Description: “Bar Harbor Days” by Mrs. Burton Harrison with illustrations by Fenn and Hyde was published by Harper & Brothers, Franklin Square, New York, 1887.
Together, the pictures and text evoke the spirit of the Golden Age of Bar Harbor, with all the accoutrements of the rich and famous robber barons who summered there. Included are images of steamships and railroads; the summer homes, or cottages, and their gardens; the fabulous grand hotels; people in period dress in leisure pursuits; and the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1947, as well as views of the town and harbor and Acadia National Park.
Description: Together, the pictures and text evoke the spirit of the Golden Age of Bar Harbor, with all the accoutrements of the rich and famous robber barons who summered there. Included are images of steamships and railroads; the summer homes, or cottages, and their gardens; the fabulous grand hotels; people in period dress in leisure pursuits; and the aftermath of the Great Fire of 1947, as well as views of the town and harbor and Acadia National Park.
From the 1880s to the end of World War I, the fashionable resort of Bar Harbor attracted thousands of summer visitors with the money and leisure to pursue "the simple life on a grand scale," as A. Atwater Kent put it. They came to rusticate, dance, sail, picnic, flirt--and they did it all with style. Many relaxed at Bar Harbor's lavish hotels, while others built even more lavish and fanciful "cottages" for their own summer retreats. That dazzling era is just a memory now. The Depression and World War II undermined the summer colony, and the Great Fire of 1947 dealt the final blow. Those summer homes and hotels that survived the blaze generally succumbed to changing times, and only a handful stand today. Eighty-six vanished summer palaces are pictured in Lost Bar Harbor. Many never before published photographs from the Bar Harbor Historical Society are supplemented by lively text describing the estates and their colorful inhabitants. It is the most comprehensive collection of early Bar Harbor photographs ever assembled, providing an unparalleled glimpse of one of the world's great resort communities.
Description: From the 1880s to the end of World War I, the fashionable resort of Bar Harbor attracted thousands of summer visitors with the money and leisure to pursue "the simple life on a grand scale," as A. Atwater Kent put it. They came to rusticate, dance, sail, picnic, flirt--and they did it all with style. Many relaxed at Bar Harbor's lavish hotels, while others built even more lavish and fanciful "cottages" for their own summer retreats. That dazzling era is just a memory now. The Depression and World War II undermined the summer colony, and the Great Fire of 1947 dealt the final blow. Those summer homes and hotels that survived the blaze generally succumbed to changing times, and only a handful stand today. Eighty-six vanished summer palaces are pictured in Lost Bar Harbor. Many never before published photographs from the Bar Harbor Historical Society are supplemented by lively text describing the estates and their colorful inhabitants. It is the most comprehensive collection of early Bar Harbor photographs ever assembled, providing an unparalleled glimpse of one of the world's great resort communities. [show more]
American Horse Breeder Publishing Co. postcard with hand written local inscription Number 5903. According to Jeff Beaumont, the car in the illustration is a 1906 Rambler. "In Mt. Desert, Tremont and Southwest Harbor nearly all the voters have signed the petitions while in the town of Eden [Bar Harbor] more than half of the voters have signed and a number of names are being added to the list each day. As is well known, practically every summer visitor to the island favors the absolute prohibition of automobiles on the island. The island of Mt. Desert is a dead end, so to speak, and an automobile could cover the whole island in a few hours, making no incentive for a prolonged stay. Yet a great deal of damage could be accomplished in a few hours in such a place as this where practically the entire summer population passes a large portion of each day in driving. The horses are not city broke and the numerous accidents that have already occurred here through the use of autos furnish a good specimen of what would happen were their use more common." - The Bar Harbor Record, December 30, 1908, quoted in the Bar Harbor Times, “Times Past” column by Deborah Dyer, January 1, 2009 See SWHPL 7484 for a photograph of Simeon "Sim" Holden Mayo breaking the rules and driving his automobile in Bar Harbor in 1908.
Description: American Horse Breeder Publishing Co. postcard with hand written local inscription Number 5903. According to Jeff Beaumont, the car in the illustration is a 1906 Rambler. "In Mt. Desert, Tremont and Southwest Harbor nearly all the voters have signed the petitions while in the town of Eden [Bar Harbor] more than half of the voters have signed and a number of names are being added to the list each day. As is well known, practically every summer visitor to the island favors the absolute prohibition of automobiles on the island. The island of Mt. Desert is a dead end, so to speak, and an automobile could cover the whole island in a few hours, making no incentive for a prolonged stay. Yet a great deal of damage could be accomplished in a few hours in such a place as this where practically the entire summer population passes a large portion of each day in driving. The horses are not city broke and the numerous accidents that have already occurred here through the use of autos furnish a good specimen of what would happen were their use more common." - The Bar Harbor Record, December 30, 1908, quoted in the Bar Harbor Times, “Times Past” column by Deborah Dyer, January 1, 2009 See SWHPL 7484 for a photograph of Simeon "Sim" Holden Mayo breaking the rules and driving his automobile in Bar Harbor in 1908. [show more]
Mount Desert has been one of America's favorite tourist destinations for over 150 years. As early as the 1840s, the lush landscape of this island on the Maine coast attracted artists and writers, who soon made Mount Desert's beauty famous with their paintings and publications. The stream of tourists that began traveling to the island after the Civil War prompted a building boom of cottages, hotels, and various buildings in Bar Harbor and other towns in the vicinity. Fred Savage (1861–1924) was the most influential architect in the development of Mount Desert and northeastern Maine, designing over three hundred buildings. Richly illustrated with archival drawings, photographs, and newly commissioned color photography, Maine Cottages presents all of Savage's most important works while placing the life and career of this architect in the larger context of Mount Desert Island.
