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Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn Harrison
Papers, 1750-1985 (bulk: 1873-1961)
SC22908

Quantity: 12 boxes (4.0 cubic ft.)
Access: Open to research
Acquisition: Donated by Stephen Dexter Blackmer and heirs of Joan Dexter Blackmer, 2006. Additional materials donated by Deidre Malarkey, 2007.
Processed by: Stephanie Anderson, Student Assistant, State University of New York at Albany, June 2007

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Biographical Note:

Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn Harrison (1868-1961) was born in Albany, New York, the daughter of Francis Saltus Pruyn (1835-1909) and Charlotte Cooper Nott (1837-1899), both of whom were from socially prominent families of the region. The Pruyn family was well established in Albany, particularly in business and politics, and could trace its Dutch roots in the area back to the 1600s. Charlotte Nott was the granddaughter of Eliphalet Nott, who served as president of Union College in Schenectady, New York.  Called Bessie when a young girl and, later, Elizabeth, she is known in family lore as "Aunt Betsy". Other than the fact that her primary residence as a child was 337 State Street in Albany, there are very few facts about her upbringing. The scrapbook of mementos from her childhood indicates that she was very fond of theater and drama as well as being an eager dancer at the numerous balls she attended.  

As an adult, Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn gravitated toward the social life in New York, Philadelphia and Boston. In 1898 she married Mitchell Harrison of Philadelphia, a widower. Within a year, however, the marriage ended apparently after Harrison had an affair with his mother's live-in nurse. After her divorce, Elizabeth Cooper Harrison continued to use her married name as evidenced by the use of the initials "E.C.H." when annotating her letters, photographs and other papers.

The years after her divorce were the beginning of her golden years of global travel. She took extended trips to Europe, Japan and China. When she was not abroad, she was at "Rose Valley," her home, which was located in a suburb of Maylan, Pennsylvania, near Philadelphia. Elizabeth's neighbor there was a noted Shakespeare scholar, Horace H. Furness. When Elizabeth was away from home, she and Mr. Furness were frequent correspondents.

In 1928, Elizabeth Cooper Harrison left Rose Valley and moved permanently to New York City. She took up residence in an apartment at 157 East 75th Street, living there until her death in 1961. She continued to travel, taking an extended tour of Asia and Africa, circa 1931-1934, that included spending considerable time in India, Indonesia, and Afghanistan. Thereafter she traveled extensively in Europe, circa 1935-1938, with extended stays in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and the Balkans. While at home in New York, she was engaged in her lifelong interests in literature, art, and theater.

Scope and Content Note:

The Elizabeth Cooper (Pruyn) Harrison Papers consist of letters, photographs, scrapbooks and notes relating to her life as socialite, world traveler and patron of the arts and literature.   In addition, there is considerable documentation relative to her family history and genealogy, particularly Pruyn, Cooper and Nott ancestry.   

Affectionately known as "Aunt Betsy," the story of her life begins with a scrapbook, compiled circa 1883-1893, that is full of letters, cards, invitations, programs, pressed flowers, ribbons, souvenirs from cotillions, luncheons, dinners (including diagrams of who sat where), teas, balls, concerts, musicals, theater evenings, tennis afternoons, tokens from male admirers, candy boxes.  It also includes many dance cards from social occasions she attended at the Albany Academy and other prep schools. Most of these dance cards have the original pencils attached that were undoubtedly used to write in the names of the many young gentlemen who were her dance partners. These describe not only Aunt Betsey's young life but also the tone of the era around her. Throughout this scrapbook there is considerable annotation by Aunt Betsy about the people, places, and events, adding color and detail of her girlhood.

The social circle of friends and family is best captured in photo albums of outings along the coast of Maine and Nantucket, Massachusetts compiled between 1898 and 1901. The photographs are annotated with anecdotes about the people and places in the pictures.

Indicative of her social standing at the time are news clippings and letters related to a sketch of her done by Charles Dana Gibson, an artist who was noted for his sketches of stylish young women, dubbed "Gibson Girls."

Her interest in literature and arts is vividly depicted in letters, scrapbooks and photographs. For example, there are many detailed letters from Horace Howard Furness, a renowned Shakespearian scholar of the time. Also, there is material related to her frequent visits to the Cornish Art Colony, a popular destination for developing artists. One of the photographs shows Aunt Betsy posing with Academy Award-winning actress and Cornish Art Colony regular, Ethel Barrymore. Aunt Betsy also spent quite a bit of time at the Onteora Art Colony, founded by Candace Thurber Wheeler.   

