Mabel Cranston Briney and Frances Aileen Laughlin American West road trip photo album, 1938 June : manuscript.

Format:

Book

Manuscript

Author/Creator:

Laughlin, Frances Aileen, photographer.

Contributor:

Caroline F. Schimmel Collection of Women in the American Wilderness (University of Pennsylvania)

Schimmel, Caroline F., donor, associated name.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nebraska--Photographs.

Nebraska.

Women travelers.

Colorado--Photographs.

Colorado.

Yellowstone National Park--Photographs.

Yellowstone National Park.

Badlands National Park (S.D.)--Photographs.

Badlands National Park (S.D.).

Genre:

photograph albums.

Photographs.

Albums (Books)

Manuscripts, English -- 20th century.

Penn Provenance:

Presented to the Penn Libraries in 2024 by Caroline F. Schimmel.

Physical Description:

1 volume (35 leaves) : photographs, map ; 30 x 25 cm + 1 photograph + 1 postcard

Production:

Hopkinton, Iowa, August 1938.

Other Title:

On leaf 1 recto in hand-drawn decorative lettering: Hi, stranger

Title from leaf 1 verso: Trails of the West, followed by some strangers from Ioway [sic]

Language Note:

Text in English.

Biography/History:

Frances Aileen Laughlin was born circa 1910 in Illinois. She resided in Hopkinton, Iowa at least in the year 1935. She is listed in the 1940 census in Port Arthur, Jefferson County, Texas, where she resided in a hotel and her occupation was public school teacher. In 1940, Frances' mother Anna H. Laughlin lived next to Mabel C. and Mary Belle Briney, at which point both Anna and Mabel were instructors at Lenox College. Frances Aileen Laughlin married for the first time at the age of 55 in 1964 and died in 1990.

Mabel C. Briney was born Feb. 2, 1886, in Champaign County, Ohio, to Frank H. and Clara Belle Smith Briney. She resided in Woodstock, Ohio, most of her life and was a member of the Woodstock Garden Club and was a teacher in the Woodstock and Mechanicsburg Schools. She was an instructor at Lenox College in Hopkinton, Iowa. She died June 10, 1972.

Summary:

Mabel Cranston Briney, Mary Belle Briney, Anna H. Laughlin, Frances Aileen Laughlin, and Leroy Briney, Jr. traveled by car through Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota, departing on June 16, 1938 from Hopkinton, Iowa. The route is illustrated in ink on a tipped in map. Photograph subjects include indoor scenes of the group with friends in various lodgings; Cheesman Park, Denver, Colorado; Denver State Capitol; Denver City Park; South Cheyenne Canon; Garden of the Gods; Pike's Peak; Pine, Colorado; the Continental Divide; Salt Lake City, Utah capitol building; monuments and statues in Salt Lake City; Yellowstone National Park, including geysers, vistas, and wildlife; Top of the World Highway (Beartooth Highway); a rodeo at Red Lodge, Montana featuring Alice Greenough; the Black Hills; and the Badlands. The album begins with portraits and descriptions of all five members of the group: Mabel Cranston Briney, Mary Belle Briney, Anna H. Laughlin, Frances Aileen Laughlin, and Leroy Briney, Jr. With handwritten captions including narration of the stops of the journey, quotes, and poetry, plus some preserved flowers and business cards. Mabel Cranston Briney is the first party member listed and is noted on leaf 35 recto as the selector of the quoted passages. Frances Aileen Laughlin is credited as photographer. The majority of the photographs in the scrapbook are 2.75" x 4.5," black and white. Some are hand-colored. A second, uncolored copy of the last photograph in the album is laid in and stamped on the verso: Aug 31 1938 "XL" Film Service Luverne, Minn. Postcards tipped in on front cover verso. Souvenir stickers tipped in on back cover.

Notes:

Wood binding with rivets on covers and painting of desert scene with cacti on front cover. Cover boards attached to spine board with leather cord.

Local Notes:

Ms. Coll 1683: Presented to the Penn Libraries in 2024 by Caroline F. Schimmel.

Cited as:

Mabel Cranston Briney and Frances Aileen Laughlin American West road trip photo album, 1938 June (Ms. Coll 1683). Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania.

OCLC:

1534251271