Description: Mount Desert has been one of America's favorite tourist destinations for over 150 years. As early as the 1840s, the lush landscape of this island on the Maine coast attracted artists and writers, who soon made Mount Desert's beauty famous with their paintings and publications. The stream of tourists that began traveling to the island after the Civil War prompted a building boom of cottages, hotels, and various buildings in Bar Harbor and other towns in the vicinity. Fred Savage (1861–1924) was the most influential architect in the development of Mount Desert and northeastern Maine, designing over three hundred buildings. Richly illustrated with archival drawings, photographs, and newly commissioned color photography, Maine Cottages presents all of Savage's most important works while placing the life and career of this architect in the larger context of Mount Desert Island. [show more]
This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the Henry R. Hinckley Company and Southwest Boat Corporation. ISBN-10: 0963566822 ISBN-13: 978-0963566829
Description: This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of the Henry R. Hinckley Company and Southwest Boat Corporation. ISBN-10: 0963566822 ISBN-13: 978-0963566829
Several images from the Southwest Harbor Public Library Digital Archive appear in this book. Hardcover: 224 pages ISBN-10: 9780847842155 ISBN-13: 978-0847842155
Description: Several images from the Southwest Harbor Public Library Digital Archive appear in this book. Hardcover: 224 pages ISBN-10: 9780847842155 ISBN-13: 978-0847842155
This book was originally published in 1935 and was reprinted 2013 to bring to the newer generations the rich history of the Brooks community specifically, and that of Waldo County generally. This publication includes 50 chapters starting with the Muscongus Grant (Waldo Patent) and culminating with Tombstone Inscriptions, References, and an Appendix of Birth, Marriages and Deaths from 1930 to 1934.
Description: This book was originally published in 1935 and was reprinted 2013 to bring to the newer generations the rich history of the Brooks community specifically, and that of Waldo County generally. This publication includes 50 chapters starting with the Muscongus Grant (Waldo Patent) and culminating with Tombstone Inscriptions, References, and an Appendix of Birth, Marriages and Deaths from 1930 to 1934.
Historian, Genealogist, Musician, Boat Builder, Author, Raconteur - there is only one Ralph Stanley. Ralph bears many titles and awards, but for the Southwest Harbor Public Library he is, most of all, a friend. Ralph started using the library as a child and continued as an adult, graduated to Trustee, to President of the Trustees, and, in 2013, became our first Trustee Emeritus. Since 2007 he has spent hundreds of hours patiently identifying people, places and vessels in the Digital Archive. He gave the library his vast collection of photographs, The Ralph Warren Stanley Collection, in 2014. For years he has told us stories of his family, friends and adventures on Mount Desert Island. Archivists have written down almost every word and fact – a treasure for the collection and for the community. This is his chef d’oeuvre, The Stanleys of Cranberry Isles…and Other Colorful Characters, Ralph’s own story, based on his own research and in his own words. To purchase the print version of this book please contact the Southwest Harbor Public Library at archivist@swhplibrary.org or (207) 244-7065.
Description: Historian, Genealogist, Musician, Boat Builder, Author, Raconteur - there is only one Ralph Stanley. Ralph bears many titles and awards, but for the Southwest Harbor Public Library he is, most of all, a friend. Ralph started using the library as a child and continued as an adult, graduated to Trustee, to President of the Trustees, and, in 2013, became our first Trustee Emeritus. Since 2007 he has spent hundreds of hours patiently identifying people, places and vessels in the Digital Archive. He gave the library his vast collection of photographs, The Ralph Warren Stanley Collection, in 2014. For years he has told us stories of his family, friends and adventures on Mount Desert Island. Archivists have written down almost every word and fact – a treasure for the collection and for the community. This is his chef d’oeuvre, The Stanleys of Cranberry Isles…and Other Colorful Characters, Ralph’s own story, based on his own research and in his own words. To purchase the print version of this book please contact the Southwest Harbor Public Library at archivist@swhplibrary.org or (207) 244-7065. [show more]