Elisabeth Cooper Harrison created scrapbooks and albums and collected photographs, picture postcards, and other ephemera of her many journeys abroad. Her first major journey was in 1905, when she traveled to Italy, Greece, Switzerland, France and England. This trip is documented in an album containing pictures related primarily to the art and architecture of those countries. There are also photographs showing aspects of the social life and customs of the people of the countries she visited. This was the first of many trips to Europe. Most notable of her later trips to Europe was her participation in post-World War I relief activities in central and eastern Europe. This and related relief work is detailed in correspondence with Marie Thérese and Elizabeth Kinsky from 1918 to 1938.

There are also many letters and photographs and much ephemera related to travels to southeast Asia, India, Afghanistan, and northern Africa. Again, much of the material is extensively annotated. One of the photo-postcards shows the grand procession of the newly crowned emperor of Abyssinia; in it, Mrs. Harrison can be seen in the background as an observer of the procession leaving the Cathedral St. Georges at Addis Ababa in November 1930. Three brief notes from Mahatma Gandhi indicate she had met the Indian nationalist and religious leader while traveling in India.

In essence, the papers of Elisabeth Cooper Harrison are a treasure trove that tells the life story of an extraordinary individual and the social circle of her times. 

Box and Folder List:

Box Folder Description
    CORRESPONDENCE AND EPHEMERA
1 1 Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn Letters, 1873-1875
Her "first letters," childhood letters, also handwritten notes describing family changes after her father's firm went bankrupt.
1 2 Langdon Gibson Sketch, ca. 1888
1 3 Letters, from childhood scrapbook, 1893-1909
Includes L. Fuller to Mrs. Peary, December 27, 1909
1 4 News clippings re: Gibson drawings, 1893

One clipping has a note, "could be ECH," ca. 1900, written by Elizabeth Harrison

Clipping of sketch, "The Girl from Narragansett Pier," from Life, September 7, 1893. Notes by E.C.H., it is a sketch of Alice Kidd and E.C.H.

1 5 Letter from father, Francis S. Pruyn, 1893
1 6 Poem, "An Appeal," signed by M. Shepard, given to Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, 1896
1 7 Letters to Elizabeth Cooper Harrison from her house staff, 1912-1958
Includes birthday cards from Anna Cawley
1 8 Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn Harrison to Francis Saltus Pruyn, 1905, re: travels in Europe, Great Britain
1 9 Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn Harrison to Francis Saltus Pruyn, 1907, re:  travels in Japan and China
1 10 Butler, Isabel. Our Lady's Tumbler: A Tale of Mediæval France. (Boston:  Small, Maynard & Company, 1907)
- Book a gift from Sarah F. Shaw to Aunt Betsy, note written inside, June 1910
- Note written by Aunt Betsy to Stephen Blackmer, 1957
1 11 Notes on family history and genealogy. Undated
a)  Maternal ancestry of Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, dated 1961
b)  Notes on marriages and deaths in the Pruyn family
c)  Notes on the Saltus family
d)  Notes on the children of Lansing Pruyn
e)  Notes on the Nott family
f)  Humorous poem that was cut from a letter, relating to gravestones
g)  Inscription from the gravestone of Abraham Nott
1 12 Letters from Gertrude Lansing, 1929, re: genealogy
a)  Letters to Elizabeth Pruyn Harrison
b)  Photograph  of gravestone of Abraham Nott
c)  Photograph of gravestone of Temperance Nott
1 13 Letter from Elizabeth Cooper Harrison, re: Joan Dexter family history, 1945
1 14 Elizabeth Cooper Harrison to Joan D. Blackmer, 1956-1961
1 15 Charlotte Cooper Pruyn to Francis Saltus Pruyn, 1898
Western United States rail journey
1 16 Charlotte Cooper Pruyn's last letters to husband, 1899, York, Maine
1 17 Notes of Charlotte Cooper Pruyn, undated
1 18 Miscellaneous papers of Charlotte Cooper Pruyn, ca. 1862-1896
1 19 Papers from the Bible of Charlotte Cooper Pruyn
Notes by both Charlotte Cooper Pruyn and E.C.H.
a)  Nott family genealogy information, 1871-1948
b)  Papers tipped into the Bible of Charlotte Cooper Pruyn
c)  Elizabeth "Betsy" Cooper Pruyn, hair at age 3, found in her mother's Bible
1 20 Religious tracts, undated

Shipton, Anna. Lizzie's Last Place: A True Narrative. New Edition. (London: Morgan and Chase, n.d.).

