Contributed by Maine Historical Society
Description
In 1985, photographer Elijah Cobb photographed the "Yellow House," also known as the Laura E. Richards House, a historic home in Gardiner. Built around 1810, it was famous for its connection to the Pulitzer Prize winning author who lived there for the majority of her writing career.
Cobb's mother and aunt, Rosalind Cobb Wiggins and Laura E. Putnam, authored a series of essay-length labels to accompany his portfolio. The bathroom photograph essay reads:
"According to L.E. Wiggins, the house was 'Statlerized' in the 1890’s, i.e., a full inside bathroom was added. It was particularly for L.E.R.; H.R. still enjoyed his hat tub baths. Among the great features of this new room was a porcelain tub, long enough and wide enough to stretch out comfortably. Those under that size floated free. For a youngster it meant a real swimming bath! Braced firmly, blissfully comfortable once the porcelain had warmed through, one could gaze endlessly at the engravings hung there: Le Chien D’Hospice…large sad-eyed St. Bernard with a cherubic sleeping child on its back looked wistfully at an iron bound door; L’Aiglon, asleep on his father’s back; Napoleon scowling over maps and books in noble concentration. There was also a prosaic engraving of houses in South Boston, clustered near the reservoir. Along the bottom of the picture were three-inch close-ups of some of the houses of famous people…and of course there was Green Peace, the home of Julia Ward and Samuel Gridley Howe.
In accordance with H.R.’s view of keeping fit there was a fine set of Fairbanks scales. We used to crowd onto the teetery platform to see how fat we could all be together. For the very young, bath time at the Yellow House was a treat!"
About This Item
- Title: Bathroom, Yellow House, Gardiner, ca. 1985
- Creator: Elijah Cobb
- Creation Date: circa 1985
- Subject Date: circa 1985
- Location: Gardiner, Kennebec County, ME
- Media: photographic print
- Dimensions: 35.6 cm x 27.9 cm
- Local Code: Coll. 2085, RG 39/12
- Collection: The Yellow House papers, Laura E. Richards collection
- Object Type: Image
Cross Reference Searches
Standardized Subject Headings
- Authors, American
- Bathrooms
- Engraving
- House furnishings
- Interior architecture
- Women authors, American--Maine--Gardiner
- Yellow House (Gardiner, Me.)
People
For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society485 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-1822 x230
Website
This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. No Permission is required to use the low-resolution watermarked image for educational use, or as allowed by the applicable copyright. For all other uses, permission is required.
Please post your comment below to share with others. If you'd like to privately share a comment or correction with MMN staff, please send us a message with this link.
