Alice Austen Outgoing Correspondence Collection
PI
Version: 4 (current) | Updated: 12/9/2025, 9:53:02 PM | Created: 12/9/2025, 7:41:14 PM
Added description
Description
Alice Austen Outgoing Correspondence Collection (1883‑1898)
Overview
The Alice Austen Outgoing Correspondence Collection is a digitized archive of personal letters written by Elizabeth Alice Austen, a pioneering American photographer from Staten Island. The collection, housed at the Alice Austen House Museum, spans 1883 to 1898 and is organized into fifteen year‑based folders. Each folder contains scanned images of handwritten letters, envelopes, and calling cards, accompanied by typed transcriptions in plain‑text files. The collection is available in English and focuses on private communications concerning health, social life, and everyday affairs of Austen’s friends and family.Background
Alice Austen (1866‑1952) was a prominent Victorian‑era photographer whose work and personal life are preserved in the museum’s archival holdings. The outgoing correspondence was compiled by the museum’s archivists from Austen’s original paper letters, many of which were addressed to acquaintances in Staten Island and Albany. The digitization project, completed in 1898, aimed to preserve Austen’s intimate network of relationships and to provide scholars with primary source material on late‑19th‑century social customs.Contents
Key items in the collection include:- Letters to “Walton” (1898) – Two letters discussing a friend’s medical emergency (appendicitis) and the social implications of illness.
- Letter from Mrs. Bolman (1898) – A message sent at Julia’s request, informing Austen of a planned operation for appendicitis.
- Photographic and envelope scans – Visual documentation of Austen’s correspondence style and the physical artifacts of Victorian letter writing.
- Calling cards and negative sleeves – Supplementary materials illustrating Austen’s social engagements and photographic practice.
The letters reveal Austen’s close ties to friends such as Julia Martin and her circle in Albany, her concern for health matters, and her participation in the social rituals of the era.
Scope
The collection covers the period 1883‑1898, focusing on personal, outgoing letters written by Austen. Geographic coverage includes Staten Island and Albany, New York. The material is limited to Austen’s outgoing communications; incoming letters, photographs, and other personal documents belong to separate collections. The archive offers a window into the social fabric of upper‑middle‑class Staten Island society and the everyday concerns of its members during the late Victorian period.Raw Cheimarros Data
@alice_austen:person {full_name: "Elizabeth Alice Austen", birth_year: @date_1866, death_year: @date_1952, occupation: "photographer", location: @staten_island}
@alice_austen_house:organization {type: "museum", location: @staten_island}
@walton:person {full_name: "Walton"}
@julia:person {full_name: "Julia", relationship: "friend of Alice"}
@mrs_bolman:person {full_name: "Mrs. Bolman", role: "friend of Julia"}
@appendicitis:concept {type: "medical condition"}
@alice_austen_outgoing_correspondence_collection:collection {description: "Outgoing correspondence from Alice Austen, 1883-1898", period: {start: @date_1883, end: @date_1898}, subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Health","Social life","Victorian era"]}
@file_pinax:file {title: "Alice Austen Outgoing Correspondence Collection", creator: [@alice_austen], institution: @alice_austen_house, created: @date_1898, language: "en", subjects: ["Correspondence","Personal letters","Health","Social life","Victorian era"], description: "A collection of outgoing correspondence from Alice Austen, including letters discussing health concerns of friends and social activities.", place: [@staten_island, @albany]}
@alice_austen_outgoing_correspondence_collection -> documented by -> @file_pinax
@file_1898_3_alice_austen_to_walter_undated_001_copy_jpg:file {source: "Image/Asset with OCR"}
@letter_1898_3_to_walton_001:document {content: "My dear Walton, Today I received a letter from Julia's friend Mrs. Bolman written at Julia's request telling me that she was to be operated on for appendicitis last Saturday or Monday—Mrs. B. expressed", source_file: @file_1898_3_alice_austen_to_walter_undated_001_copy_jpg}
@alice_austen -> wrote -> @letter_1898_3_to_walton_001
@file_1898_3_alice_austen_to_walter_undated_002_copy_jpg:file {source: "Image/Asset with OCR"}
@letter_1898_3_to_walton_002:document {content: "about Julia, she has mentioned being ill, but her last letter gave me the idea that all danger had passed & I am very much shocked at receiving this news today—What are your office hours? I should like very", source_file: @file_1898_3_alice_austen_to_walter_undated_002_copy_jpg}
@alice_austen -> wrote -> @letter_1898_3_to_walton_002
@letter_from_mrs_bolman:document {author: @mrs_bolman, requested_by: @julia, health_issue: @appendicitis, date: @date_1898}
@alice_austen -> received -> @letter_from_mrs_bolman
@alice_austen_outgoing_correspondence_collection -> contains -> [@letter_1898_3_to_walton_001, @letter_1898_3_to_walton_002, @letter_from_mrs_bolman]Metadata
Files (2)
1898_3-Alice Austen to walter undated 001 copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
My dear Walton, Today I received a letter from Julia's friend Mrs. Bolman written at Julia's request telling me that she was to be operated on for appendicitis last Saturday or Monday—Mrs. B. expressed
1898_3-Alice Austen to walter undated 002 copy.jpgJPEG
OCR Text
about Julia, she has mentioned being ill, but her last letter gave me the idea that all danger had passed & I am very much shocked at receiving this news today—What are your office hours? I should like very
Version History (4 versions)
- ✓ v4 (current) · 12/9/2025, 9:53:02 PM
"Added description" - v3 · 12/9/2025, 9:09:45 PM · View this version
"Added knowledge graph extraction" - v2 · 12/9/2025, 7:56:46 PM · View this version
"Added PINAX metadata" - v1 · 12/9/2025, 7:41:14 PM · View this version
"Reorganization group: Alice_Austen_Outgoing_Correspondence"
Parent
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