COLLECTION HIGHLIGHT

The Lawson Collection, Vol 7

The Lawson Collection
Dreamwold
Volume 7
Stables and Driveways
T. E. Marr (photographs), T. B. Hapgood (bookplate) 1907
Leather and paper album
Dims: H 11” x W 15”

This leather bound photography album is devoted to the stables and driveways on Thomas W. Lawson’s farm estate “Dreamwold.” This is the only known copy of this album to exist. For a detailed description of the Dreamwold estate see Stables and Farm Buildings: A Special Number of The Architectural Review September, 1902 under Additional Information below. You can get more information on the life of Thomas W. Lawson and learn about Lawson Tower and the Lawson Gates on our Explore page.

The album begins with a title page designed by Theodore Brown Hapgood (1871-1938). Hapgood was born in Somerville and studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. He was a preeminent illustrator, printmaker, sculptor and designer of the late 1890’s and early 20th century. He became best known for his work in the book arts and he was a leading bookplate designer when Lawson commissioned the work. Following the bookplate there are 4 typed index pages and 79 platinum toned matte collodion and silver gelatin prints. Lawson had engaged the well-known Boston photographer Thomas Edgar Marr, known as T. E. Marr, to produce a detailed photographic record of the Dreamwold estate beginning in 1901 and this album is from that effort.

Many wealthy people had their homes and collections photographed, and T. E. Marr was the photographer of choice for the elite of the northeast. While working with Lawson he was also documenting the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the home of Christian Science founder Mary Baker Eddy, and Ladies Home Journal had him on assignment to photograph three important authors in their homes: Mark Twain, Henry Van Dyke and William Dean Howells. To see more of T. E. Marr’s work on Dreamwold, view the Collections Highlight – “Dreamwold: The Farm of Thomas W. Lawson.”  More information on T.E. Marr can be found in the monograph of his life and work published in April 2021 by the Photographic Historical Society of New England: T. E. Marr (& Son) Isabella Stewart Gardner’s Photographers—and More.

In 2016 the Northeast Document Conservation Center conserved and digitized the album with Community Preservation Act funds generously granted by the town of Scituate. Treatment included mending tears with Japanese paper and starch paste, repairing the binding and constructing a custom fitted archival box for storage.

Curriculum Connections

This Scituate Historical Society Collections Highlight connects with the following Massachusetts State Curriculum Frameworks:

Reading in History and Social Science | Integration of Knowledge and Ideas

RCA-H.RI.6.7, 6-8.7
Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
Integrate visual information (e.g., in charts, graphs, photographs, videos, or maps) with other information in print and digital texts

Arts and Communication Services | Radio and Television Broadcasting, Technical Knowledge and Skills | Fundamentals of Photography

VAC.VRTV.2.D.01
Explain concepts fundamental to photography and composition.

Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology | Engineering Technology

VMET.VENGR.2.F.01.01
Describe the importance of architecture and civil engineering and their evolution over time.

VMET.VENGR.2.F.01.02
Compare and contrast various architectural styles.