Thursday, February 5, 2015

1840s Autograph Album of Louise of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and/or New York


1840s autograph album that belonged to a Louise, possibly Louise G. V. or Louise G. ?, with sentiments left by people from Great Barrington, Massachusetts; Stockbridge, Massachusetts; New York, presumably New York City; and Hudson, New York.

One unusual aspect of this album is that Louise left notes, even negative notes, about her inscribers.  One fellow came in for particular criticism, poor John Collins, who was labeled a "horrid creature".

The album, which is missing its title page, measures approximately 7-3/4" by 6" and contains about 57 sentiments of Louise's friends and possibly relatives.  An alphabetical surname list and an alphabetical list of the signers, together with any personal information they offered, appear at the end of this post.

The album also contains a few engravings, two of which left stains on the facing page.  It appears that this album, if not all of them from the 1840s era, did not contain tissue sheets to protect the facing page from the engraving.  Below, "The Reefer"; drawn by A. E. Chaton; engraved by Dick.


Below, the first overleaf of the first end paper in the album, signed by Bachman:


One page near the end of the album contained stanzas by F., transcribed by Louise of 21 Washington Square, presumably New York.  She also used two initials, which may have been G. V.  This Louise, possibly Louise G. V., may have been the owner of the album.


If you have a theory as to the identity of the album owner Louise, or Louisa, please leave a comment or contact me directly.

Surnames in the Album

? [22]CGLRT
BC ? [3]G ?L ?Riggs [2]T ? [2]
BachmanCollinsGrangerLyon [2]Russell [2]Tichnor
BarlowDGregoryMSW
BarstowD ?HMunsonSedgwick [2]
BlodgettDavisHoitPShephard
BrownDePeysterJP ?Smith
BurtJarvisPrice

Signers in the Album       [Note: Given names within a specific surname might not be in alphabetical order.]
  • Louise; album owner.  Likely from New York City or Great Barrington, Massachusetts
  • M. M. K., or M. M. R., signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on April 6, 1843
  • Sarah Amelia, signed at Hudson, New York
  • Unsigned
  • Sarah Jane H. or Sarah Jane W. or ?
  • Julia
  • Frederick
  • Amelia
  • Mary. Later note: "Horrible"; crossmarks across the sentiment.
  • F. Later note in pencil: "Jolie, n'est pas?"
  • Unsigned
  • Elizabeth
  • Ellen, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts; not sure of name as it's been rubbed out, and message is cross hatched.
  • Edwin, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on March 21, 1843
  • Clara, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on January 24, 1843
  • Ellinore; not sure of name
  • Frederick; shared the page with S. J. L.
  • Maria Louise
  • Clarissa, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts
  • Howard, signed at New York on April 24, 1844
  • Louise G. ?, possibly Louise G. V., signed at 21 Washington Square
  • Louise.  Shared the page with L. C.; G. W. Gregory; John Collins; and G. W. G.
B
  • Bachman, signed at New York, on November 25, 1842
  • L. B. Barlow
  • George F. Barstow
  • Blodgett, signed at New York on November 25, 1842
  • Brown
  • A. A. Burt, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts
C
  • John M. C., signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts
  • B. C. ?, possibly B. C. A. or B. C. N., signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts
  • L. C.; shared the page with G.W. Gregory; John Collins; Louise; and G.W. G.
  • John Collins; later note: "horrid creature, comme je hais".  Shared the page with L. C.; G. W. Gregory; Louise; and G. W. G.
D
  • C. D., signed at New York on December 17, 1844
  • Cornelia Davis, signed at New York on December 16, 1844
  • C. Depeyster
G
  • G. W. G., Jersey City; later note: "Il est amiable; comme je l'aime".  Presumably G. W. Gregory.  Shared the page with L. C.; G. W. Gregory; John Collins; and Louise
  • Harriette; added note: Granger. Harriette Granger
  • G. W. Gregory; later note: "Bless him".  Shared the page with L. C.; John Collins; Louise; and G. W. G., who may have been G. W. Gregory himself.
H
  • Anna P. Hoit; not sure of surname
J
  • 2-page sentiment left by Annie M. Jarvis on July 27, 1843
L
  • S. J. L.; shared the page with Frederick
  • S. Lyon, signed at New York on April 29, 1845; middle initial possibly I or J.
  • Sarah J. Lyon, signed at New York on April 29, 1845
M
  • Lydia E. Munson
P
  • M. I. P., signed at New York, on April 9, 1845. Later note added more letters to the surname, making the signer M. I. Pollard.
  • Augustus Price, signed at New York on April 29, 1844
R
  • J. H Riggs, signed at New York in April 1843
  • E. Riggs
  • E. F. Russell, or E. F. Rupell, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on May 26, 1843
  • Abbey Russell, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts
S

  • Amelia Sedgwick, signed at Stockbridge, Massachusetts
  • Mrs. M. S. Sedgwick, signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts
  • Harriet Annie Shephard
  • Abbey Smith, signed on January 31, 1843
T
  • J. B. T., signed on April 12, 1845
  • Charles J. T., signed at Great Barrington, Massachusetts, in June 1843. Not sure of given name or initials.
  • Lolotte C. Tichnor; not sure of given name
W
  • H. K. W., signed in February 1843
Great Barrington, Massachusetts


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