by Mary Bell, Assistant Director
Wilbraham Public Library

Pageant at Glendale, 150th anniversary of Wilbraham
Pageant at Glendale, 150th anniversary of Wilbraham from the Glendale Collection

This unassuming photograph of a couple in a horse-drawn carriage and two men standing outside is the best proof I have of Wilbraham’s involvement in the Underground Railroad.

Handwriting on the photograph describes this scene as part of a pageant during Wilbraham’s 150th anniversary in 1913, and identifies the couple in the carriage as Elsie Farr and C.E. Edson. The Springfield Union, Friday evening edition of June 20, 1913, describes the celebration in the language of the day as follows: “The children sang ‘The Prison Cell’ and as they were closing, the audience was surprised to see coming down the hill, pursued by men, old-time slaves, who, just as they were about to be seized by their masters, were rescued by Glendale people and borne away to safety. This was intended to typify just such scenes as occurred in the North 60 years ago when Glendale was a famous underground railroad station.” Elsie and C.E. were playing Lucia and John Calkins, abolitionists who – rumor has it – were early conductors on the railroad.

The photograph was taken on June 20, 1913, the third day of the Sesquicentennial celebration of Wilbraham’s incorporation. The bulk of the day’s events was the unveiling of a boulder at Glendale Cemetery honoring the town’s veterans, especially American Civil War veterans who were present at the ceremony. The photograph is fascinating as a celebratory moment in time – and what would have been considered an acceptable pageant a century ago – in addition to a hint of the past.

In the Civil War period, the Glendale section of Wilbraham would have included what are now two towns, Wilbraham and Hampden. The people of Glendale established a Methodist church and an abolitionist movement, which included a few neighborhood families – notably the Ames and Calkins families – who are said by local historians to have been conductors on the Underground Railroad. When this photograph was taken sixty years after the fact, several people were still around who could have contradicted the story of John and Lucia Calkins as told in the pageant but did not. While the evidence is circumstantial at best and may not convince the skeptic, this photograph reveals an early story in Wilbraham history about involvement in the Underground Railroad.

Written by Patricia Feeley, Interlibrary Loan Librarian, Boston Public Library

Frontal close-up view of two rams from Osborne Library American Textile Museum
Frontal close-up view of two rams from the Osborne Library at the American Textile Museum

When I come upon an image that deserves A Closer Look, I am usually rewarded with a story that deserves telling as well. The giant whale on the beach of Ostende print led to a story of 18th century Europeans encountering strange and wonderful creatures. An 1895 photo of attendees at a rope pull led to a discussion of campus fashion. This photo from the Osborne Library of the American Textile Museum is just what it says it is: a frontal close-up view of two rams. The angle, looking up rather than down at the rams, adds stature to them. They almost seem to be standing at attention to review the herd.

The backstory here is really just the caption on the back. The description on Digital Commonwealth ends, “Written on reverse: ‘His Majesty’ and friend.” Assuming we are meant to read the photo left to right, His Majesty is the first ram on the left. The ram on his right is his nameless friend. I can’t help but feel sorry for his friend. What makes one ram more nameable than another? The nameless friend seems as woolly to me. His horns turn out more than His Majesty’s. His snout seems a little shorter. I really don’t see much to choose between the two. It’s an eternal diss to what seems to me to be a perfectly worthy ram.

I don’t know why the shepherd didn’t name the friend. Or why the photographer didn’t ask. I just know I am naming him “The Heir Apparent”.

Written by Patricia Feeley, Interlibrary Loan Librarian, Boston Public Library

"The Devil" will smile from the Fall River Collection--Historic Postcards, c. 1880-1970
“The Devil” will smile from the Fall River Public Library Historic Postcards, c. 1880-1970 Collection

This eerie optical illusion postcard (left) comes from the Fall River Public Library’s Historic Postcards, c. 1880-1970 collection.  It advertises a production of Ferenc (Franz) Molnar’s play, The Devil.  With Halloween coming up, I think it deserves A Closer Look.

The title leads us to see the devil first: his nearly-crossed eyes, his black moustache, his Chiclet-like teeth and his black coat.  He has an unusual hairline and the collar of his coat (or cape) hides his ears.  From a distance, he appears to have rather sinister furrows and wrinkles on his face.

A great feature of Digital Commonwealth is the magnifying glass icon, which enlarges the image without affecting the resolution.  When we click that on this image, the devil recedes.  Instead we see two well-dressed women meeting in front of a theater.  Their black skirts make up the devil’s coat; their hand muffs his mustache and their hats and feathers his pupils and eyebrows.  His nose is a view of another female theatergoer walking away from us.

Interestingly, when the play was first staged in America in 1908, there were two dueling productions, each claiming to be the “sole authorized” version of the play.  The reverse of this postcard indicates it is promoting the Henry W. Savage production.  According to a 2009 lecture at the Library of Congress by Marlis Schweizer, Savage hired people to picket in front of his rival’s production wearing sandwich boards that said, “Thou shall not steal.”  Was Savage making a sly reference to the twin productions in this postcard?  I like to think so, but you may have a different take on it.

Reverse of above
Reverse of above

If you have a favorite photo as deserving of A Closer Look as this eerie postcard, please let us know.  Send your Closer Look or a link to your photo to outreach@digitalcommonwealth.org.