Cooke, Rose Terry. The Deacon's Week. (Boston: Congregational Sunday School & Publishing Soc'y., n.d.)
-"C.C. Pruyn" written on cover of The Deacon's Week

1 21 Papers of Francis Saltus Pruyn, ca. 1841-1862
Includes letters and Certificate of Exemption, stating Francis S. Pruyn served in the Albany Fire Department
1 22 Papers found in Memoirs of Eliphalet Nott, undated
1 23 Hislop, Codman. "Eliphalet Nott, President 1804-1866," Union Worthies, Number Nine. (Schenectady, N.Y.: Union College, 1954), pp. 5-14

Wriston, Henry M. Wriston. "The Future of the College President," Union Worthies, Number Nine. (Schenectady, N.Y.: Union College, 1954), pp. 15-24

1 24 Fox, Dixon Ryan. Dr. Eliphalet Nott (1773-1866) and the American Spirit.    (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1944). An address given before the Newcomen Society, American Branch, dinner at the Union League Club, New York City, November 4, 1943.
1 25 Pruyn Family Valentine greetings, 1850
1 26 Rev. D. Wyckoff to Pruyns, 1855
1 27 Letters from Lansing Pruyn to brother, John V.L. Pruyn, 1857-1869
1 28 Letter from Francis Lansing Pruyn to daughter, Jeannette Thurber Pruyn, undated, re: Eliphalet Nott
1 29 Pruyn, Francis Lansing. François Villon: A Memoir in Three Acts. (New York: Privately Printed, 1946)
1 30 Francis L. Pruyn to Elizabeth Cooper Harrison. Photocopy. Undated

Advertisements for Associated Pipe and Fitting Company
a)  Pruyn H-pile Cast Steel Points
b)  Pruyn Cast Steel Cutting Edge

1 31 Laminated obituary: Francis L. Pruyn, obituary ca. 1965
1 32 Letter from Jeannette Meyer Thurber Connor to Jeanette Thurber Pruyn, March 7, 1926
1 33 Obituary: Jeanette Meyer Thurber Connor, "Aunt Nettie," 1927
(photocopy)
1 34 Letters from Rev. Hugh Pruen to Dierdre Malarkey, 1985, re: Pruyn family history (includes a photocopy and transcription of a patent of nobility granted to Arnold Proenen, November 1, 1527)
1 35 Papers re: marriage and divorce, Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn with Mitchell Harrison, 1898-1905
1 36 Families' Stock Certificates, 1864-1938
1 37 Horoscopes cast for Elizabeth Cooper Harrison, 1911, 1931, 1938
2 1 Letter from Charles Cooper Nott, Princeton, N.J.,  December 30, 1908, re: Charles deKay Copper and the Burr- Hamilton duel
2 2 Letters, etc. from Annis Lee Wister, 1907-1908
2 3 Letters from Horace Howard Furness, 1908-1909
2 4 Letters from Horace Howard Furness, January-June 1910
2 5 Letters from Horace Howard Furness, July-December 1910
2 6 Letters from Horace Howard Furness, 1911
2 7 Letters from Horace Howard Furness, 1912
2 8 Letters from Agnes Repplier, E.L. Howard, 1908-1909
2 9 Letter from Paul Haupt,  April 22, 1909
2 10 Furness Family materials, 1909-1913
2 11 Andrew Lang to H.H. Furness, September 27, [1910]
2 12 Ellen Terry to Horace Howard Furness, December 30, 1910
a)  Letter
b)  News clippings regarding the death of Ellen Terry
2 13 Papers re: Britain and France War Relief, 1914
2 14 Correspondence with Marie Thérese and Elizabeth Kinsky, 1918-1938, re:  post-World War I Fund Relief
2 15 Letters from various persons, 1907-1953. Acquaintances from her travels
2 16 Letter: F.C. Smythe, November 24, 1931. "Himalayan expedition"
2 17 Letter from George Horsfield, December 21, 1930

