1887_1-7-Jan 1002 copy.jpg

Alice Austen Social Invitations Collection, 1887

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:54:05 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:19:57 PM

Added description

Description

Alice Austen Social Invitations Collection, 1887

Overview

This collection is a digital assemblage of five scanned photographs of social invitations addressed to Elizabeth Alice Austen in 1887. The items are presented as JPEG images with accompanying OCR‑derived text, and they are organized under the 1887 folder of the Austen Family Papers (MS1) housed by the Alice Austen House Museum in Staten Island, New York.

Background

Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering American photographer whose home became a cultural hub for the upper‑middle‑class community of Clifton, Staten Island. In the late 19th century, Austen received numerous invitations to social events, reflecting the Victorian etiquette of the era. The collection was digitized by the museum’s archival team to preserve the original paper invitations and to make them accessible to researchers.

Contents

The five items include:
  • A formal dinner invitation from Mrs. L. Hulher (January 7, 1887).
  • A personal dinner notice from Mary T. McAll (February 10, 1887).
  • A tennis‑match invitation from Miss Townsend (July 15, 1887).
  • A notice of the United States Corps of Cadets’ Graduating Hop (June 10, 1887).
  • A related RSVP card for the same cadet event.
  • Each image shows the original handwritten or printed text, dates, times, and locations, all in English. The OCR data confirms the content and provides searchable text for the collection.

    Scope

    The collection covers social invitations received by Alice Austen during the calendar year 1887, specifically in the Clifton neighborhood of Staten Island. It reflects the social customs of late‑Victorian America, focusing on dinner parties, sporting events, and military celebrations among the local upper‑middle class. The collection does not include the responses to these invitations or any subsequent correspondence.

    Raw Cheimarros Data

    @file_pinax:file {title: "Alice Austen Social Invitations Collection, 1887", type: "Collection", created: @date_1887, language: "en", description: "Collection of social invitations and correspondence addressed to Alice Austen in 1887, including formal event invitations and personal notes.", institution: @alice_austen_house, place: @clifton, subjects: [@social_invitations, @victorian_social_life, @parties, @events, @correspondence]}
    
    @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection:collection {title: "Alice Austen Social Invitations Collection, 1887", created: @date_1887, institution: @alice_austen_house, place: @clifton, description: "Social invitations and related correspondence addressed to photographer Elizabeth Alice Austen in 1887."}
    
    @file_pinax:file -> documents -> @alice_austen_social_invitations_collection:collection
    
    @alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth: @date_1866, death: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer", residence: @staten_island}
    
    @date_1866
    
    @date_1952
    
    @staten_island:place {city: "Staten Island", state: @new_york, country: @united_states}
    
    @clifton:place {neighborhood: "Clifton", city: @staten_island, country: @united_states}
    
    @mrs_l_hulher:person {full_name: "Mrs. L. Hulher"}
    
    @mary_t_mcall:person {full_name: "Mary T. McAll"}
    
    @miss_townsend:person {full_name: "Miss Townsend"}
    
    @us_corps_of_cadets:organization {full_name: "The United States Corps of Cadets"}
    
    @laura_tennis:person {full_name: "Laura Tennis"}
    
    @david:person {first_name: "David"}
    
    @social_invitations:concept {description: "Printed or handwritten invitations to social events during the Victorian era"}
    
    @victorian_social_life:concept {period: "Victorian era", region: @united_states, description: "Social customs and activities among upper‑middle‑class families in late 19th‑century America"}
    
    @parties:concept {type: "social gathering"}
    
    @events:concept {type: "organized occasions"}
    
    @correspondence:concept {type: "personal letters and notes"}
    
    @date_1887
    
    @date_1887_01_07
    
    @date_1887_02_10
    
    @date_1887_07_15
    
    @date_1887_06_10
    
    @invitation_jan_7_1887:document {type: "social invitation", date: @date_1887_01_07, time: "8:00 PM", location: @clifton, sender: @mrs_l_hulher, recipient: @alice_austen, subject: "Pleasure of your company on Friday evening January 7th 1887"} 
    
    @file_1887_1_7_jan_1002_copy_jpg:file -> contains -> @invitation_jan_7_1887:document
    
    @invitation_feb_10_1887:document {type: "dinner invitation", date: @date_1887_02_10, location: @clifton, sender: @mary_t_mcall, recipient: @alice_austen, note: "David is going to have a small dinner on Monday evening and we will all be very glad if you will join us also."}
    
    @file_1887_2_10_feb_1002_marsh_copy_jpg:file -> contains -> @invitation_feb_10_1887:document
    
    @invitation_july_15_1887:document {type: "tennis invitation", date: @date_1887_07_15, time: "4:00 PM – 7:00 PM", location: @clifton, sender: @miss_townsend, recipient: @alice_austen, subject: "Pleasure of your company on Friday afternoon, July 15th"} 
    
    @file_1887_7_15_july_1002_copy_jpg:file -> contains -> @invitation_july_15_1887:document
    
    @event_graduating_hop:event {type: "Graduating Hop", date: @date_1887_06_10, location: @clifton, organizer: @us_corps_of_cadets, description: "Celebratory gathering for the United States Corps of Cadets graduating class."}
    
    @invitation_june_10_1887:document {type: "event invitation", date: @date_1887_06_10, location: @clifton, sender: @us_corps_of_cadets, recipient: @alice_austen, subject: "Pleasure of your presence at the Graduating Hop"} 
    
    @file_1887_6_10_june_1003_copy_jpg:file -> contains -> @invitation_june_10_1887:document
    
    @us_corps_of_cadets -> organized -> @event_graduating_hop:event
    
    @event_graduating_hop:event -> took place {when: @date_1887_06_10, where: @clifton}

    Metadata

    Files (4)

    1887_1-7-Jan 1002 copy.jpgJPEG
    422.52 KB
    OCR Text

    Mrs. L. Hulher requests the pleasure of your company on Friday evening January 7th 1887 at 8 O'Clock R.S.V.P. Clifton January 1st 1887

    1887_2-10-Feb 1002-marsh copy.jpgJPEG
    501.2 KB
    OCR Text

    Clifton Feb 10th 1887 My dear Alice, David is going to have a small dinner on Monday evening and we will all be very glad if you will join us also. Sincerely yours, Mary T. McAll.

    1887_6-10-June 1003 copy.jpgJPEG
    589.46 KB
    OCR Text

    The United States Corps of Cadets request the pleasure of your presence at the Graduating Hop. to be given Friday evening, June tenth, Eighteen hundred and eighty seven.

    1887_7-15-July 1002 copy.jpgJPEG
    530.34 KB
    OCR Text

    Miss Townsend requests the pleasure of your company on Friday afternoon, July 15th, from four until seven o'clock. Laura Tennis 1887.

    Version History (4 versions)

    • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:54:05 PM
      "Added description"
    • v3 · 12/9/2025, 9:12:22 PM · View this version
      "Added knowledge graph extraction"
    • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:58:12 PM · View this version
      "Added PINAX metadata"
    • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:19:57 PM · View this version
      "Reorganization group: Social_Invitations_1887"

    Parent

    01KC2603RXSQ1RZSHR5X73CGFA

    No children (leaf entity)