1892_3-12-Mar 6.1-de-la-sarna copy.jpg

Alice Austen Correspondence with Sara de la Sarna

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:41:49 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:27:05 PM

Added description

Description

Correspondence between Alice Austen and Sara de la Sarna (1892)

Overview

This collection comprises the digitized records of a single handwritten letter written by Sara de la Sarna to her friend, photographer Elizabeth Alice Austen, on March 12, 1892. The material is presented as two high‑resolution JPEG scans of the original page, accompanied by a JSON metadata file that documents the letter’s provenance, content, and relational links. The letter is written in English and was composed in Puebla, Mexico, while Sara was traveling through the Mexican states of Guanajuato and Chihuahua.

Background

Elizabeth Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering American photographer based in Staten Island, New York. Sara de la Sarna was a close friend and correspondent of Austen’s, whose travels in Mexico provided the backdrop for this exchange. The Alice Austen House Museum in Staten Island preserves Austen’s personal papers and related ephemera, including this correspondence, which offers insight into Austen’s social network and the trans‑Atlantic connections of late‑19th‑century American expatriates.

Contents

  • Letter (March 12, 1892) – Two JPEG scans (≈1.7 MB each) of the handwritten page, preserving the original ink, layout, and marginalia.
  • Metadata (JSON) – A structured record detailing the letter’s title, creator, date, place of origin, and subject tags (e.g., “family health,” “travel,” “Victorian era”). The JSON also encodes an entity graph linking people (Rose, Guica, John, Mamie, George Endicott, David, Effie) and places (Puebla, Guanajuato, Chihuahua, Staten Island).
The letter itself discusses Rose’s illness and her trip to Guanajuato for medical consultation, Guica’s pregnancy and expected birth in June, travel experiences from New York to Puebla, and social events such as a charity ball. It also references family members and acquaintances, reflecting the social fabric of Austen’s circle.

Scope

The collection is limited to the March 12, 1892 letter and its digital representations. It covers a single correspondence dated in 1892, written in English, originating in Puebla, Mexico, and addressed to Alice Austen in Staten Island. The material does not include additional letters, photographs, or ancillary documents beyond the scanned images and accompanying metadata.

Raw Cheimarros Data

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

@sara_de_la_sarna:person {full_name: "Sara de la Sarna", relationship: "friend of Alice Austen"}

@rose:person {sibling_of: @sara_de_la_sarna, health_status: "ill"}

@guica:person {pregnant: true, due_month: @date_1892_06, expecting_return: @date_1892_08}

@john:person {mentioned_in: @letter_1892_03_12, child: "John's daughter"}

@mamie:person {mentioned_in: @letter_1892_03_12}

@george_endicott:person {mentioned_in: @letter_1892_03_12}

@david:person {mentioned_in: @letter_1892_03_12, interaction: "nice on day of departure"}

@effie:person {mentioned_in: @letter_1892_03_12}

@puebla:place {country: @mexico}

@guanajuato:place {country: @mexico}

@chihuahua:place {country: @mexico}

@letter_1892_03_12:document {title: "Letter from Sara de la Sarna to Alice Austen", when: @date_1892_03_12, where: @puebla, author: @sara_de_la_sarna, recipient: @alice_austen}

@file_pinax:file {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence with Sara de la Sarna", creator: @sara_de_la_sarna, institution: "Alice Austen House", created: @date_1892_03_12, language: "en"}

@file_1892_3_12_mar_6_1_de_la_sarna_copy_jpg:file {type: "image", contains: @letter_1892_03_12}

@file_1892_3_12_mar_6_2_de_la_sarna_copy_jpg:file {type: "image", contains: @letter_1892_03_12}

@sara_de_la_sarna -> wrote -> @letter_1892_03_12 {format: "handwritten letter"}

@alice_austen -> correspondent with -> @sara_de_la_sarna {relationship: "friend"}

@sara_de_la_sarna -> mentions -> @rose

@sara_de_la_sarna -> mentions -> @guica

@sara_de_la_sarna -> mentions -> @john

@sara_de_la_sarna -> mentions -> @mamie

@sara_de_la_sarna -> mentions -> @george_endicott

@sara_de_la_sarna -> mentions -> @david

@sara_de_la_sarna -> mentions -> @effie

@sara_de_la_sarna -> traveled from -> @new_york

@sara_de_la_sarna -> arrived at -> @puebla {when: @date_1892_03_12}

@rose -> traveled to -> @guanajuato {purpose: "consult doctors"}

@letter_1892_03_12 -> references -> @charity_ball:event {question: "Did you go to the Charity Ball?"}

Metadata

Files (2)

1892_3-12-Mar 6.1-de-la-sarna copy.jpgJPEG
1.6 MB
OCR Text

Puebla, March 12/92. My dearest Alice, I am afraid you must think that I have forgotten my promise to write to you as so many days have gone by since my arrival here—but indeed I have not only that I have been compelled to neglect for a short while my correspondence, as my sister Rose has been quite ill & I have worried so much that I could do nothing but be with her—she has gone to Guanajuato, to consult with some other doctors, & I trust they will be able to do something for her. Did you see the steamer the day we left New York?—I must confess that I did not look for your house, as I was already feeling quite sick—I am glad to say that I was not after the first days as much so, as I expected, & we had a very pleasant trip. We have enjoyed the change of climate very much since we arrived here—it has been beautiful, up to the last days when the rainy season has begun, & that is perfectly unbearable—we intend to

1892_3-12-Mar 6.2-de-la-sarna copy.jpgJPEG
1.59 MB
OCR Text

remain in this city until Guica's baby is born, that will be in June & we expect to go back to Mexico in August. I must say I am not in a hurry as I love this dull Puebla very much & rather enjoy being here. I suppose all the Staten Islanders have been excited over the birth of John's daughter; what has she got to say now? - do tell me all about it. - what of Mamie & George Endicott. David was remarkably nice to me on the day of our departure from L. Isk, but I could not find out if it was true what I thought of Effie, but I do not doubt it. Did you go to the Charity Ball, & did you have a nice time? Guica is looking very well & is just as happy as she could be at the prospect of being a mother - Adriana on the contrary looks very old & so desperate at the idea that she is not going to have a baby, & it is so ridiculous too, as she has just been married such a short time. I hope that you will not wait long to write to me dear Alice - give my kindest regards to your mother, & with warmest love & kisses for yourself believe me, Ever your devoted friend, Sara Address. Chihuahua 2. Puebla. (Cripio)

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:41:49 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:36:06 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:49:30 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:27:05 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Correspondence_Sara_de_la_Sarna"

Parent

01KC28TTD755RBGACHH9W4NBMC

No children (leaf entity)