THE COLLECTION OF HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHS
Marion Quincy Winslow and Henry Lathrop Randon the steps of their cottage, Fox Dens, in Southwest Harbor
circa September 26, 1906
Photograph by Henry L. Rand – Number 1524
The Southwest Harbor Public Library Photographic Collection.
The Library’s collection of artistically and historically significant photographs, now numbering more than 5,000, mostly taken between 1890 and 1958, is housed in The Weaver Photography Archive Room, a gift to the Library from Miles W. Weaver at the time of the 2000 addition.
Much of the collection consists of work done by photographers Henry Lathrop Rand, 1862 - 1945, Dr. George A. Neal, 1872 - 1939, and Willis H. Ballard, 1906 - 1980, plus Charles Townsend, Bryant Bradley and unknown photographers. The Library is also the repository of the Henry R. Hinckley Company photographs.
The images are primarily of Mount Desert Island, the Maine coast and its inhabitants, although such areas as Gloucester and Magnolia, Massachusetts and Baddeck, Nova Scotia are represented.
HENRY LATHROP RAND
Henry Lathrop Rand (1862-1945) was a distinguished amateur photographer and one of Southwest Harbor’s earliest summer residents. He retired to Southwest Harbor in the 1930?s. His widow, Dorothy, gave the 1,400 photographs of Mr. Rand as a bequest to the Southwest Harbor Library in a 16-volume set in 1974. The Library is the sole repository for this work.
These photographs represent an outstanding record of turn-of-the-century photography as well as a visual history of the period. Each 5x7 photograph was selected by Mr. Rand for inclusion in the books, all are in pristine condition, and each had subsequently been enclosed in an archival quality cover. He compiled the volumes between 1890-1915, stopping at the death of his first wife. They had remained in storage until given to the Library in 1974. There is very little duplication of Mr. Rand’s work, one reason being the glass plates were dumped in Somes Sound many years ago, and we assume that the general public has never seen most of these photographs.
Of particular significance to the importance of this collection is Mr. Rand’s record-keeping system. Each picture is numbered and cross-referenced to his field notebooks. In these he noted the specific location, date, time, weather conditions and shutter speed of each photograph. He also recorded the names of vessels and identified most of his subjects. We know who and what we are looking at, when in history, and precisely where the scene was captured. There is no guesswork. Mr. Rand quite carefully captured his world for us.
The Rand Collection consists of:
209 photographs of Southwest Harbor (excluding those of his home)
107 photographs of scenes around Mt. Desert Island
30 photographs of Maine locations
47 photographs of identified steamships and sailing vessels
The balance is of locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Nova Scotia and Europe.
Mr. Rand’s work is historically significant for many reasons. He captured the shifting landscapes and styles of Mt. Desert Island. Many of his photographs are of vistas that have changed over the years and are important records of what used to be. There are photographs of the wooden bridge near Flying Mountain; the long-gone fish wharf in Southwest Harbor and the building of the Causeway Club Dam, which, to our knowledge, are available nowhere else. There are views of Bass Harbor Marsh in 1909; Mr. Higgins, a blacksmith, at work in Somesville; and Deacon Clark in his horse and buggy. Deacon Clark was the proprietor of the Island House and a highly esteemed member of the community. There are still a few residents here who remember working at the Island House, which was torn down after Mr. Clark’s death. The Old Harmon House still stands in Southwest Harbor, somewhat different now than when Mr. Rand photographed it in 1898.
There are 47 photographs of sailing vessels depicting the commerce and recreation of the era.
The collection includes exceptional portraits of women in period formal dress taken in sumptuous Victorian drawing rooms in the Boston area. They are the real "art" of Mr. Rand’s collection. They are also an incredible historical reference. His series of Victorian interiors is a history lesson in interior design. One can feel the dampness of the fog along the coast. You can "see" the colors in his floral arrangements.
There are many photographs of family members and friends, individually and in groups, taken in Massachusetts. Mr. Rand lived at 49 Kirkland Street in Cambridge prior to his marriage to Marion Quincy Winslow (who died of cancer in 1915). They lived at 51 Eliot S treet in Jamaica Plain, and we have some lovely self-portraits of them sitting on the front porch steps. Of course, they came to Southwest Harbor to enjoy their summers. These pictures tell us a story about Mr. Rand’s personal life, his pastimes, as well as record the formality of the era with groups of happy picnickers propped on the rocks in their Sunday best.
The non-Maine collection tells us the other half of Mr. Rand’s story. His love of the coast around Rockport, Gloucester and Marblehead. His fascination with architecture ? the old Custom House, H.C. Rand & Co., Christ Church and St. John’s Memorial Chapel, and the Wayside Inn. Today he might affectionately be referred to as a "wharf rat" as many of his shots are of the waterfront along Boston and the North Shore and tell a story of a very different era. We want to include this series of his "away" shots to provide a counter point to his Maine work.
The Photographic Collection is available to view, by appointment, at the Library. Click the PICTURE GALLERY button in the button bank on the left
of this page to see a few of the photographs.
Copies of photographs are available under certain conditions for the price
of a contribution towards their care.