Mail Rider

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

At the general store and post office in the center of the town of Heath, Massachusetts, Frances and Mary Allen of Deerfield, Massachusetts, set up their camera and took this carefully composed picture of a mail rider picking up the day’s letters. The postmistress hands a bag of what is presumably mail, her cat at her feet, to a boy working for the post office riding an old horse without a saddle. The street is not paved, although the electricity lines in the background attest to the arrival of modern conveniences. Behind them rises Heath’s Congregational Church. Frances and Mary Allen created a huge number of illustrations of New England, village life, and other scenes during their long photographic career (1885-1920).

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Details

Item typeDocumentary Photograph
PhotographerAllen, Frances and Mary
Datebefore 1912
PlaceHeath, Massachusetts
TopicTransportation, Travel, Tourism
EraProgressive Era, World War I, 1900–1928
Rise of Industrial America, 1878–1899
Civil War and Reconstruction, 1861–1877
National Expansion and Reform, 1816–1860
MaterialGlass
Process/FormatGlass plate negative
Dimension detailsHeight: 8.37 in Width: 6.50 in
Catalog #1996.14.1350
View this item in our curatorial database →
Allen, Frances and Mary, photographer. Mail Rider. Photograph. before 1912. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1996-14-1350/. Accessed on December 7, 2024.

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