Note from John Marshall, December 8, 1931

2 18 Prose and Drawings by Elizabeth Cooper Harrison, 1930, re: Kashmir
2 19 Elizabeth Cooper. P. Harrison note re: travel in Kashmir, undated
2 20 Letters from Mahatma Gandhi, 1933 (3 items)
2 21 Letters from Maj. Gen. Lord Edward Gleichen, 1934-1937
2 22 Letters from the Countess de Preux (addressed to various persons),  1938
2 23 Letters from Charles Dana Gibson, 1940-1945

Photocopy of original sketch of Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, by Charles Dana Gibson, undated

2 24 Buckingham Palace. Letters, etc. re: British Royal Family,  1928-1953
2 25 Travel ephemera - Bali, 1933
2 26 Travel notes and miscellany, 1902-1953
2 27 Travel arrangements aboard the Queen Elizabeth, 1953
    PHOTOGRAPHS
3 1 Image of home visited in Cazenovia, New York, ca. 1880s
3 2 Drawing Room, F.S. Pruyn Home, Albany, New York, "where Aunt Betsey grew up," 1893
3 3 Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn at Onteora, 1896
3 4 Photographs of Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn
a)  Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, Schenectady, 1897
b)  Elizabeth "Betsy" Cooper Pruyn Harrison, undated
3 5 Photographs of Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, childhood, 1868-1873
a)  Photograph in a frame, undated
b)  Tintype, 5 years, 8 months, ca. 1873
c)  Portrait, 4 months, ca. 1868 (Churchill & Denison, Albany, N.Y.)
d)  Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, age 2 (Denison's Photographic Parlor, Albany, N.Y.)
3 6 Photographs Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, young adult, 1885-1928
a)  Portrait, 1885 (McDonald & Sterry, Albany, N.Y.)
b)  Photograph, 1887
c)  Portrait, Albany, "fancy costume", undated
d)  Portrait, undated
e)  Photograph, at Rose Valley, 1928
3 7 Onteora Photo Album, ca. 1899-1920
3 8 Photographs of Rose Valley, ca. 1903-1928
a)  Front of house, "The Loveable House"
b)  Back porch
c)  Bay window looking on garden
d)  Photo no. 5
e)  Guest room
f)  E.C.H. writing room
g)  Dining room
h)  Dining room
i)  E.C.H. writing room
j)  E.C.H. bed room
k)  Drawing room
l)  Drawing room toward front door
m)  Looking from drawing room to dining room
3 9 Photographs and negatives of 157 East 75th Street, 1951
a)  Elizabeth Cooper Harrison reflection in mirror. Taken by Peter Pruyn, 1951
b)  Elizabeth Cooper Harrison sitting in chair, 1951
c)  Duplicate, Elizabeth Cooper Harrison sitting in chair, 1951
d)  Untitled, 1951
e)  Untitled, 1951
f)  Drawing room, 1951
g)  Sculpture, undated
h)  Full view of sculpture, undated
i)  Drawing room, 1944
j)  Drawing room, 1939
k)  North door of H.C. Yates home in Schenectady, N.Y., undated
l)  Set of 3 negatives for prints of Elizabeth Cooper Harrison in apartment, 1951
3 10 Photographs from France, World War I, ca. 1914-1917
a)  Elizabeth Cooper Harrison and French sentry, "war just declared," 1914
b)  Two men and sunset. Taken by E.C.H., 1914
c)  French sentry, 1914
d)  Etretat, 1914
e)  Photo post card of E.C.H. with a man, 1917
3 11 Postcards from France, World War I, ca. 1914-1917
3 12 Photographs: Friends of Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn
a)  Portrait, Elizabeth Cooper Pruyn, C.C.K., and E.A.D., June 1885
b)  Portrait, Haybertie Lansing Pruyn, 1896, (Pirie MacDonald, Albany, N.Y.)
3 13 Photographs of Francis S. Pruyn
a)  Photograph, 1899
b)  Photograph, Albany, N.Y., 1905
c)  Photograph, Albany, N.Y., 1905
d)  Photograph taken at Fort Orange Garden Club, 1906
e)  Undated, ((Notman Photographic Co., Albany, N.Y.)
f)  Undated, (Notman Photographic Co., Albany, N.Y.)
g)  Portrait, 1866, (Thompson Gallery, Albany, N.Y.)
