Conditions Governing Use

Public domain. There are no known restrictions.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Western family travel photograph album, C0330, Special Collections Research Center, George Mason University Libraries.

Acquisition Information

Purchased by Lynn Eaton from Jordan Antiques and Books in November 2019.

Processing Information

Processing and finding aid completed by Amanda Brent in June 2022. Elizabeth Beckman contributed to the Scope and Content note.

Historical Information

During the early 20th century, road tripping was a hobby for upper middle class and wealthy Americans only. According to Time Magazine, "by 1920, the road trip thus had begun to take on a shape familiar to modern eyes. Above all, the automobile was assuming a dominant role in popular recreation as more and more Americans incorporated it into their visions of recreation and leisure. As costs fell and reliability increased, as the successful outings of the few began to inspire the many, and as the thrill of this new technology spread through an ever-wider range of the populace, motoring for pleasure insinuated itself as a notion in the minds of many Americans." By mid-century, with the advent of the Interstate Highway System, road tripping became a popular and accessible American pastime.

Scope and Content

Family album of photographs, around half depicting a road trip to the Midwestern and Western United States, including South Dakota (the Badlands and Black Hills, Pierre, near Deadwood and Lead), Wyoming, and Colorado (Rocky Mountain National Park in Estes Park, the Continental Divide), created between 1923 - 1924. Before the photographs documenting this trip, there are several photographs of family life. The family may have lived in Massachusetts - Holliston is mentioned, as is a house at 131 Bedford St, and there are a few pictures on Cape Cod. Many of the photos are of two young children named Elinor and Alice. Other named individuals include Mrs. Whitney, Mrs. Kingsbury, Miss Bostrom, the Misses Richardson, Miss Reddy, and Uncle Duff. Some photographs have been removed from the album, leaving about half of its pages blank.

Arrangement

This is a single item collection.

Related Material

The Special Collections Research Center holds other materials on American domestic life and travel, including the Vacation trip in the new Chevrolet scrapbook and the Larkin family photograph collection.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Automobile travel
• Colorado
• Domestic life
• Massachusetts
• Photographs
• Scrapbooks
• South Dakota
• Wyoming