A Finding Aid to the Edith Blake Research Papers. Record Unit 176

Transcription

1 A Finding Aid to the Edith Blake Research Papers Record Unit 176 Finding aid prepared by Caleb Williams July-August 2013 with assistance from Insley Julier. Revised by Insley Julier in October Edgartown, Massachusetts 2013 Martha's Vineyard Museum Descriptive Summary Repository: Martha's Vineyard Museum Gale Huntington Research Library 59 School Street P.O. Box 1310 Edgartown, MA Call Number: RU 176 Creator: Blake, Edith Title: Edith Blake research papers Dates: circa Physical Description: 4 boxes + 1 1/2 box + 5 oversize folders + 1 map folder (2.404 cubic feet) Language(s): The materials are in English. Abstract: The collection contains black-and-white photographs, card photographs, stereographs, a stereoscope, postcards, pamphlets, publications, souvenir viewbooks, correspondence and research materials created by Edith Blake related to the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association (MVCMA) in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts and one map of Edgartown, Massachusetts, circa

2 Administrative Information Access Restrictions There are no restrictions. Use and Reproduction Restrictions Requests to reproduce material from this collection should be directed to museum staff. Reproduction fees may apply. Preferred Citation Martha's Vineyard Museum, RU 176, Edith Blake Research Papers. Acquisition Information Gift of Edith Blake in (Accession no ) Related Materials See also, photograph collection and glass plates. Index Terms Subjects Names Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association Subjects - Topics History--Massachusetts--Martha's Vineyard Subjects - Places Cottage City (Mass.)--History Edgartown (Mass.)--Maps Martha's Vineyard (Mass.)--Pictorial works Oak Bluffs (Mass.)--History Form/Genre Terms Black-and-white negatives Black-and-white photographs Card photographs Correspondence Newspapers Pamphlets 2

3 Postcards Publications Research notes Stereographs Stereoscopes Viewbooks Contributors Adams, S. F., C. H. Shute & Son French, J. A. (Jotham A.), Hough, Henry Beetle, Shute, Charles H., Shute, Richard G., Weiss, Ellen (Ellen B.) Biography/Historical Note Edith Sands Graham Blake, 1926-, was a published author of multiple books and periodical articles, and also served as a staff member for the Vineyard Gazette until After she resigned, she continued to write stories and take pictures for the paper, and also contributed to Yankee, Sail, On the Sound, and Nature Magazine. Originally from New Jersey, Edith Blake was born to Philip Sands Graham, , and Eleanor Belmont Degener, Her association with the Vineyard began when her grandparents, Robert Graham and Edith Sands, met as summer residents of Edgartown. Beginning in the 1950s, Edith Blake spent her summers here with her daughter Edith Sands Blake, Edith G. Blake's published works include, Making of the Movie Jaws (1975) and Doorways, Lanterns and Fences of Martha's Vineyard: A Photographic Essay (1969). Blake avidly studied and wrote on the subject of architecture, especially that of the cottages in Oak Bluffs. This research led her to work with Ellen Weiss, as the two hoped to produce an authoritative volume on the unique architecture of the campground. Although the project was ultimately abandoned, Weiss would later use and expand upon the pair's research for her dissertation topic, which became the foundation for her publication: City in the Woods: The Life and Design of an American Camp Meeting on Martha's Vineyard, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). In 1979, Edith Blake married long-time Vineyard Gazette editor Henry Beetle Hough,

4 Scope and Content of Collection The collection is comprised of notes, correspondence and black-and-white photographs which chronicle Edith Blake's s research related to the history of the Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association (MVCMA), a religious association in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts. The collection also includes negatives, stereographs, postcards, souvenir viewbooks and publications, ranging from circa Also in the collection are 23 newspapers; 22 Seaside Gazette issues from , and one Martha's Vineyard Herald from Edith Blake provided a number of the photographic images used in Ellen Weiss' book: City in the Woods: The Life and Design of an American Camp Meeting on Martha's Vineyard. These images were either taken by Blake personally, or reproduced from glass photographic plates in the collections of the Dukes County Historical Society (predecessor to the Martha's Vineyard Museum). The images in Series I were taken by Blake in the 1970s and 1980s, while the ones in Series III are historical, card photographs and stereographs dating from the 1870s through the early 1900s. Arrangement Series I: Research Papers and Images, 1971-circa 1987, undated Series II: Publications, Pamphlets, and Brochures, circa Series III: Images, 1870s-1980s, undated Series IV: Newspapers, , 1897 Series V: Stereoscope, undated Collection Contents Series I. Research Papers and Images, 1971 circa 1987, undated This series largely consists of original photographs created as part of the research undertaken for the publication, City in the Woods. Most of the images are black-andwhite, 8 x 10 inch glossy prints, which have writing directly on the front or back of the image. These annotations provide instructions to the printers regarding cropping and other production details. In some instances, these notations were made on sticky notes. The series also contains research notes for the publication, including drafts of several passages and correspondence with area libraries and institutions regarding research on historical subjects. In addition, there is a rough, hand-drawn map of Edgartown, Massachusetts, circa , which does not relate to the camp ground materials. The map is based on an 1858 Walling map. 4

