Nov. 1896

1886_12-29-Dec 2002-scofield copy.jpgJPEG
436.58 KB
OCR Text

Dear Alice, Any Thursday Evening January 6th we expect some friends to play euchre, and if you will join us, shall be very glad indeed. We shall propose to commence playing about half past eight. With Kind regards, Yours truly, Laura H. Capri Chilton Dec 29th

1886_5-18-May 1002 copy.jpgJPEG
650.05 KB
OCR Text

Clifton May 12th 1886. My dear Alice, I am going to give a little farewell to my friends on Saturday night, and I want you to come. It will be very informal, then only talking about the couple. Let me know as soon as possible if

1886_5-18-May 1003 copy.jpgJPEG
608.24 KB
OCR Text

you can come. We want to begin drawing about quarter past eight on account of it being Saturday night, but you can easily understand why I cannot share it that night. Ever truly, Margaret Butler

1886ish_Kitty McAndrew undated001 copy.jpgJPEG
369.04 KB
OCR Text

Dear Alice, I write you this to ask you to spend the day with us tomorrow (Saturday) Aunt Marrow is coming up in the

1886ish_Kitty McAndrew undated002 copy.jpgJPEG
559.17 KB
OCR Text

and the rest of you going to run through the woods. Got to give it another chance. Betty McQuicken Never been. Frisley Jones Please come.

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:54:08 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 9:13:03 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:58:13 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:19:55 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Social_Invitations_1886"

Parent

01KC2603RXSQ1RZSHR5X73CGFA

No children (leaf entity)