Photographs of Celia Thaxter and Appledore Island (Me.)
Overview
Photographs of Celia Thaxter and her home on Appledore Island in the Isles of Shoals, Maine.
Dates
- Creation: 1880-1890
Conditions Governing Access
There are no restrictions on physical access to this material.
Extent
.1 linear feet (1 folder)This collection of photographs portrays Thaxter's cottage, interior and exterior, the coastline, a group of friends visiting the hotel, and Thaxter herself with her grandson. The photographs were apparently a gift for Rose Lamb, friend and, eventually, co-editor of Thaxter's letters; the first photograph is inscribed to her. The fourteen photographs are mounted on board, with a few manuscript annotations by Thaxter. They were originally presented as a kind of album, arranged in a handsewn accordian-style cloth enclosure; the enclosure has been preserved as the last item in the collection.
Biographical / Historical
Celia Laighton Thaxter was an American poet and essayist who lived much of her life in the Isles of Shoals, at first on White Island and later in a large cottage her brothers built for their parents on the island of Appledore, in which she eventually died. The family ran a hotel, Appledore House, which, along with Celia's cottage, burned in 1914. The cottage was home to Celia's literary salon in summer months and where she established her renowned garden. For some years Celia lived apart from her husband, Levi Lincoln Thaxter, but cared for her oldest son, Karl, who had disabilities.
Arrangement
Arranged in the order as received in repository.
Physical Location
b [shelved with bMS Am 1272.2]
Immediate Source of Acquisition
*43M-88 and *43M-89. Gift of Mrs. Horatio Lamb; received: 1943 Sept. 14.
Processing Information
Processed by: Melanie M. Wisner
- Title
- Thaxter, Celia, 1835-1894, compiler. Photographs of Celia Thaxter and Appledore Island (Me.): Guide.
- Author
- Houghton Library, Harvard College Library
- Language of description
- und
- EAD ID
- hou00159
Repository Details
Part of the Houghton Library Repository
Houghton Library is Harvard College's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, archives, and more. Houghton Library's collections represent the scope of human experience from ancient Egypt to twenty-first century Cambridge. With strengths primarily in North American and European history, literature, and culture, collections range in media from printed books and handwritten manuscripts to maps, drawings and paintings, prints, posters, photographs, film and audio recordings, and digital media, as well as costumes, theater props, and a wide range of other objects. Houghton Library has historically focused on collecting the written record of European and Eurocentric North American culture, yet it holds a large and diverse number of primary sources valuable for research on the languages, culture and history of indigenous peoples of the Americas, Africa, Asia and Oceania.
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