Colonial Society of Massachusetts Visual Materials Collection ca. 1860-1961 Guide to the Collection There are restrictions on the use. Users must sign an agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be given access to the collection. Glass plate negatives and lantern slides of any size are not available for research use. Copy photographs or scans may be available for alternative viewing. Consult the Reference Librarian for more information.

Table of Contents Collection Summary Collection Description Acquisition Information Restrictions on Access Restrictions on Use Organization Detailed Description of the Collection Preferred Citation Access Terms

Collection Summary

Collection Description

The Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection contains photographs and other visual material relating to and collected by members of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. The collection contains loose photographs and graphics, two volumes of photographs, glass plate negatives, lantern slides, and illustrated journals. The material dates from ca. 1860-1961, and most of the photographers are unidentified.

Two boxes and two oversize boxes contain loose visual materials, including photographs and chromolithographs. The bulk of the loose visual materials, including oversize, contain photographic and photomechanical portraits of various members of the Carnegie, Channing, and Peabody families, among others, as well as portraits of public figures such as Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Frances Folsom Cleveland. Many of these portraits are copy photographs made from originals not present in the collection. The loose visual materials also contain photographic and chromolithographic views of various places in Europe and the United States, including snapshot photographs of Boston, Mass. taken ca. 1900; a series of unidentified snapshots of a family on their farm near Pennesseewassee Lake in Maine, taken ca. 1898-1904; and photographic reproductions of portrait paintings. The oversize loose photographs additionally contain large, mounted Underwood & Underwood news photographs, originally taken ca. 1919-1935. These photographs, printed for the Addison Gallery of Art in Andover, Mass., depict women marching for suffrage, industry and labor strikes, Prohibition, the Depression, and war-related events on the homefront during World War I, among other subjects. There are also several oversize, mounted documentary photographs taken by the celebrated photographers Margaret Bourke-White and Berenice Abbott, as well as photographic reproductions of political cartoons.

There are two volumes of photographs in the collection. The first volume relates to the unidentified family snapshots in the loose photographs and also contains snapshot photographs of an unidentified family at a farm near Pennesseewasee Lake in Maine, taken ca. 1898-1904. The second volume contains portrait photographs and autographs of members of the Colonial Society; it was probably assembled ca. 1893-1896.

Six boxes contain a number of glass plate negatives and lantern slides. The glass plate negatives are all negative photographic reproductions of portraits of various members of the Crowninshield and Endicott families, all dating from ca. 1901-1924. The photographers are unidentified. The lantern slides depict portraits and reproductions of portrait paintings of prominent Bostonians; buildings, churches, and other architecture of England, France, Spain, and various places in the United States, including Massachusetts and Pennsylvania; and reproductions of maps and plans for the development of the cities of New Haven, Conn. and Washington, D.C., among other subjects. All of the lantern slides were created by A. D. Handy Co. of Boston, ca. 1961.

There is also one box of illustrated journals in this collection. These include issues of the illustrated journals Puck, dating from 1895, and an issue of the Illustrated London News dating from 27 Aug. 1955.

Acquisition Information

The Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection was removed from the Colonial Society of Massachusetts collection, which was deposited by the Colonial Society of Massachusetts in Oct. 1991.

Restrictions on Access

There are restrictions on the use. Users must sign an agreement stating that they understand these restrictions before they will be given access to the collection.

Glass plate negatives and lantern slides of any size are not available for research use. Copy photographs or scans may be available for alternative viewing. Consult the Reference Librarian for more information.

Restrictions on Use

The Massachusetts Historical Society does not own the copyright to the Underwood & Underwood, Margaret Bourke-White, and Berenice Abbott photographs in the Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection (Photo. Coll. 53). The Massachusetts Historical Society cannot give permission to reproduce photographs or other materials created by individuals or organizations for whom it does not hold copyright. Use of these materials does not imply permission to publish. It is the sole responsibility of the researcher to obtain formal permission from the owners of the literary rights (copyright) to publish or quote from documents in this collection.

Photocopies and digital reproductions may be created for personal use only. Such copies may not be donated or deposited in other libraries or archives, or made available to other researchers.

Organization of the Collection

The collection is organized into the following series:

Detailed Description of the Collection

Preferred Citation

Colonial Society of Massachusetts visual materials collection, Photo. Coll. 53, Massachusetts Historical Society Photo Archives.

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons, organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.