5 Arrangement Materials are arranged in original order Photographs 1971 circa Photographs and Papers 1979, undated Papers , undated Research Notes, Correspondence and Drafts 1971 circa Photographs 1971 circa 1987 Note: These images were not used in the publication City in the Woods. Oversize item removed Contact Sheets, Negatives and Photographs 1971 circa 1987 Flat File Cabinet Drawer Description Date(s) 2 4 Map of Edgartown circa Series II. Publications, Pamphlets and Brochures, circa This series consists of nine publications, including turn-of-the-century souvenir viewbooks containing reproductions of photographs and short pamphlets, , containing historical information about Oak Bluffs, Martha's Vineyard, and the Camp Meeting Association. There is also an 1880 publication that more closely resembles a newspaper or periodical. Arrangement Materials are arranged chronologically. 2 4 Clark, David. The Way Rev. Moses L. Scudder Secured a Cottage at Martha's Vineyard: A Plain Statement of Facts. circa Denison, Frederic. Illustrated New Bedford: Martha's 1880 Vineyard and Nantucket. Providence, RI: J.A. & R.A. Reid. 2 6 Fifty Glimpses of Martha's Vineyard Island. New York: 1897 or 5

6 Rand McNally Dunbar, George E. Martha's Vineyard: Views of Cottage 1904 City, Vineyard Haven, Gay Head, Edgartown. 2 8 Murphy, John F. Sixty Views of Cottage City: Vineyard 1904 Haven, Gay Head, Edgartown and Innisfail. 2 9 Richardson, G. W. Oak Bluffs, Edgartown and Vineyard 1921 Haven: Their Points of Interest, Hotels and Stores. Oak Bluffs Association Lobeck, A. K. Brief History of Martha's Vineyard Camp Meeting Association. Oak Bluffs: The Association LeBaron, Ira W. The Campmeeting at Martha's Vineyard. Nashville: Parthenon Press. circa Reade, Florence H. The First Hundred Years of Trinity Episcopal Church: Series III. Images, 1870s 1980s, undated The images in this series include black-and-white photographs, card photographs, postcards, and circa 75 stereographs. Series III largely consists of historical photographs, dating from the 1870s through the first decade of the 1900s, that were gathered from various sources in the course of Blake and Weiss' research. These images were used for reference purposes but did not appear in the published volume. Many of the stereographs were produced by local island photographers, including: S. F. Adams, 130 Circuit Avenue, Oak Bluffs; Charles H. Shute & Son, Edgartown; and, R. G. Shute, Edgartown. Others were produced by off-island photographers located in Massachusetts, including: Joseph W. Warren, No. 36 South Main Street, Fall River; Brownell & Adams, No. 37 North Main Street, Fall River and 39 Purchase Street, New Bedford; Horace Patridge & Co., 51 Hanover Street, opp. American House, Boston; S. F. Adams, New Bedford; and, the Gravure Section, New Bedford Sunday Standard. Additionally, there are boudoir-sized, card photographs by J. A. French of Keene, New Hampshire. Images include scenes of Oak Bluffs and the campground, streets, townscapes, building interiors, the skating rink, boardwalk, churches, homes, vessels, beaches, hotels, and ferry boats. Arrangement Materials are arranged in original order Postcards

7 2 14 Card Photographs and circa 1870s 1920s Postcards 3 1 Photographs and Postcards 1900 circa Card Photographs Note: Largely by J. A. French. 3 3 Photographs , 1971-circa Photographs 1971-circa Photographs and Postcards circa 1880s Stereographs circa 1880s circa 1910s Stereographs circa 1880s circa 1910s Series IV. Newspapers, , 1897 This series consists of 23 Martha's Vineyard newspapers dating from , bulk Nearly all of the newspapers are the periodical; Seaside Gazette, , however there is a single issue of the Martha's Vineyard Herald, Arrangement Materials are arranged in chronological order. 1 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 1 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 2 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 5 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 6 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 8 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 9 2 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 11 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 12 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 15 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 16 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 17 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No Seaside Gazette, Vol. 2, No. 20 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 1 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 8 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 9 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 10 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No July July July July August August August August August August August August September July July August August August 11 7

8 4 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 12 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 14 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 15 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No Martha's Vineyard Herald, Vol. XVIII, No. 34 Series V. Stereoscope, undated 1874 August August August August January 21 The series consists of a single object in two pieces. The date and place of production of this stereoscope are unknown, however stereoscopic images were popular in the late 1800s and early 1900s. 5 Stereoscope undated 8