Archives For November 30, 1999
Exciting news! We now have 11 photo albums available in the Lowcountry Digital Library:
http://lcdl.library.cofc.edu/content/gertrude-sanford-legendre-papers-1836-2000
Coming soon: WWII Nazi and Fascist leader photographs, approximately 10 new photo albums (including Indo-China and various African expeditions), World War II correspondence, and photo portraits of Gertrude Legendre by famed artists such as Man Ray, George Platt Lynes, Toni Frissell and Charlotte Fairchild. Enjoy!
This collection includes a sizable amount of full newspapers and clippings. Below are some of the most notable articles available, including a tribute to former United States President and American Civil War commander, Ulysses S. Grant.
Some of the oldest items in the Gertrude Sanford Legendre papers are daguerreotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, and sketches created in the early 19th century. Daguerreotypes and tintypes represent some of the earliest known versions of photography, and were used primarily from the 1840s-1870s.
Gertrude was born in 1902 in Aiken, SC, into a family with two older siblings, Sara Jane “Janie” Sanford and Stephen “Laddie” Sanford. Below are a two scrapbook pages from the children’s early years.
Gertrude’s sister, Sarah Jane (“Janie”) Cochran Sanford, married Italian diplomat, Mario Pansa, in 1937. Pansa played polo with Stephen Sanford, and served as a social adviser to Benito Mussolini before and during World War II. Below are images of the couple, as well as images from Mario’s time in fascist Italy and Germany during WWII.
We are still in the process of identifying some of the men in these photographs. If you recognize someone, let us know (mchughck@cofc.edu)!
Take a look at some photos of an interesting autograph book kept by Gertrude’s relatives (circa 1866). Autograph books were traditionally kept between friends and relatives and were used to collect small sketches, poems, pieces of verse, and other mementos — kind of like a yearbook! Calligraphy is such an art!
Both Gertrude and her mother, Ethel Sanford, commissioned their finest garments from designers in Paris and New York. Take a look at these beautiful hand-drawn patterns, complete with original swatches!
“The life of Gertrude Sanford Legendre is more like that of a fictional character in a Hollywood film than reality: socialite, heiress, world traveler, spy, game hunter, and philanthropist. In fact, it has been said that Mrs. Legendre inspired Katharine Hepburn’s character in the 1938 film Holiday. Certainly, she was not the average 20th century American woman…”
Read the full article in the fall 2012 issue of Discovery, the newsletter of the College of Charleston Friends of the Library.
Since this collection was organized and kept arranged by an archivist during its time at Medway, most of the materials were already placed in archival-quality boxes and had its own unique arrangement system. Check out a few photos from the initial survey — this collection spans over 3 generations and includes over 15 different formats!