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 2013. 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 02539 508-627-4441 Call Number: RU 176 Creator: Blake, Edith Title: Edith Blake research papers Dates: circa 1870-1987 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 1950-1960. 1
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 1993. (Accession no. 1993.089) 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
Postcards Publications Research notes Stereographs Stereoscopes Viewbooks Contributors Adams, S. F., 1844- C. H. Shute & Son French, J. A. (Jotham A.), 1834-1898 Hough, Henry Beetle, 1896- Shute, Charles H., 1818-1877 Shute, Richard G., 1844-1923 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 1969. 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, 1900-1959, and Eleanor Belmont Degener, 1905-1998. 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, 1946-. 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, 1896-1985. 3
Scope and Content of Collection The collection is comprised of notes, correspondence and black-and-white photographs which chronicle Edith Blake's 1971-1980s 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 1870-1982. Also in the collection are 23 newspapers; 22 Seaside Gazette issues from 1873-1874, and one Martha's Vineyard Herald from 1897. 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 1870-1982 Series III: Images, 1870s-1980s, undated Series IV: Newspapers, 1873-1874, 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 1950-1960, which does not relate to the camp ground materials. The map is based on an 1858 Walling map. 4
Arrangement Materials are arranged in original order. 1 1-6 Photographs 1971 circa 1987 1 7 Photographs and Papers 1979, undated 1 8-10 Papers 1971-1973, undated 1 11-14 Research Notes, Correspondence and Drafts 1971 circa 1987 2 1 Photographs 1971 circa 1987 Note: These images were not used in the publication City in the Woods. Oversize item removed. 2 2-3 Contact Sheets, Negatives and Photographs 1971 circa 1987 Flat File Cabinet Drawer Description Date(s) 2 4 Map of Edgartown circa 1950-1960 Series II. Publications, Pamphlets and Brochures, circa 1870 1982 This series consists of nine publications, including turn-of-the-century souvenir viewbooks containing reproductions of photographs and short pamphlets, 1921-1982, 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 1870 2 5 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
Rand McNally. 1900 2 7 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. 2 10 Lobeck, A. K. Brief History of Martha's Vineyard Camp- 1956 Meeting Association. Oak Bluffs: The Association. 2 11 LeBaron, Ira W. The Campmeeting at Martha's Vineyard. Nashville: Parthenon Press. circa 1958 2 12 Reade, Florence H. The First Hundred Years of Trinity Episcopal Church: 1882-1982. 1982 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. 2 13 Postcards 1952 6
2 14 Card Photographs and circa 1870s 1920s Postcards 3 1 Photographs and Postcards 1900 circa 1987 3 2 Card Photographs 1871-1898 Note: Largely by J. A. French. 3 3 Photographs 1948-1958, 1971-circa 1987 3 4 Photographs 1971-circa 1987 3 5 Photographs and Postcards circa 1880s 1930 3 6-11 Stereographs circa 1880s circa 1910s 4 1-2 Stereographs circa 1880s circa 1910s Series IV. Newspapers, 1873 1874, 1897 This series consists of 23 Martha's Vineyard newspapers dating from 1873-1897, bulk 1873-1874. Nearly all of the newspapers are the periodical; Seaside Gazette, 1873-1874, however there is a single issue of the Martha's Vineyard Herald, 1897. 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. 18 3 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. 11 1873 July 11 1873 July 15 1873 July 25 1873 July 29 1873 August 05 1873 August 08 1873 August 15 1873 August 19 1873 August 26 1873 August 27 1873 August 28 1873 August 29 1873 September 01 1874 July 07 1874 July 31 1874 August 04 1874 August 07 1874 August 11 7
4 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 12 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 14 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 15 Seaside Gazette, Vol. 3, No. 16 5 Martha's Vineyard Herald, Vol. XVIII, No. 34 Series V. Stereoscope, undated 1874 August 14 1874 August 21 1874 August 25 1874 August 26 1897 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