Julia T. Martin Correspondence to Alice Austen, 1893

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:48:36 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:33:33 PM

Added description

Description

Julia T. Martin Correspondence to Alice Austen, 1893

Overview

This collection comprises the personal letters written by Julia T. Martin to Elizabeth Alice Austen in 1893. The materials are digitized as high‑resolution JPEG scans of the original handwritten envelopes and pages, accompanied by typed transcriptions in plain text. The collection is housed in the Alice Austen House archives on Staten Island, New York, and is available online through the museum’s digital repository.

Background

Julia T. Martin (often addressed as “Julia” or “JTM”) was a close friend of Austen’s, residing in Albany, New York. The correspondence was produced during a year of significant social and professional activity for Austen: she attended the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, sold photographs from the fair, and engaged in a thriving photography business. The letters reflect the social milieu of late‑Victorian upper‑middle‑class society, including skating parties, whist gatherings, and travel to the Adirondack Mountains and Saratoga Springs. The collection also documents Austen’s personal relationships, her purchase of a Steinway piano, and her reactions to family events such as her grandfather’s death.

Contents

The collection contains 20+ scanned images of handwritten letters, each dated between July and September 1893, and their corresponding transcriptions. The letters discuss:
  • Social life (skating parties, whist parties, church events)
  • Photography business (sales of World’s Columbian Exposition images)
  • Travel itineraries (Chicago, Bennington, Saratoga Springs, Adirondack Mountains)
  • Personal relationships (Julia S. Martin, John C. Martin, Julia E. Martin)
  • Family matters and health concerns (illnesses, bereavements)

Scope

The collection is confined to the year 1893 and to correspondence from Julia T. Martin to Alice Austen. It is limited to the textual content of the letters; no ancillary materials such as photographs, calling cards, or negative sleeves are included. The collection offers a window into Victorian social networks, the early professional life of a pioneering female photographer, and the everyday concerns of women in the late nineteenth century.

Raw Cheimarros Data

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

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

@bennington:place {state: @vermont, country: @united_states}

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

@chicago:place {state: @illinois, country: @united_states}

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

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

@worlds_columbian_exposition:event {year: @date_1893, location: @chicago, description: "World's Fair held in Chicago 1893"}

@julia_t_martin:person {full_name: "Julia T. Martin", relationship: "close friend", location: @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"}
@john_c_martin:person {full_name: "John C. Martin"}
@julia_s_martin:person {full_name: "Julia S. Martin"}

@mr_gavels:person {full_name: "Mr. Gavels"}
@mrs_lively:person {full_name: "Mrs. Lively"}
@mr_wellington:person {full_name: "Mr. Wellington"}
@mrs_wellington:person {full_name: "Mrs. Wellington"}

@photograph:document {type: "photograph", subject: "World's Fair"}

@file_pinax:file {title: "Julia T. Martin Correspondence to Alice Austen, 1893", creator: @julia_t_martin, year: @date_1893, subjects: ["Personal correspondence","Social life","Victorian era","Photography","World's Columbian Exposition","Family relationships","Music","Travel"]}

@julia_t_martin_correspondence:document {type: "letters", author: @julia_t_martin, recipient: @alice_austen, year: @date_1893}

@file_pinax -> documents -> @julia_t_martin_correspondence {year: @date_1893}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_07_05, source: @file_1893_7_5_july_2003_jtm_copy_jpg}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_07_05, source: @file_1893_7_5_july_2004_jtm_copy_jpg}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_07_05, source: @file_1893_7_5_july_2005_jtm_copy_jpg}

@julia_t_martin -> wrote -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_07_05, source: @file_1893_7_5_july_2006_jtm_copy_jpg}

@john_c_martin -> wrote -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_07_05, source: @file_1893_7_5_july_2007_jtm_copy_jpg}

@julia_s_martin -> wrote -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_08_01, source: @file_1893_8_12_aug_1005_jtm_copy_jpg}

@alice_austen -> visited -> @chicago {when: @date_1893, purpose: "World's Columbian Exposition"}

@alice_austen -> attended -> @worlds_columbian_exposition {when: @date_1893}

@alice_austen -> sold -> @photograph {source: @worlds_columbian_exposition, when: @date_1893}

@mr_gavels -> visited -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_07_05, context: "unexpected visit"}

@mrs_lively -> mentioned_in -> @julia_t_martin {when: @date_1893_07_05, source: @file_1893_7_5_july_2003_jtm_copy_jpg}

@mr_wellington -> traveled_with -> @alice_austen {when: @date_1893_08_12, destination: @adirondack_mountains, source: @file_1893_8_12_aug_1002_jtm_copy_jpg}

@alice_austen -> stayed_at -> @bennington {when: @date_1893_08_12, source: @file_1893_8_12_aug_1002_jtm_copy_jpg}

@alice_austen -> stayed_at -> @saratoga_springs {when: @date_1893_08_12, source: @file_1893_8_12_aug_1003_jtm_copy_jpg}

@alice_austen -> visited -> @lake_george {when: @date_1893_08_12, source: @file_1893_8_12_aug_1003_jtm_copy_jpg}

@alice_austen -> participated_in -> @skating_party:event {when: @date_1893, description: "social skating party mentioned in correspondence"}

@alice_austen -> participated_in -> @whist_party:event {when: @date_1893, description: "social whist party mentioned in correspondence"}

@alice_austen -> purchased -> @steinway:piano:concept {when: @date_1893, context: "mentioned in letters about music"}

Metadata

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:48:36 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:55:29 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:52:59 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:33:33 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Julia_Martin_Correspondence"

Additional Components (20)

Click to expand and load individual components

1893_7-5-July 2003-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_7-5-July 2004-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_7-5-July 2005-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_7-5-July 2006-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_7-5-July 2007-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-12-Aug 1001-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-12-Aug 1002-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-12-Aug 1003-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-12-Aug 1004-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-12-Aug 1005-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-17-Aug 3001-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-17-Aug 3002-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-17-Aug 3003-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-17-Aug 3004-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_8-17-Aug 3005-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_9-11-Sept 3001-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_9-11-Sept 3002-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_9-11-Sept 3003-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_9-11-Sept 3004-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json
1893_9-11-Sept 3005-JTM copy.jpg.ref.json

Parent

01KC29FHMM2CCV6FGF6E1TTWVA

No children (leaf entity)