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1898-1909, undated
HGO-02-104-A-A-1
GUSN-171270
The collection is comprised principally of exterior views of buildings and landscapes of architectural or historic interest, rural farms and woods, as well as individual and group portraits of friends, family, school groups, workers, and animals. Most of the collection is of exterior views, and the majority of the portraits were taken outdoors, but there are a few views of fireplaces and portraits that were taken indoors. A notable exception is the many interior images of Christ Church in Hyde Park designed by Ralph Adams Cram. Charles E. Rogerson, who may have been a relative, was the chairman of the building committee for the church. Many of the early photographs are of the John Crehore House, built in 1724, and its extensive gardens and greenhouses. The early portraits are of the Brown family and friends, such as the Saltonstalls, which feature children with the gardens or woods as a backdrop. There are also many views of the town and landscape of East Douglas, Massachusetts showing cottages, agricultural landscapes, and country churches. A number of images also focus on architectural details such as the doorways of residential homes and public buildings in Milton, Deerfield, and Boston, Massachusetts. Many images are of structures by noted designers such as the Milton Public Library by Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, Trinity Church by H. H. Richardson, and Paul's Bridge by Frederick Law Olmsted. As she recorded images of architectural interest, Alice also captured images of people associated with the buildings and landscape, such as: the choir boys at Christ Church, men tending sheep in a pasture, farmers in their fields, and a Wampanoag basket weaver with his wares.
altarpieces
art museums (buildings)
basketmaking
barns
cider mills
children (people by age group)
dwellings
families
farms
gardens
play (recreation)
portraits
Richardsonian Romanesque
rural areas
townscapes (representations)
urban areas
negatives (photographic)
black-and-white negatives
photographic plates
5 boxes and 1 folder (355 glass plate negatives, 32 dry plate boxes, 8 prints)
8 photographic prints : black-and-white ; 8.5 x 10 inches
An electronic finding aid is available through Historic New England's Collections Access Portal. A paper finding aid is available in the Library & Archives.
Donated by Nancy Rogerson Brown Reuter, granddaughter of Alice Augusta Rogerson Brown.
PC018
Alice Augusta Rogerson Brown photographic collection, c. 1900-1909
PC018
This collection contains glass plate negatives and prints of photographs taken by Alice Augusta Rogerson Brown, musician and amateur photographer. The images in the collection document early twentieth century New England life with a specific focus on Massachusetts towns and cities. The bulk of the collection is made up of glass plate negatives of exterior views and portraits.
Gift
Donated by Nancy Rogerson Brown Reuter, granddaughter of Alice Augusta Rogerson Brown.
Boston (Suffolk county, Massachusetts)
Blue Hills (Milton, Norfolk county, Massachusetts) [neighborhood]
Deerfield (Franklin county, Massachusetts)
East Douglas (Worcester county, Massachusetts)
Houghtons Pond (Norfolk county, Massachusetts) [lake]
Hyde Park (Boston, Suffolk county, Massachusetts) [neighborhood]
Lancaster (Lancaster county, Pennsylvania)
Mashpee (Barnstable county, Massachusetts)
Milton (Norfolk county, Massachusetts)
New Hampshire (United States)
Pennsylvania (United States)
Public Garden (Boston, Suffolk county, Massachusetts) [park]
White Mountains (Coos county, New Hampshire) [mountain range]
Brown, Alice Augusta Rogerson, 1851-1928 (Photographer)
negatives (photographic)
black-and-white negatives
photographic plates
Brown, Alice Augusta Rogerson, 1851-1928
Cram, Ralph Adams, 1863-1942
Olmsted, Frederick Law, 1822-1903
Richardson, H. H. (Henry Hobson), 1838-1886
Brown family
Saltonstall family
Shepley, Rutan, and Coolidge
Wampanoag Indians
Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe
Indigenous
Native Americans
Women
Children
This collection is available for research.
Glass place negatives have been placed in archival sleeves that have been housed in archival boxes.
There are no physical restrictions on this collection. There are no technical restrictions on this collection.
Condon, Lorna. (Winter 2003/ Spring 2004). "A woman's pastime," Historic New England magazine. Boston, Mass.: Historic New England.
Collection
HGO-02-104-A-A-1
Accruals are not expected.
Collection items have been removed from their original boxes.
Materials are entirely in English.
Alice Augusta Rogerson Brown photographic collection (PC018). Historic New England, Library & Archives.
This collection was originally processed by Jeanne Gamble in 2005. The collection was updated and the finding aid was made DACS-compliant by Julia Demir, intern, in 2014, with assistance from Abigail Cramer, librarian/archivist.
Alice Augusta Rogerson Brown (1851-1928), a noted musician and amateur photographer, was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts. She attended Oread Institute in Worcester, one of the first universities founded exclusively for the education of women, which offered programs in Latin and Mathematics as well as languages, art, and music. After attending college, she went on to teach music. She later married John Freeman Brown, who graduated from Andover Academy in 1867 and Harvard University in 1872. Upon his graduation from Harvard Law School in 1876, he became a judge in the Superior Court of Dedham, Massachusetts. Both the Browns and Rogersons were descendants of prominent early East Douglas and Rehoboth families; the Rogersons were descendants of Peter Hunt. Shortly after their marriage, Alice and John moved briefly to Boston and then to on to Milton, where they lived in the John Crehore House, built in 1724 on Brush Hill Road. They had two children: a daughter, Alice Train Brown, and a son, John Freeman Brown, Jr, who was born on May 27, 1893. During the time she lived in Milton, Alice maintained her interest in music, playing in recitals and duets with her friend, Mrs. Chickering, of the noted piano making family, as well as developing her artistic interests in photography.
The collection dates from c. 1900 to 1909. Brown continued to live at the Brush Hill Road residence in Milton for the rest of her life. After a two month illness, Brown died on December 17, 1928, at the age of 78 at New England Baptist Hospital.
The collection is arranged in two series, which are arranged into subseries as follows:
Series I. Glass plate negatives, c.1900-1909, undated
Subseries A: Geographic locations, c.1900-1909, undated
Subseries B: Subjects, c.1900-1908, undated
Subseries C: Original housing, undated
Series II. Prints, undated
Historic New England is committed to implementing reparative language description for existing collections and creating respectful and inclusive language description for new collections. If you encounter language in Historic England's Collections Access Portal that is harmful or offensive, or you find materials that would benefit from a content warning, please contact [email protected].
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