Tag: archival collections

Introducing the Dudley Borland Card Collection

Posted on by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Do you know what this is?

A historical property listing card containing handwritten notes and details including dates, room layouts, financial information, and owner contact details.
Property card for 140 Upland Road. Dudley Card Borland Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission

The white card above is an example of a property record card from the Dudley & Borland Real Estate and Insurance Company of Cambridge. The company was founded circa 1927 by Robert Parker Dudley (1900-1983) and James Post Borland (1900-1979). Focusing primarily on properties in West Cambridge, their offices were appropriately located at 1374 Mass Ave in Harvard Square.

Portrait of Robert Parker Dudley as published in History of the Class of Nineteen Hundred Twenty-three, Yale College, Volume 1 (p. 112)
Portrait of James P. Borland as printed in The Magazine of Cambridge, January 1946 (p. 28)

Both Dudley and Borland were active in the Cambridge Boy Scouts and various Cambridge organizations. Among other professional activities, Dudley served as a member of the board of the Cambridge Savings Bank and was President of the Society of Real Estate Appraisers. Borland served on the Boston Real Estate Board, Brokers Division, in the Cambridge Chamber of Commerce.

Advertisement for Dudley & Borland real estate and insurance firm in the 1928 Cambridge City Directory

The Cambridge Historical Commission acquired the Dudley & Borland Card Collection in 2021 through the generosity of long-time Cambridge real estate broker Robert (Bob) Crocker, then-owner of the company’s final iteration, Dudley & Borland Ellis & Andrews. Mr. Crocker was a member of the Cambridge Historical Commission and former vice-President of the Cambridge Historical Society, now History Cambridge.

The Dudley Borland Card Collection covers the period from 1927-1979. Each of these white cards contains a record of all the transactions on a single property over a period of years, scribbled in different colored inks. This detailed content on nearly 3,000 properties on 366 Cambridge streets is stunning! Details include the names and contact numbers of owners, the number of floors, the number of rooms and their layout, and the number of baths. Also included are financial town assessment and mortgage histories, construction details, land improvements such as shrubbery and general landscaping, and whether a garage was built on the premises. It is interesting to note that proximity to nearby local grade schools was included on the cards, giving us a clue to the company’s target audience and marketing strategy.

Equally stunning are the nearly 900 photographs in the collection. Visual representation is important in historical preservation and research. In some instances, these photographs provide the Commission with its first photographic record of a home. Often, these photographs fill a visual void and allow us to see what a particular building looked like before subsequent additions, alterations, or demolition.

Black and white photograph of a large, Victorian-style house surrounded by bare trees and a leaf-covered yard.
Example of an image from the collection: 101 Washington Ave circa 1955. Before this collection was donated, the CHC had only one historical photograph of this house, taken in 1890.

In addition, there are photos of land that was less developed than we might see today, such as this photograph showing the corner of Reservoir and Highland Streets:

A black and white photograph of a winding dirt path surrounded by lush greenery and trees, leading to an out-of-focus building in the background.
Dudley Borland Card Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission
Neighborhood views of Coolidge Hill. Dudley Borland Card Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission

A particular property may often contain a “Comparative Sales Chart” document. This is another source of general information about housing costs in similar neighborhoods at the time:

Comparative Sales Chart form for 7 Riedesel Ave. Dudley Borland Card Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission

Additional color-coded, cards in the collection include typed information in brief on date of sale and owner or seller—perhaps tracking real estate deals made by other brokers on houses that might eventually come under the Dudley Borland purview.

Also present are clippings of obituaries from local newspapers featuring many property owners. The inclusion of these clippings adds to the understanding of Dudley & Borland’s market and the essence of the times.

Some of the homes that Dudley & Borland bought or sold had previously passed through the hands of the Ellis Andrews Company real estate firm operating in the same territory. Founded in 1888 (and going through several name changes), Ellis & Andrews was Cambridge’s oldest real estate company. In 1994, the Cambridge Historical Commission received a collection of Ellis & Andrews’ correspondence covering years primarily between 1893-1936. The collection is memorable for the late 19th and early 20th century social conditions and biases revealed in its correspondents. For more information on this collection, see our blog post from 2017: The Ellis & Andrews Real Estate Collection.

The Cambridge Chronicle March 16, 1889 showing ad for William R. Ellis (1846-1903)

There was an overlap in the years both firms were active, especially in the earlier part of the 20th century:

The Cambridge Tribune August 23, 1930

After the original founders of both companies passed on, each company was bought or associated with other real estate/insurance companies. Around 1995, the companies merged, forming Dudley & Borland Ellis & Andrews. This version of the company also passed through several owners.

