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Archives For November 30, 1999
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.
Unknown painting, September 28th, 1813
Shown with pencil for scale
Sarah Jane Cochran Sanford (Gertrude’s paternal grandmother) cabinet card
Stephen Sanford (Gertrude’s paternal grandfather), undated
Tintype image case
Leather tintype image case
Ethel Sanford (Gertrude’s mother), undated (mid 1800s)
Ethel Sanford, undated (mid 1800s)
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.
Aiken, 1913
Aiken and Atlantic City, early 1900s
Gertrude was an avid writer and artist, and she kept detailed journals of each place she visited over the years. She also wrote several books, including The Sands Ceased to Run, Gertie!, The Time of My Life. Below are images of these manuscripts in their different forms — from scrawled notes to final drafts!
Handwritten preliminary chapter list
Two of Gertie’s travel journals
Testing image placement and captions
A response to one of Gertie’s many solicitations for publication
Manuscript corrections for The Time of My Life
“Final” draft!
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!
New York, c. 1930
New York, c. 1930
Paris, c. 1880
Paris, c. 1880
Paris, c. 1880
“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.
Gertrude’s youngest daughter, Bokara, recounts her haunting experiences at Medway Plantation. Read the full article here.
“In 2000, Bokara Legendre, an artist and a stage performer, inherited her family’s plantation in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. She promptly set about making the place her own, redecorating the antebellum mansion with abstract paintings and a pastel color scheme. But this seemed to unsettle the house. The first night Legendre spent in her redone bedroom, there was a problem with the fireplace, and the chamber filled with thick black smoke. As a member of the plantation staff put out the fire, he glimpsed an apparition: the late mistress of the house, Legendre’s mother, Gertie. She was not pleased with the changes…”
Image credit: Katherine Wolkoff for The New York Times
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!
Lots of film formats
Polo balls…Gertrude’s brother, Stephen “Laddie” Sanford was a well-known polo player and horse breeder!
Correspondence from Hon. John Sanford, Gertrude’s father, c. 1880
This collection was originally kept in an “archives room” at Gertrude Legendre’s former home at Medway Plantation in Goose Creek, SC. After the Legendre family donated the materials, a team of archivists from College of Charleston’s special collections painstakingly labeled, tagged, boxed, and moved the entire 176 linear foot collection to its new home at the Addlestone Library.
Main house at Medway
The “archives room” at Medway
Temporary storage at the College of Charleston’s Marlene and Nathan Addlestone Library