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COLLECTION Identifier: HUV 2297.10

Aerial photographs of Cambridge, Mass. taken by Edward R. Cogswell, Jr.

Overview

This collection consists of seven black and white platinum prints taken by Edward Russell Cogswell, Jr., on September 18, 1897, from the top of the chimney of the old power house at the intersection of Boylston Street (now John F. Kennedy Street) and Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Mass. The photographs are aerial views of Harvard Square, Cambridge, Allston and the Charles River.

Dates

  • Creation: September 18, 1897

Creator

Researcher Access

This collection is open for research.

Extent

0.1 cubic feet (7 photographs)

This collection consists of seven platinum prints taken on September 18, 1897, by Edward R. Cogswell, Jr., a student in the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Taken from the top of the chimney of the old power house at the intersection of Boylston Street (now John F. Kennedy Street) and Memorial Drive in Cambridge, Mass., the photographs provide aerial views of Harvard Square, Cambridge and the Charles River. Laid end to end, left to right, the photographs provide a panoramic view of the area. Several Harvard buildings are clearly visible in the photographs, including Memorial Hall, Gore Hall, and Claverly Hall, among others.

Biographical note on Edward Russell Cogswell Jr.

Edward Russell Cogswell Jr. (1874-1958), landscape architect, was born on November 19, 1874 in Cambridge, Mass. to Edward Russell Cogswell (Harvard College Class of 1864) and Sarah Parks (Proctor) Cogswell. He received his Harvard AB in 1897. His two older brothers, Charles Northend and George Proctor Cogswell, were both members of the Harvard College Class of 1888. After graduation, Cogswell attended the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and studied landscape architecture at the Bussey Institute. Cogswell married Theodora Bates (Radcliff A.B. in 1902, A.M. 1903) in 1906; their only child, Dorothea Barton, was born in 1908.

In 1908, after working in the offices of various leading landscape architects, including that of the Olmsted Brothers, Cogswell started practicing landscape architecture independently. In 1917, after moving to Brookline, Mass., his ill health forced Cogswell to retire from all professional work. After his retirement, Cogswell occasionally wrote articles for magazines, such as Horticulture and House and Garden. He was a member of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and was clerk of the parish of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Newton Highlands from 1908 to 1917. Cogswell died on October 29, 1958.

Acquisition information

Gift of Edward R. Cogswell, Jr., December 30, 1904.

Inventory update

This document last updated 2020 September 14

Processing Information

Titles were supplied by the cataloger. Image numbers were assigned at the time of processing. This finding aid was created by Takumi Ohata in October 2010.

Title
Cogswell, Edward R. (Edward Russell), 1874-1958. Aerial photographs of Cambridge, Mass. taken by Edward R. Cogswell, Jr., September 18, 1897: an inventory
Status
completed
Author
Harvard University Archives
Date
October 21, 2010
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
hua42010

Repository Details

Part of the Harvard University Archives Repository

Holding nearly four centuries of materials, the Harvard University Archives is the principal repository for the institutional records of Harvard University and the personal archives of Harvard faculty, as well as collections related to students, alumni, Harvard-affiliates and other associated topics. The collections document the intellectual, cultural, administrative and social life of Harvard and the influence of the University as it emerged across the globe.

Contact:
Pusey Library
Harvard Yard
Cambridge MA 02138 USA
(617) 495-2461