Mary B. Harper and H. Cecil Houghton Papers, 1921-1967

Title:

Mary B. Harper and H. Cecil Houghton Papers, 1921-1967

Creator:

Harper, Mary B., 1886-1980
Houghton, Harriet Cecil, 1886-1982, Harriet Cecil, 1886-1982

Creator Role:

Author

Accession / Call Number:

2024.060

Object ID:

2024.060

Date:

1921-1967

Physical Description:

2 boxes ; 0.83 linear feet

Scope and Content:

The Mary B. Harper and H. Cecil Houghton Papers consist of several kinds of diaries with some associated ephemera and photographs, documenting the lives of these two long-term companions from 1921 to 1967.\n \n Mary B. Harper produced long diary-like accounts of trips to England, Italy, and Switzerland in 1925 and a second trip to Switzerland in 1928. These were evidently written after her return and are illustrated by her drawings, ephemera, and photographs the women took of each other. She also wrote short day-by-day entries in small memo books between 1963 and 1967 recounting details of daily life - how much time she spent working on the note card paintings she sold (size of orders, money received from the sales, etc.), what she read, listened to on the radio, watched on TV, purchases made, letters received and written, and visitors entertained. The collection also contains a few note cards she made, cut-outs of trees with birds, some calendar pages of watercolors of Japanese motifs, and receipts for building repair materials.\n \n H. Cecil Houghton, who went by Cecil, wrote brief entries, often about music or music lessons, in small memo-type day-by-day volumes between 1921 and 1960. She also began, but largely abandoned, an account of a trip to France in July 1928. A newspaper clipping of an article dated January 24, 1954 details a fire and rescue of Houghton from her residence at 1139 Commonwealth Avenue, Allston, MA.\n \n There is no correspondence in this collection. There are a few photographs of them together in their later years, a formal studio image of Houghton as a young adult, a childhood portrait of Harper and her brother, and an unidentified house that is presumably the Eaton, NH, property they purchased in 1933 and which they named "Hillcrest."

Subjects:

Art, Church buildings, Diaries, Drawing, Female friendship, Hiking, Museums, Music teachers, Selling--Art, Teachers, Travel, Watercolor painting, Women

Locations:

Boston, MA
Eaton, NH
England
France
Italy
Japan
Providence, RI
Switzerland

People:

Harper, Mary B., 1886-1980, Houghton, Harriet Cecil, 1886-1982

Credit Line:

Gift of the estate of Robert and Nancy Malvesta.

Restrictions:

Available for research.

Level Description:

Collection