It’s been difficult to focus on Salem these past few weeks with so much going on in the historical world: the potential discovery of King Richard’s skeleton, the raising of a plague ship, a wife for Jesus (or maybe not)! Then again, I’m not a fan of a parochial perspective; I’ve always felt that the present and the past and places are best viewed in the broadest context possible, so Salem is the world. That said, occasionally I just want to act like a Victorian antiquarian and stay local. Today, I’ve got some very random sketches of Salem gathered from a variety of sources: guide books, auction archives, historical societies, old books. Most are very vernacular and commercial, though a few are the works of well-know artists. They’ve been gathering virtual dust in my digital files for a while, so it is time to get them out there.
The sketches appear in chronological order, beginning with two charming drawings by the early nineteenth-century artist Michele Felice Cornè (1752–1845), a Neapolitan who emigrated to the United States in 1800 and lived in Boston, Salem, and Newport. These drawings date from around 1810, when Cornè was living in Salem, enjoying the patronage of the Derby family. It takes a sketch to reveal little details like the toddler’s bassinet (cage?) below, details that would never appear in one of Cornè’s formal paintings of ships or houses. That’s what I like about sketches, as opposed to more formal compositions: they give forth a seemingly-casual, and often more intimate, impression of daily life.
Cornè sketches, c. 1810, courtesy Newport Historical Society.
Lots of later nineteenth-century drawings of Salem exist, when both the city and its residents began to market “olde Salem”, first featuring architecture, and then (unfortunately) witchcraft. The sketches in Historical Sketches of the Old Houses of Salem (1870) display a bit of (sometimes black) humor, as in Six Witches Will be Hung To-Day. Come One! Come All! and our “Four Fathers”. The decision to back the Witch City brand had not been made yet, in fact; this early guidebook looks like it is trying to offer up all of Salem’s attractions (including very big chimneys) at the same time.
The accomplished artist Eliza Pratt Greatorex (1819-1897), who was renown for her pen-and-ink sketches of American and European streetscapes, came to Salem to sketch (of course) the “Witch House” (more formally and correctly known as the Jonathan Corwin House) which she portrays as The Last of the Old Witch House. Little did she know that it would endure as one of the centerpieces of the Witch City.
Eliza Pratt Greatorex, The Last of the Old Witch House, Salem, Massachusetts. New York Public Library Digital Gallery.
More simplistic (and cheerful) sketches of Salem are in Lydia Louise Very’s Old Fashioned-Garden (1900) and What to See in Salem (1915), both published by the Salem Press Company. Very was part of the very interesting Very family of Salem, and sister of the transcendental poet Jones Very, for whom she cared during his long struggle with mental illness. Moving forward into the twentieth century, there is a pen-and-ink sketch of Chestnut Street that was published in several national newspapers in 1930.
No witches: sketched views of Salem in 1900, 1915 & 1930.
Sketching continues, it just takes different forms in the present, like these characters from the new Salem video game by Ten Ton Hammer, featuring : Puritans, Permadeath, and Open PvP in a Fantastical New England. These guys remind me a bit of the “four fathers” of past sketches.
September 23rd, 2012 at 9:39 am
Love that first sketch.. is she using her hoops as a kind of play pen? That is so cool, I love the red jacket too.. c
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:42 pm
PLAYPEN–that’s the word I was searching for!
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:59 pm
It made me laugh! c
September 23rd, 2012 at 10:07 am
Lovely and fun. I always enjoy the images you post
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:45 pm
Thank you, Pam–I realized I was getting a bit too serious with the long torture post last week! For the next month or so, while Salem is transformed into 24/7 Witch City, I do get a bit dour, so I was trying to lighten up.
September 24th, 2012 at 3:50 pm
I like what you refer to as “dour”, Donna, if that matters.
September 23rd, 2012 at 12:31 pm
I really LOVED this post. Show me some images of Salem from diverse perspectives I hadn’t yet come across. Thank you for an enjoyable, inspiring and enlightening post today!
— Dorothy V. Malcolm
September 23rd, 2012 at 1:46 pm
Thank you, Dorothy; I’ve had these for a while–wasn’t really sure how to string them together.
September 24th, 2012 at 8:47 pm
these are fascinating! There’s something about the third one that makes me think I should recognize it’s location. I wonder if it’s a random collection of buildings or if it was a Salem street? Something about it is familiar and I can’t figure it out.
September 25th, 2012 at 6:58 am
I think they were depicting one of the wharves, but with a great deal of artistic license.
September 25th, 2012 at 8:09 am
This post takes me back to when I was a kid, the books at my Grandparents
February 28th, 2021 at 5:28 pm
Has anyone ever heard of an artist who signs as TRACY (all caps) and used pencil or pen and ink? We recently bought a sketch of the friendship and cannot find anything about the artist! Thanks!
March 1st, 2021 at 6:37 pm
I have not, Loren, but I will ask around.
June 16th, 2024 at 8:15 am
Hi Donna… Not sure if you’re still active on streetsofsalem, but I have a Salem question and am hoping you might be able to help in some way:
My grandfather was Walter D. Hammond. He had an art studio above the old Almy’s store on Essex St in the early part of the 20th century. We have 5 or 6 paintings…oils and one pastel…attributed to him, including an early oil that is signed W.Hammond 1912. His painted landscapes and seascapes and worked in his studio until he lost his eyesight. He then began weaving bags, etc. for sale. At this point, much of his art went missing, without his knowledge.
Since he was not a well known artist, I have often wondered how to find any of his lost work. I no longer live in the area, so I’m unable to haunt flea markets or thrift shops! Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks,
Mary Anne Hammond LaBelle
June 17th, 2024 at 7:08 am
Yes, still posting every week! Have not heard of him, but I think the best thing to do would be to search auction archives—live auctioneers and invaluable have good databases for price results.