Updates on NMRLS LSTA Grant "Enhancing Archival Access in Northeast Massachusetts"

The John White Winder Collection
Carl A. Pescosolido Library
Governor's Academy, Byfield
by Carolle R. Morini, Contract Archivist

The archive at the Carl A. Pescosolido Library at the Governor's Academy in Byfield not only documents the school's long history, but it also holds the John White Winder Collection. This collection largely consists of glass plate negatives from 1889 - 1903 depicting the North Shore community of Newbury and nearby Essex County.

John White Winder lived in Newbury with his wife, Clarissa J. Greely Winder. His extended family lived nearby. Members of his family became his photographic subjects at large, with one of is favorites being his niece, Thetis Questrom, as she grew up. He photographed his friends and neighbors in their vernacular environments, capturing more than a bit of Victorian New England and its natural surroundings. His lens stopped, for example, on the fishing shacks of Pigeon Cove in Rockport, a neighbor's orchard in Newbury, rock quarries, the Merrimack River, Artichoke Bridge, yachting races, a big elm tree on the town green, and (what seems to have been his favorite subject) Plum Island and its surf. He photographed interiors, such as parlors and churches, and created traditional art still lives - sometimes including a kitten named Jerico, or a dog, Juno. Winder traveled to capture images beyond his immediate surroundings. Not only did he cover the entirety of New England, but he also ventured west to Niagara Falls and as far south as Washington DC.

Adding to the exceptional nature of this collection is the fact that Winder was a meticulous note taker. The archive thus includes his detailed logbook with titles that correspond to negative numbers. Further rounding out the collection are letters, diaries, original prints, and other personal keepsakes of Winder's, like his calling cards.

The grant, which began in December 2005 and concluded in August 2006, provided me the opportunity to house and organize the collection while building a finding aid that will be available on NUCMC. Each glass plate negative, ranging from sizes 4x5 to 8x10, was put into a four flap archival negative folder, sorted by size, and then arranged by the negative numbers that Winder assigned to each sample. The collection consists of 60 boxes (40 of which houses the glass plate negatives).

Especially noteworthy is how these glass plate negatives, over 1,000 of them, have survived an unknown number of relocations with only a few broken plates. The NMRLS grant made it possible to begin the preservation process and ensure that this collection has a future. The grant also made it possible to create a MARC record and include the finding aid on NUCMC. Now the collection's contents are available for public use. The John White Winder collection is a rich source for anyone who wants to visually understand Newbury in the late nineteenth century. The collection is also a great resource for anyone who is interested in the history of photography. The archive at the Carl A. Pescosolido Library at the Governor's Academy is a lovely space to do such research - as it is located in the very spot Winder took photographs over a century ago.

Urban Renewal Collection
Lawrence History Center
by Susan Edwards, Contract Archivist

The Lawrence History Center has a large collection of materials relating to urban renewal. Because of its small size, urban renewal may have had a larger impact on Lawrence than on any other city in the country, as there were very few areas of Lawrence untouched by urban renewal.

After surveying the 38 boxes of material transferred to the Lawrence History Center by the city of Lawrence, I divided the records into two distinct collections. Because of time limitations, we decided to prioritize the records of the Lawrence Redevelopment Authority and save the Planning Department records for another time. The records of the Lawrence Redevelopment Authority (20+ cubic feet), are rich in detail and provide a wealth of documentation on the effects of urban renewal on both residential and commercial properties in Lawrence.

The collection covers four major projects: Common Valley Concord, the Plains, Broadway Essex, and Garden Union Allen, and date from 1950 to 1975. I arranged the records by series, performed Level 1 conservation work, refoldered the records, and rehoused them into archival quality boxes. A finding aid is being prepared, which will eventually be posted on the Lawrence History Center website.

The Lawrence History Center is planning a series of exhibits and a symposium on urban renewal using the records processed with NMRLS grant money.

The Center has additional urban renewal records, including the Planning Department records and the records of Mayor Buckley and Mayor Kiley, which they will be seeking grant money to process in the future. They are very pleased with all that has been accomplished with the grant money from NMRLS.

Andover Historical Society
By Laura Lowell, Contract Archivist

The archival collections of the Andover Historical Society had not been inventoried, processed, or cataloged for over ten years, even though items had been actively acquired and accessioned during that time. Although several volunteers had begun entering information into the PastPerfect database, most of the staff and researchers relied on the outdated card catalog and series of finding aids created by a former archivist. Staff and volunteers also were concerned about how the existing archival collections were organized and how they should be accessed, as well as how best to organize and preserve their backlog of unprocessed collections.

My first several days were spent familiarizing myself with the collection and evaluating its current organization. With small revisions, I used the Society's existing systems to process 101 collections (MS 1062 to MS 1162) ranging in size from a single item to seven document boxes (approximately 3.5 linear feet). For each collection I created a template with information to be entered into the PastPerfect database, along with a detailed "crosswalk" illustrating how information should be utilized for each field. I also created guides or finding aids for the four largest collections: the papers of Dorothy Stevens, a local author; the papers of Charles Newman, a professional photographer; the papers of Bessie Goldsmith, a local historian and environmentalist; and the papers of Addison LeBoutillier, a well-known architect and illustrator.

At a wrap-up meeting with the Society's Collections Committee, I put together a series of recommendations for preservation and access, specifically addressing water damage and humidity risks (the facility had flooded twice during my work there) and the creation of a disaster plan.