For Motif No. 1 Day, A Gallery of Motif No. 1 Views

Posted on May 17, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

In recognition of Motif No. 1 Day tomorrow in Rockport, here is a gallery of views of our famous landmark.

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Straitsmouth Point, Rockport, Mass., circa 1925

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

Straitsmouth-Point_post

This postcard, with its beautiful view of Straitsmouth Island and lighthouse, is unique. I have over 100 postcards that were published by the Rockport Photo Bureau. Yet this is the first I’ve seen that used colorization. The colors are subtle and it is difficult to say whether they’ve faded or were always that way. But the effect is striking. It is also the first postcard from this publisher that I’ve seen with no top border, perhaps a result of the color printing.

The postcard has no date or postmark. By comparing the lettering and markings on the back to other postcards from Rockport Photo Bureau, I estimate this to be from around 1925.

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For Earth Day: Toad Hall Bookstore, 1973

Posted on April 22, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

Toad Hall Bookstore 1973

In honor of Earth Day today, we present this February 1973 photograph of Toad Hall Bookstore in Rockport, another photo from the series of Rockport photographs taken for the U.S. government by Deborah Parks.

Ever since its founding in 1972, Toad Hall has given 100 percent of its profits to environmental projects. Toad Hall’s founder, Nelson “Buck” Robinson, was an assistant dean at Northeastern University when the first Earth Day was held in 1970. Inspired to help the environment, he found his way to Rockport, bought the old Granite Savings Bank building, and opened the bookstore. (I believe that is Robinson in the center of the photo.)

Since then, the Essex County Ecology Center, which operates the bookstore, has gone on to fund a number of environmental projects. According to the store’s website, it has donated over $133,000.

Robinson died in December 2003.  He had been a graduate of Williams College, the University of Michigan Law School and Harvard Business School.

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Dock Square, Rockport, Mass., circa 1908

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

Dock-Square_post

This postcard was postmarked in Rockport on July 31, 1909. The sender writes that the day before had been “96 degrees in the shade.”

I cannot make out the gold letters on the black sign above the store behind the wagon, but the white lettering in the window says, “Salada Tea.” Note the trolley tracks in the foreground.

The postcard was published by E.C. McIntire of Gloucester and printed in Germany.

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Inside Poole’s Rexall Drugstore, 1973

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

Inside Pooles

Inside Pooles 2

Inside Pooles 3

Inside Pooles 4

Can you identify the people in these photographs? They are from a series of Rockport photographs taken for the U.S. government by Deborah Parks, a Rockport resident at the time of her death in 2010 and the wife of Winfield Parks, a well-known National Geographic photographer.

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Rockport Granite Co. Steamer Wilhelmina Loading Stone, c. 1912

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

Steamer-Wilhelmina_post

The caption says that this is the Steamer Wilhelmina and that it is taking on granite bound for Key West, Florida. The steamer is tied up along what today is known as Granite Pier. The small building in the center background appears to be the Rockport Granite Co. headquarters building that still stands just next to the Stone Bridge.

I have not been able to find any information on this vessel. The only Steamer Wilhelmina I can find was a much larger ship that originally served as a passenger steamer between San Francisco and Honolulu and that then served as a Naval vessel during World War I.

In 1909, a Rockport Granite Co. four-masted schooner bound for Key West, the William C. Tanner, was lost en route. According to a new report, she carried 1,654 tons of granite, which was to be used in construction of a jetty in Key West. Perhaps the Wilhelmina’s cargo was destined for the same project.

This postcard has no date and identifies no publisher. It does say that it was printed in Germany, which indicated that it was published sometime prior to 1917.

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Rockport Country Club, Rockport, Mass., circa 1928

Posted on April 13, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

On-the-Golf-Links_post

Someone has just teed off in this 1920s-era view of a foursome at the Rockport Country Club. Note the old-style golf slacks that end just below the knee. Also note the young man sitting by the tee. Could he be a caddy or just the son of a golfer?

The Rockport Country Club formally opened to the public on July 3, 1915. The idea for it hatched in 1911, when townspeople hoped a golf course would attract more summer visitors. The original plan included not only the golf course, but also tennis courts and a baseball field.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, the club fell on hard times. From a membership of 225 in 1929, the number fell to 40 by 1935. That year, the club was sold for $1,500 to a group that reformed it into the Rockport Golf Club. Soon, its membership was growing once again.

This postcard was published by the Rockport Photo Bureau. It is postally unused and undated. Based on the similarity of the reverse side to other postcards, I estimate its date to be around 1928.

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Portion of Long Beach, Rockport, Mass., circa 1925

Posted on March 29, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

Portion-of-Long-Beach-Rockp

Compare this postcard of Long Beach from around 1925 with this one from circa 1936. The coloring and perspective are similar, and both are from the same publisher, E.C. McIntire of Gloucester. In the postcard above, note that there was not yet the seawall that today separates the cottages from the ocean. Apart from that, little has changed.

For other views of Long Beach, see the posts tagged Long Beach.

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Gloucester, Mass – Clam Diggers, circa 1907

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

Gloucester-Clam-Diggers_pos

Composition and color combine in this postcard to make a simple scene visually striking. The postcard has no date, but its publisher, The Hugh C. Leighton Co. of Portland, Maine, was in business only from 1906-1909. So it is fair to estimate that this view is from roughly 1907.

As for the location of this scene, I welcome any suggestions. Looks to me like somewhere along the Annisquam River, near Wingaersheek Beach.

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The Wharf, Rockport, Mass., circa 1905

Posted on March 17, 2013 by Robert Ambrogi

The-Wharf-Rockport_post

This postcard shows Rockport harbor, with its two fishing shacks — the closest the famous Motif No. 1 — and the breakwater in the background.

This is a colorized version of a black-and-white card I posted previously. Both are from the same publisher and have the same image number. However, if you look carefully, you will see some “additions” to the photo above, such as the two men in the dory in the center of the image.

The publisher of this postcard, The Rotograph Co. of New York City, was in business only from 1904 to 1911. This postcard has a divided back, which indicates that it was printed after 1907, the year the U.S. postal service first allowed divided-back postcards. The image itself is from 1905, according to the black-and-white version of the card.

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