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Agnes Susan Jay photograph collection

 Collection
Identifier: PP 0109

Abstract

This collection contains studio portraits by photographers in Baltimore. Subjects are the members of the Jay family, as well as friends.

Dates

  • 1880-1889

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.

Biographical / Historical

Located on Mount Royal Avenue near Aberdeen in Harford County (Maryland), the Swansbury estate (also known as Swan Creek) has been in the possession of the Griffith-Smith-Lee-Jay family since circa 1750. The house’s notable architecture features a Palladian window, and several interesting motifs (acanthus, bead and star). During the Federal period, Swansbury was inhabited by Martha Griffith Smith, whose first husband was Colonel Alexander Lawson Smith, a cofounder of the Society of the Cincinnati. Her second husband was Samuel Jay, a great-nephew of John Jay, first Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. In the 20th century, residents have included John and Mary G. E. Jay, and their son Edward Griffith Jay, Sr. (died 1932), as well as Samuel S. and Annie Davis Jay and their daughter Henrietta Davis Jay (died 1960).

Extent

0.14 Linear Feet (1 full Hollinger box)

Language of Materials

English

Arrangement

The photographs in folders are sorted by general subject:

Studio portraits, men, n.d. and ca. 1880s.

Studio portraits, women, n.d. and ca. 1880s.

Studio portraits, a group, children, and a pet, n.d. and ca. 1880s.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Mrs. H.A. Hoselman.

Related Materials

MS 1947, Jay collection, 1824-1970

MS 1828, Jay papers, 1787-1885

Scope and Contents

The collection consists of one box with three folders containing 29 photographs and one album with 16 photoprints, which are either undated or from the 1880s. All are studio portraits, made primarily by photographers in Baltimore, but also Philadelphia, Paris, Brooklyn, Indianapolis, San Diego, San Francisco, and elsewhere. Subjects are mostly unidentified men, women, children; they are family and friends of the Jay family, whose home was at "Swansbury" in Harford County, Maryland.

Title
Guide to the Agnes Susan Jay photograph collection
Status
Under Revision
Author
Katherine Cowan
Date
1999-07
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
Undetermined
Script of description
Code for undetermined script
Language of description note
English

Revision Statements

  • 2020-01-30: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Mallory Herberger.

Repository Details

Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository

Contact:
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750