1894_5-12-May 4001-jones copy.jpg

Alice Austen Business Correspondence Collection

PI

Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:49:36 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:36:03 PM

Added description

Description

Alice Austen Business Correspondence Collection (1894)

Overview

The Alice Austen Business Correspondence Collection is a set of business‑related letters addressed to Elizabeth Alice Austen, the celebrated Staten Island photographer. Compiled in 1894, the collection comprises handwritten correspondence, scanned images of the originals, and associated metadata. It documents commercial interactions concerning pianos, music, and photography, reflecting the social and economic milieu of late‑Victorian New York.

Background

Alice Austen (1866‑1952) operated a photography studio in Staten Island and maintained a network of clients and suppliers. The collection was assembled by William C. Howe and Frederick C. Lewis, both contemporaries of Austen, and is housed at the Alice Austen House museum. The letters were written in New York City and sent to Austen’s contacts, including Miss Walker and Miss Foster, illustrating the business practices of a female photographer in the 1890s.

Contents

  • Letters (1894): Two primary letters—one dated May 12, 1894 from William C. Howe to Miss Walker, discussing piano tuning and music; another dated March 28, 1894 from Frederick C. Lewis to Miss Foster, referencing Victorian social life.
  • Scanned Images: High‑resolution JPEG scans of the handwritten letters (files “18945‑12‑May 4001‑jones copy.jpg” and “18945‑12‑May 4002‑jones copy.jpg” for Howe’s letter; “1894_5‑28‑May 5001‑jones copy.jpg” for Lewis’s letter).
  • Metadata: JSON records detailing creators, subjects (piano, music, photography, Victorian social life), and provenance.
  • OCR Text: Extracted text from the scans, providing a readable transcription of the correspondence.

Scope

The collection covers a single year (1894) and focuses on business interactions between Alice Austen and her suppliers or clients in New York and Staten Island. It includes correspondence about musical instruments, studio photography services, and social events of the era. The collection does not contain personal letters unrelated to business, nor does it include photographs taken by Austen. It offers a concise view of the commercial aspects of Austen’s career and the broader Victorian‑era social network in which she operated.

Raw Cheimarros Data

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

@alice_austen_house:organization {name: "Alice Austen House", location: @staten_island}

@alice_austen_business_correspondence:collection {title: "Alice Austen Business Correspondence Collection", created: @date_1894, description: "Business-related correspondence to Alice Austen, including discussions about pianos, music, and photography.", institution: @alice_austen_house, location: [@new_york, @staten_island]}

@william_c_howe:person {full_name: "William C. Howe"}

@frederick_c_lewis:person {full_name: "Frederick C. Lewis"}

@miss_walker:person {title: "Miss Walker"}

@miss_foster:person {title: "Miss Foster"}

@piano:concept {type: "musical instrument"}

@music:concept {type: "art form"}

@photography:concept {type: "visual art"}

@victorian_era_social_life:concept {type: "social practice"}

@letter_1894_05_12_jones:document {date: @date_1894_05_12, author: @william_c_howe, recipient: @miss_walker, location: @new_york, mentions: [@piano, @music]}

@letter_1894_03_28_foster:document {date: @date_1894_03_28, author: @frederick_c_lewis, recipient: @miss_foster, location: @new_york, mentions: [@victorian_era_social_life]}

@file_pinax:file {format: "json", type: "metadata"}

@file_1894_5_12_may_4001_jones_copy_jpg:file {format: "image", ocr: true}

@file_1894_5_12_may_4002_jones_copy_jpg:file {format: "image", ocr: true}

@file_1894_5_28_may_5001_jones_copy_jpg:file {format: "image", ocr: true}


@alice_austen_business_correspondence -> created by -> [@william_c_howe, @frederick_c_lewis]

@alice_austen_business_correspondence -> held at -> @alice_austen_house

@alice_austen_business_correspondence -> subject -> [@piano, @music, @photography, @victorian_era_social_life]

@alice_austen_business_correspondence -> includes -> @letter_1894_05_12_jones

@alice_austen_business_correspondence -> includes -> @letter_1894_03_28_foster

@file_1894_5_12_may_4001_jones_copy_jpg -> represents -> @letter_1894_05_12_jones

@file_1894_5_12_may_4002_jones_copy_jpg -> represents -> @letter_1894_05_12_jones

@file_1894_5_28_may_5001_jones_copy_jpg -> represents -> @letter_1894_03_28_foster

@letter_1894_05_12_jones -> mentions -> @piano

@letter_1894_05_12_jones -> mentions -> @music

@letter_1894_03_28_foster -> mentions -> @victorian_era_social_life

@letter_1894_05_12_jones -> sent to -> @miss_walker

@letter_1894_03_28_foster -> sent to -> @miss_foster

@letter_1894_05_12_jones -> authored by -> @william_c_howe

@letter_1894_03_28_foster -> authored by -> @frederick_c_lewis

@date_1866

@date_1952

@date_1894

@date_1894_05_12

@date_1894_03_28

@new_york:place {city: "New York", state: "New York", country: @united_states}

@staten_island:place {borough: "Staten Island", city: "New York City", country: @united_states}

Metadata

Files (3)

1894_5-12-May 4001-jones copy.jpgJPEG
1.14 MB
OCR Text

80 West 102 St. New York, May 12, 1894 Dear Miss Walker, Your note is at hand and I can only apologize for not answering it sooner. Your argument in question you state and the terms in which you follow. I have never heard your views and therefore must see in a single word's sense, you and have never known order—a word to speak of itself is so simple that he would know if a couple of letters were not one less be immorally in position. The "evil" of which you speak is merely a matter of fine tuning and so therefore easily eradicated; the piano of which we looked are not on perfect tune or too often. With regard to the "mixing" of the which is called by other scales, I reply being occasionally a piano is found in

1894_5-12-May 4002-jones copy.jpgJPEG
1.14 MB
OCR Text

cuse his sister for it, nor even when the strong rest & slight juggling will occur, and then the dupler has to be watched lest this is ever hers, and of course the unlettered do not select their instruments. It is but reasonable that you should seek all possible knowledge so to the limits your powers allow, and I am only too glad to measure to the best of my knowledge As I said before I have carried them any distance that's possible with me a while and have examined all the houses. One dearer (W and H) in particular to impression changed from W's in several ways. It's clear in St Pauls so charming & you can tell you the same now finished!! I think time comes all you magazines and I can only say that if I can serve you any further you may call upon me soon to again looking at the prices before it is too difficult. Sincerely yours, William C. Howe

1894_5-28-May 5001-jones copy.jpgJPEG
1.3 MB
OCR Text

New York, March 28, 1894 Dear Miss Foster, I called at home last evening and was unable to find you. I am afraid I have missed the final notice from the city superintendent and never from your more beautiful school. I send you an interesting piece of literature received by me from whom you may hear someday and can only hope you will receive it right. Remember your lesson has to be for all practical purposes, or he who is near us goes elsewhere to the sea. I am sure you know as I am a way he and I have no Sincerely yours, Frederick C. Lewis

Version History (4 versions)

  • ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:49:36 PM
    "Added description"
  • v3 · 12/9/2025, 8:57:10 PM · View this version
    "Added knowledge graph extraction"
  • v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:53:42 PM · View this version
    "Added PINAX metadata"
  • v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:36:03 PM · View this version
    "Reorganization group: Business_Correspondence"

Parent

01KC29FG0GN7TCJS0KHC36G7KF

No children (leaf entity)