Alice Austen Envelopes and Calling Cards Collection
PI
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:45:25 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:33:26 PM
Added description
Description
Alice Austen Envelopes and Calling Cards Collection
Overview
This digitized collection comprises a series of envelopes, calling cards, and marriage invitations that were part of Alice Austen’s personal correspondence in 1893. The materials are presented as high‑resolution JPEG scans of the original paper items, each accompanied by OCR‑derived transcriptions. The collection is organized by year, with the majority of items dated within 1893, reflecting a snapshot of Austen’s social and familial engagements during that year.Background
Elizabeth Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a pioneering American photographer and a prominent figure in Staten Island’s upper‑middle‑class society. The Alice Austen House, now a museum, preserves her personal papers and artifacts. The Envelopes and Calling Cards Collection was curated by the museum’s archivists to document Austen’s social network and the correspondence that supported her photographic business and personal life. The items were originally produced in the United States (Staten Island, New York) and occasionally in Wilmington, North Carolina, indicating Austen’s regional connections.Contents
The collection contains 12 distinct envelopes and calling cards, each scanned as a JPEG file. Key items include:- Marriage invitations from Henry G. Wheelock (to Elinor Bellows and Frederick Bosworth Percy) and Judge Oliver Pendleton Meares (to Annie Meares and Ernst Victor Baltzer), detailing dates, times, and venues (All Souls Church, New York; St. James’ Church, Wilmington).
- Personal envelopes addressed to “Miss Austen” and “Miss L. Alice Anderson,” with addresses in Rosebank and Clifton, Staten Island.
- Calling cards bearing the names of close friends such as Julia T. Martin, Julie Bredt, and Violet M.E. Ward, reflecting Austen’s social circle.
Each image includes OCR text that reproduces the handwritten or printed content, providing immediate access to the correspondence’s content without the need for manual transcription.
Scope
The collection covers a single calendar year (1893) and is geographically focused on Staten Island, New York, with a few items linked to Wilmington, North Carolina. It documents social invitations, personal correspondence, and the logistical aspects of Austen’s social life, offering insight into late‑Victorian etiquette, networking among women, and the role of printed ephemera in the life of a professional photographer. The collection does not include the letters themselves, only the envelopes and calling cards that carried them.Raw Cheimarros Data
@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth: @date_1866, death: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer", residence: @staten_island:place}
@staten_island:place {state: @new_york, country: @united_states}
@alice_austen_envelopes_and_calling_cards:collection {created: @date_1893, institution: "Alice Austen House", description: "Envelopes and calling cards from Alice Austen's correspondence, primarily from 1893."}
@file_pinax -> documents -> @alice_austen_envelopes_and_calling_cards
@envelope_1893_01_16_martin:document {date: @date_1893_01_16, recipient: @alice_austen, address: "Rosebank, Staten Island, N.Y."}
@envelope_1893_01_29_martin:document {date: @date_1893_01_29, recipient: @alice_austen, address: "Rosebank, Staten Island, N.Y."}
@envelope_1893_10_22_martin:document {date: @date_1893_10_22, recipient: @alice_austen, address: "Rosebank, Staten Island, N.Y."}
@alice_anderson:person {full_name: "L. Alice Anderson"}
@envelope_1893_01_26_lynch:document {date: @date_1893_01_26, recipient: @alice_anderson, address: "Clifton, Staten Island"}
@envelope_1893_10_27_christine:document {date: @date_1893_10_27, recipient: @christine:person, address: "Rosebank P.O., Staten Island, New York"}
@christine:person {full_name: "Miss Christine"}
@henry_g_wheelock:person {full_name: "Henry G. Wheelock"}
@elinor_bellows:person {full_name: "Elinor Bellows"}
@frederick_bosworth_percy:person {full_name: "Frederick Bosworth Percy"}
@all_souls_church:place {address: "Fourth Avenue and Twentieth Street, New York, NY"}
@invitation_wheelock_1893_01_31:document {date: @date_1893_01_31, sender: @henry_g_wheelock, recipient: @alice_austen, event: "marriage of Elinor Bellows to Frederick Bosworth Percy", location: @all_souls_church, time: "12:00"}
@judge_oliver_meares:person {full_name: "Oliver Pendleton Meares"}
@mrs_oliver_meares:person {full_name: "Mrs. Oliver Pendleton Meares"}
@annie_meares:person {full_name: "Annie Meares"}
@ernst_victor_baltzer:person {full_name: "Ernst Victor Baltzer"}
@st_james_church_nc:place {address: "St. James' Church, Wilmington, North Carolina"}
@invitation_meares_1893_10_25:document {date: @date_1893_10_25, sender: [@judge_oliver_meares, @mrs_oliver_meares], recipient: @alice_austen, event: "marriage of Annie Meares to Ernst Victor Baltzer", location: @st_james_church_nc, time: "16:00"}
@henry_g_wheelock -> sent -> @invitation_wheelock_1893_01_31
@judge_oliver_meares -> sent -> @invitation_meares_1893_10_25
@alice_austen -> received -> @envelope_1893_01_16_martin
@alice_austen -> received -> @envelope_1893_01_29_martin
@alice_austen -> received -> @envelope_1893_10_22_martin
@alice_austen -> received -> @invitation_wheelock_1893_01_31
@alice_austen -> received -> @invitation_meares_1893_10_25
@julia_t_martin:person {full_name: "Julia T. Martin", relationship: "close friend in Albany"}
@julie_bredt:person {full_name: "Julie Bredt"}
@violet_m_e_ward:person {full_name: "Violet M.E. Ward"}
@isabella_king:person {full_name: "Isabella King", role: "photograph buyer"}
@bessie_strong:person {full_name: "Bessie Strong"}
@alice_austen -> corresponded with -> [@julia_t_martin, @julie_bredt, @violet_m_e_ward, @isabella_king, @bessie_strong]Metadata
Files (7)
1893_1-16-Jan 1001-martin copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Miss Austin Rosebank Staten Island N.Y.
1893_1-26-E Lynch Jan 26 1893001 copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Miss L. Alice Anderson Clifton Staten Island
1893_1-29-Jan 4002-martin copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Miss Austen, Rosebank, Staten Island, N.Y.
1893_1-31-Jan 3002 copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Mr. Henry G. Wheelock requests your presence at the marriage of his daughter, Elinor Bellows, to Dr. Frederick Bosworth Percy, on Tuesday, January thirty-first, at twelve o'clock. All Souls Church, Fourth Avenue and Twentieth Street.
1893_10-22-Oct 4001-martin copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Miss Austen Rosebank, Staten Island N.Y.
1893_10-25-Oct 5002 copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Judge & Mrs. Oliver Pendleton Meares request your presence at the marriage of their daughter, Annie, to Mr. Ernst Victor Baltzer. Wednesday afternoon, October twenty-fifth, 1893 at four o'clock. St. James' Church, Wilmington, North Carolina.
1893_10-27-Oct 6001 copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
Miss Christine Rosebank P.O. Staten Island, New York,
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:45:25 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:46:37 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:51:22 PM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:33:26 PM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Envelopes_Calling_Cards"
Parent
No children (leaf entity)