Life in the Dale: Augustus Martin’s Lenox
Online Exhibits
Augustus E. Martin
(1872 – 1961)
While photography was Martin’s passion, he made a living as a mechanic, paper hanger, and painter. He owned a barber shop, which he leased out in good times, and worked there himself in bad times. He married Ritta Bull, a local girl; they had no children. In later years, they kept a garden, raised chickens, and even offered room and board to travelers, advertising “excellent meals: heart of the Berkshires: $14” in the 1930s.
The Dale
Lenox Dale is in east Lenox, next to the Housatonic River. Initially named Lenox Furnace, the village supported iron works, glass factories, and multiple mills during the 19th century. When the iron and glass factories closed in the 1870s, Lenox Furnace was renamed Lenox Dale, and former industrial workers found positions on the great estates. In 1900, nearly half of the Dale’s residents were immigrants; the largest group was Breton French, followed by Irish, Germans, and Italians. Wealthy Gilded Age Lenox depended on this “other” Lenox to support its extravagant lifestyle.
The Collection
Augustus Martin died in 1961, his wife in 1965. There are few surviving photos from his later years; the glass plate method he used was eclipsed by the Kodak Brownie camera. In the 1960s, two local historians, Robert Liston and Edward Cahalan, gathered material from Lenox Dale that is now archived at the Lenox Historical Society. Nearly 200 Martin glass plates were given to the Lenox Library Association. Thanks to the work of Amy Lafave, this collection is available through the Digital Commonwealth project at lenoxlib.org.
View our other online exhibits:
Thomas Reynolds: The Gardener’s Story
Writing
The Age of Innocence