The Cambridge Chronicle September 21, 1995

These two collections represent over 100 years of real estate transactions in Cambridge. Not only do they contribute to our understanding of the evolution of specific properties and neighborhoods, but they also fill out an overall sense of the times.

Today’s post was written by Kathleen M. Fox

Frances V. Antupit (1934-2025)

Posted on by cambridgehistoricalcommission

We at the CHC were saddened to hear of the passing of a Cambridge icon, Frances Antupit, long-time proprietor of the landmark establishment Koby-Antupit Photography Studios. In her studio, Frances photographed architects, politicians, scientists, and activists, as well as local students, couples, and children.

Frances Antupit in the Boylston/JFK St studio, ca. 1960s. Koby-Antupit Portrait Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission

Frances V. Antupit was born October 5, 1934, and raised in West Hartford, CT. She graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) in 1957. Although Frances took only one photography course, she and a friend would sneak into the school’s darkroom after hours to develop film and make prints. Looking back, Frances laughed at her work from that time–mostly odd compositions of doorways and objects–calling it the “Ashcan School of Photography.”

Paul Koby Studio business card. Koby-Antupit Portrait Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission

Frances soon moved to Boston, intending to pursue a graphic design career, but quickly discovered few positions available. She was interviewed by a Copley Square art director who noticed her eye for photography and suggested she apprentice to an established photographer. In the yellow pages, Frances found an ad for Paul Koby’s studio in Harvard Square. Koby initially dismissed her, but Frances soon convinced him of her abilities, and she began her training in lighting skills, darkroom techniques, and retouching.

View of Paul Koby Photography studio, above the Wursthaus in Harvard Square. Cambridge Historical Commission

Koby left the Boston area in the 1970s. In 1978, despite no formal business training, Frances decided to purchase the business. Along with the studio, Antupit inherited a large collection of Koby’s negatives and prints.

Chris Jennings by Frances Antupit, 1991. Koby-Antupit Portrait Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission
Unknown couple by Francis Antupit, date unknown. Koby-Antupit Portrait Collection, Cambridge Historical Commission

In 1997, Cambridge Savings Bank bought the building that housed Antupit’s studio, and all tenants were given notice to vacate. Frances later opened a new studio but despite her reputation as a creative photographer, the new location proved difficult for returning customers and walk-ins alike. Antupit began afresh in neighboring Belmont before finally retiring. In 2006, Frances donated her collection of photography materials to the CHC. The Koby-Antupit Portrait Collection contains photographic materials taken by and relating to Frances and her work in the studio and material created by Koby.

Read the full obituary
See images from the Koby-Antupit Portrait Collection

Dr. Stella E. Johnson: Medium

Posted on by cambridgehistoricalcommission

Today we’re featuring an otherworldly item from our archival collections: the business card of Dr. Stella E. Johnson.

This card lists Stella as a medium specializing in “Medical, Business and Developing.” For $1, patrons could arrange for a private sitting with Dr. Johnson between the hours of 10 to 12 or 2 to 9 in her quarters at the Hotel Bigelow, 17 Brookline St.

This building, later addressed as 35 Brookline St when street numbers were changed, was constructed in 1889 as designed by mechanical engineer Walter E. Lombard for owner Simeon Snow. An image of the building in 1933 can be seen in the second slide. Snow was a resident of Bigelow Street, a Boston-based leather merchant, and active in Cambridge politics of the day while Lombard was the husband of Snow’s adopted daughter, Nellie. Simeon Snow’s late-Italianate style apartment-hotel stood four-stories and contained accommodations for sixteen families. After WWII, like many wood-frame residences, the Hotel Bigelow was renovated and covered with aluminum siding and much of the detailing was removed to cut costs for owners. While today the building is unadorned, there may be some original fabric underneath the siding.

View of Brookline and Franklin Streets, 1933

Dr. Johnson was born Estella E. Temple in Watertown on June 9, 1850. She married George W. Johnson on December 15, 1868. In the 1900 US census, George and Stella’s marital statuses were listed as divorced, with George living in Walpole and Stella with her brothers Joseph and Alfred in Cambridge. George died in 1903 and beginning in 1910, directories list Stella as widowed. Stella’s first appearance in the Cambridge directories appears in the 1892 edition when she is living at 17 Brookline St. This allows us to date her business card to around 1891. For the next few years, she is listed as a physician living at 353 Harvard St (now demolished) and from around 1896 until her death in 1913, she lived at 9 Meacham Road in North Cambridge.

In her obituary, published in The Cambridge Chronicle on 18 January 1913, she was praised as “skilled in the use [of] herbs and treatment of the sick, and it was her especial delight to afford relief to the sick and those in distress.”