Alice Austen Correspondence with Ferivald Haytor
PI
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:41:36 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:27:13 PM
Added description
Description
Alice Austen Correspondence with Ferivald Haytor (March 30 1892)
Overview
This collection comprises three scanned JPEG images of a single handwritten letter dated March 30 1892, sent by Ferivald Haytor to Miss Elizabeth Alice Austen. The images reproduce the address header, opening, and closing of the letter, preserving the original ink, paper texture, and marginal notes. The collection is held by the Alice Austen House Museum in Staten Island, New York, and is catalogued under the broader “Correspondence with Ferivald Haytor” series.Background
Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering American photographer and a prominent figure in Staten Island’s upper‑middle‑class society. Ferivald Haytor, a contemporary and friend, corresponded with Austen from his home at the Chi Phi House in South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The letter reflects the social and artistic exchanges common among Victorian‑era intellectuals, and it was preserved as part of Austen’s personal papers.Contents
- Page 1 – Address header indicating the sender’s residence at Chi Phi House, South Bethlehem, and the addressee, Miss Austen, Clifton, Staten Island.
- Page 2 – Opening remarks thanking Austen for a photograph and poetry she sent, lamenting that a second picture did not turn out well, and noting that “Julie Bradt” had informed Haytor of the failure.
- Page 3 – Closing with a promise to send a “chronos” (likely a photograph or chronicle) within a few weeks, and a courteous sign‑off.
The letter references photographic work, poetry, and the promise of future images, illustrating Austen’s dual role as photographer and cultural patron.
Scope
The collection covers a single, dated personal letter (March 30 1892) between Austen and Haytor. It is written in English, situated within the Victorian social milieu of Staten Island and South Bethlehem, and touches on themes of photography, literary exchange, and personal friendship. The collection does not include the photograph itself but references it; it is limited to the textual correspondence and its contextual metadata.Raw Cheimarros Data
@file_pinax:file {title: "Alice Austen Correspondence with Ferivald Haytor", type: "Collection", creator: @ferivald_haytor, institution: @alice_austen_house, created: @date_1892_03_30, language: "en", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Photography","Victorian social life","Clifton (Staten Island)"], description: "Collection of correspondence between Alice Austen and Ferivald Haytor, including a photograph and letter dated March 30, 1892.", place: [@clifton_staten_island, @south_bethlehem]}
@alice_austen_correspondence_with_ferivald_haytor:collection {created: @date_1892_03_30, creator: @ferivald_haytor, institution: @alice_austen_house, language: "en", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Photography","Victorian social life","Clifton (Staten Island)"], description: "Correspondence between Alice Austen and Ferivald Haytor, dated March 30, 1892.", place: [@clifton_staten_island, @south_bethlehem]}
@file_1892_3_30_march_14001_drayton_copy_jpg:file {description: "Letter page 1 – address header"}
@file_1892_3_30_march_14002_drayton_copy_jpg:file {description: "Letter page 2 – body opening"}
@file_1892_3_30_march_14003_drayton_copy_jpg:file {description: "Letter page 3 – closing"}
@alice_austen_house:organization {type: "Museum", location: @staten_island}
@staten_island:place {state: @new_york, country: @united_states}
@clifton_staten_island:place {neighborhood: "Clifton", city: @staten_island}
@south_bethlehem:place {city: "South Bethlehem", state: "Pennsylvania", country: @united_states}
@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth_year: @date_1866, death_year: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer"}
@ferivald_haytor:person {full_name: "Ferivald Haytor"}
@julie_bradt:person {full_name: "Julie Bradt"}
@date_1866:date_1866
@date_1952:date_1952
@date_1892_03_30:date_1892_03_30
@alice_austen -> corresponded with -> @ferivald_haytor {when: @date_1892_03_30, via: @file_1892_3_30_march_14001_drayton_copy_jpg}
@ferivald_haytor -> thanked -> @alice_austen {for: "picture & poetry", when: @date_1892_03_30}
@ferivald_haytor -> mentioned -> @julie_bradt {context: "told him the other picture failed to materialize"}
@file_1892_3_30_march_14001_drayton_copy_jpg -> part of -> @alice_austen_correspondence_with_ferivald_haytor
@file_1892_3_30_march_14002_drayton_copy_jpg -> part of -> @alice_austen_correspondence_with_ferivald_haytor
@file_1892_3_30_march_14003_drayton_copy_jpg -> part of -> @alice_austen_correspondence_with_ferivald_haytor
@file_1892_3_30_march_14001_drayton_copy_jpg -> addressed to -> @alice_austen {location: @clifton_staten_island}
@file_1892_3_30_march_14002_drayton_copy_jpg -> originated from -> @chi_phi_house:place {location: @south_bethlehem}
@chi_phi_house:place {building: "Chi Phi House", city: @south_bethlehem}Metadata
Files (3)
1892_3-30-March 14001-drayton copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Miss Alice Austen Clifton Staten Island
1892_3-30-March 14002-Drayton copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
CHI PHI HOUSE, SOUTH BETHLEHEM. My Dear Miss Austen— Many thanks for the picture & poetry which you so kindly sent me. I do wish the other picture had turned out as well, for my tableau in it was very fine & I am sure you would have been
1892_3-30-March 14003-Drayton copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
highly delighted with it. Julie Bradt told me that it failed to materialize. I will be delighted to keep to my promise & will send you a chronos as soon as I have taken them, which will be in a few weeks. Thanking you again for so pleasantly remembering me I am Yrs. Sincerely Ferivald Haytor
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:41:36 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:34:02 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:49:17 PM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:27:13 PM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Correspondence_Ferivald_Drayton"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)