h)  Portrait, 1866, (Thompson Gallery, Albany, N.Y.)
i)  Silhouette, 1891
j)  Silhouette, 1891
k)  Portrait, 1900, (Pirie MacDonald, Albany, N.Y.)
l)  Portrait, 1892, (Semple, Albany, N.Y.)
m)  Mounted portrait, undated
3 14 Photographs from Francis S. Pruyn's Pocketbook
a)  Portrait, Charlotte Cooper Pruyn, 1883, (McDonald & Sterry, Albany, N.Y.)
b)  Photograph, (small oval cutout)  Francis S. Pruyn, undated
c)  Photograph, Francis S. Pruyn, 1905
d)  Photograph, Francis Pruyn, Elizabeth C.P. Harrison, and unknown gentleman, Bay Head, 1902
e)  Photograph, Francis S. Pruyn, 1857
3 15 Photographs: Charlotte Cooper Nott Pruyn
a)  Portrait, 1890 (Semple Artistic Photographer, Albany, N.Y.)
b)  Portrait, undated, (Bachrach, copy)
c)  Portrait, 1863, (Churchill & Denison's, Albany, N.Y.)
d)  Portrait, 1863, (Churchill & Denison's, Albany, N.Y.)
e)  Portrait, 1863, (Thompson Gallery, Albany, N.Y.)
f)  Portrait, 1883, (McDonald & Sterry, Albany, N.Y.)
g)  Tintype, portrait, framed, 1865
h)  Tintype, portrait, framed [most likely also 1865]
i)  Tintype, portrait, 1862
j)  Tintype, portrait, 1867
k)  Tintype, portrait, paper enclosing, undated
l)  Portrait, undated, (McDonald & Sterry, Albany, N.Y.)
m)  Portrait, undated, (Albany Art Union, Albany, N.Y.)
n)  Portrait, undated (Albany Art Union, Albany, N.Y.)
o)  Portrait, 1890, (Semple Photographic Art Studio, Albany, N.Y.)
3 16 Photographs: Eliphalet Nott, Benjamin Nott, Elizabeth Cooper Nott
a)  Framed photograph Benjamin Nott, undated
b)  Portrait of Benjamin Nott, (Churchill & Denison, Albany, N.Y.)
c)  Portrait, Elizabeth Cooper Nott, (Haines & Elliot, Albany, N.Y.)
d)  Portrait, Elizabeth Cooper Nott, undated, (Haines & Elliot, Albany, N.Y.)
e)  Image, Eliphalet Nott, undated, image taken from a newspaper
3 17 Portrait: Francis Lansing Pruyn, undated
3 18 Portrait: Francis B. Thurber, undated
3 19 Photographs: Jeanette Meyer Thurber, "Aunt Nettie"
a)  Portrait, undated (Sarony's Imperial Portraits, 680 Broadway, New York, N.Y.)
b)  Portrait, undated (Photographie Walery, Paris, France)
c)  Portrait, undated (Alman & Co., New York, N.Y.)
d)  Portrait, undated (Sarony's, "Carte de Visite," New York, N.Y.)
e)  Portrait, undated (Sarony's Imperial Portraits, 37 Union Sq., New York, N.Y.)
f)  Portrait, undated (A Bogardus Photo, New York, N.Y.)
g)  Photograph, undated
3 20 Miscellaneous Family Photographs
a)  Portrait, Charles Cooper, uncle of Charlotte Cooper Nott, undated (Wenderoth, Taylor & Brown, Philadelphia, Pa.)
b)  Portrait, Lansing Pruyn, father of Francis S. Pruyn, 1867, (S.J. Thompson, Albany, N.Y.)
c)  Portrait, John Nott, brother of Charlotte Cooper, 1860
d)  Portrait, Brother of Francis S. Pruyn, undated
e)  Letter regarding miniature painters in Albany, N.Y.,  1930
3 21 Miscellaneous photographs from travel
a)  Photograph of a dog, 1912
b)  Valley Forge, May 1947
c)  Boys Academy, undated, Albany, N.Y.
d)  Untitled, undated, tree
4 1 Postcards from Italy
4 2 Photographs from travel in Japan, 1907
4 3 Postcards from Japan
4 4 Postcards from travel to Scotland, (Crieff, Drummond Castle), 1914
4 5 Postcards from travel in Austria, 1920
4 6 Postcards from travel to Sarajevo, ca. 1920
4 7 Postcards from travel in Romania (Bucarest), 1920
4 8 Postcards from travel in Budapest, Hungary, 1920
4 9 Postcards from travel to Turkey (Constantinople), ca. 1920
4 10 Postcards from travel in Egypt, 1920
4 11 Photographs of Japan, Marshall Martin, 1923
4 12 Photographs: travel on Khyber Pass, Kashmir and Ladakh, 1923
4 13 Photographs: Angkor Vat, Cambodia, 1925
4 14 Postcards from travel to Cambodia
4 15 Postcards from travel in China, 1925
4 16 Photo postcards from travel in Ethiopia, 1930

Elizabeth Cooper Harrison seen in background of grand procession for just-crowned emperor of Abyssinia, Haile Selassie, leaving Cathedral St. Georges at Addis Ababa. November 2, 1930

4 17 Photographs of convoy, travel from northwest Afghanistan/ Pakistan to India, 1931-1934
4 18 Photographs of travel in Kashmir, 1931
4 19 Photographs of travel in Peshawar (Pakistan)  and through Kashmir, 1932
4 20 Photographs of travel Afghanistan to Kashmir, 1933
4 21 Photographs of travel along Khyber Pass, 1933
4 22 Photographs from travel in India, 1933
4 23 Postcards from travel in India
4 24 Photographs from travel in Kashmir, 1934
4 25 Postcards from travel in Kashmir
4 26 Photographs: China , 1924-1925; 1934-1935
4 27 Photographs from travel in Bali, 1934 (1 of 2)
4 28 Photographs from travel in Bali, 1934 (2 of 2)
4 29 Postcards from travel in Bali
4 30 Negatives from travel in Bali
4 31 Postcards from travel in Java (Indonesia), 1934
4 32 Postcard from Bangkok
4 33 Postcards from travel in Albania, 1935 (May)
4 34 Postcards from travel to Yugoslavia, 1935 (May)
4 35 Postcards from travel to Croatia (Kingdom of Yugoslavia), 1935
4 36 Postcards from travel to Czechoslovakia, 1935 (June)
4 37 Photographs: Banff, Lake Louise, Canada, 1936
4 38 Photographs of travel in Hungary, 1937-1938 (1 of 3)
4 39 Photographs of travel in Hungary, 1937-1938 (2 of 3)
4 40 Photographs of travel in Hungary, 1937-1938 (3 of 3)
4 41 Postcards of travel in Hungary, 1937-1938
4 42 Photo postcards of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, 1953
4 43 Photo postcards of H.M. Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family
4 44 Membership certificate to The English Speaking Union of the British Empire
4 43 Miscellaneous postcards from travel
    Box 5 contains framed photographs; folder number referrers to specific items
5 1 Cased daguerreotype of a woman S. Pruyn "dated".

Handwritten note inside from E.C.H.

5 2 Framed image of Elizabeth Cooper Nott.
5 3 Sterling silver frame. Image of Charlotte Cooper Nott Pruyn
5 4 Sterling silver frame dated Feb. 24 1898. Image of Charlotte Cooper Nott Pruyn
5 5 Empty Frame, has a monogram, ECH, in metal work
5 6 Cased daguerreotype of Francis Saltus Pruyn, circa 1848, in volunteer fireman uniform.

Handwritten note by E.C.H.

5 7 Cased daguerreotype of Francis S. Pruyn and friend, ca. 1850. Handwritten note by E.C.H.
5 8 Cased daguerreotype of Charlotte Cooper Nott Pruyn, ca. 1860. Handwritten note by E.C.H.
5 9 Cased daguerreotype of Saltus Pruyn.
5 10 Cased daguerreotype of a woman Francis S. Pruyn knew. Handwritten note by E.C.H.
5 11 Cased daguerreotypes of Francis S. Pruyn and a woman. Handwritten note by E.C.H.
5 12 Framed photograph Francis S. Pruyn
5 13 Oval frame. Person unknown. Image looks like a painting.
5 14 Oval frame. Person unknown. Signed L. Shipley.
5 15 Metal frame with gem stones. Person unknown.
5 16 Metal frame. Cardboard backing. Person unknown.
5 17 Folding leather photo case. Person unknown.
    Genealogy and Family History
6 1 Obituaries: Horace Howard Furness, 1912

New clippings from such newspapers as the New York Times, The Nation and The Ledger

6 2 List titled: Pruyns in the Revolution, undated
6 3 Writings of Charlotte Cooper Pruyn, undated
6 4 Last Will and Testament of Catherine Pruyn, February 10, 1879
6 5 From a childhood scrapbook: On newsprint, program for "Cleopatra!" at the Leland Opera House. The program is filled with advertisements of Albany businesses. The program date is "Week Ending, December 24, 1892"
6 6 Gibson Girl article from New York Times Magazine, September 20, 1942
6 7 Marriage Certificate of Charlotte Cooper Nott to Francis Lansing Pruyn, 1864
6 8 Ancestry of Joan Dexter, photocopy
6 Loose Family Tree (tightly rolled)
    PHOTOGRAPH ALBUMS
7 1 v. Photograph Album #1 ca. 1899-1900; includes pictures of outings in Schenectady; Mohawk River with cousin, "Nettie," York Cliffs. York, Maine, and home and haunts of relatives in Schenectady and Cherry Valley, New York
7 1 Photographs (loose)  from Album #1, ca. 1899-1900
8 1 v. Album #2: Photographs from travels, ca. 1900-1910; includes pictures of Bay Head, 1900-1902, Nantucket, 1904, Plainfield and Cornish, N.H., 1905 (Cornish Art Colony), York Harbor, 1909, and Howard Clarke Yacht
8 1 Photographs (loose)  from Album #2, ca. 1900-1910
9 1 v. Album #3: Rose Valley, ca. 1903-1933
9 1 Photographs and postcards (loose)  from Album #3, ca. 1903-1933
    SCRAPBOOKS
10 1 v. Scrapbook, ca. 1884-1894; includes memorabilia, pressed flowers, concert programs, dance cards (most have pencils attached), photographs (mostly tintypes), newspaper clippings, and brochures about the Pruyn House and the Lansing House
10 1

Photographs and memorabilia (loose)  from scrapbook, 1883-1894

a)  Tintype, E.C. Pruyn and W.B. Slade, Albany, 1886
b)  Tintype, E.C. Pruyn and companions, Cazenovia, 1886
c)  Tintype, E.C. Pruyn and friends, Englewood, 1883
d)  Tintype, A.U. Lansing, Howe, and E.C. Pruyn, Albany, 1884
e)  Tintype, E.C. Pruyn and friends, Albany, 1886

11 1 v. Photo Album, ca. 1905; includes photographs, picture postcards, and other memorabilia from her first trip to Europe. Also includes photograph reproductions for art work from several galleries and museums
11 1

Loose items from photo album, ca. 1905:

  • Photographs
  • News clippings
  • Postcard
  • Travel information
  • Pamphlet, "The Story of an Old English Hostelry"
  • Sketch of a house, dated 1907
    BOOKS and PRINTED MATERIALS
12 1 Tilestone, Mary W. Daily Strength for Daily Needs. (Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1890)
- Belonged to Charlotte Cooper Pruyn. Contains handwritten notes, newspaper clippings and flowers. Aunt Betsy made several additions to it after it passed to her after her mother's death.
12 2 Het Nieuwe Testament ... (Dordrecht:  Eendracht Maaktmacht, 1750). Dutch Bible. Handed down to Francis L. Pruyn. In a protective box
12 3 The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Testaments: Translated out of the Original Tongues; and with the Former Translations Diligently Compared and Revised, by His Majesty's Special Command. Appointed to be read in Churches. (London: George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode, n.d.)
-  "Printers to the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty", 16mo. Includes maps.
-  There are several dried flowers throughout the pages. Handwritten notes on fly leaf by Aunt Betsy. The clasp is inscribed "Elizabeth C. Pruyn, June 15th 1869"
12 4 The Holy Bible, King James Version. Undated.
-  Soft leather binding, much worn, edges have gold gilt. Maps in the back. Taped together with black tape. Spotting on several pages.
- Belonged to Aunt Betsy. Handwritten note on fly leaf from Charlotte Cooper Pruyn dated June 1898.
EL 1 Newspaper
Last Updated: February 24, 2022