Ruth Priest Gray Scrap Book Collection
Collection
Identifier: CHC044
Collection Description
This collection of scrap books were prepared by Ruth P. Gray, span a forty-five year time period, and are made up predominantly of newspaper clippings, with a scattering of magazine articles and fliers. The scrap books give a sweeping picture of the environment and life of Cambridge in the latter half of the Twentieth Century. Mrs. Gray was interested in a wide variety of Cambridge subject matter, including obituaries, retirements, fires, personalities, organizations, local color, community services, historical items, and celebrations. But above all she recorded the built environment of the City of Cambridge. Topics notably absent here include politics, engagements and weddings.
Dates
- 1936-1981
Language of Materials
Material is in English.
Access and Use
Collection is available for research under the CHC rules of use.
The clippings and other materials are too fragile to be made available for use by the general public. For preservation purposes, all four scrap books have been reconstituted, their photocopied pages exactly replicate the original volumes, and are accessible for general use.
The clippings and other materials are too fragile to be made available for use by the general public. For preservation purposes, all four scrap books have been reconstituted, their photocopied pages exactly replicate the original volumes, and are accessible for general use.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for materials resides with the creators of the items in question, unless otherwise designated.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to understand and observe copyright law and to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright. Questions concerning copyright and permission to publish should be directed to the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to understand and observe copyright law and to identify and satisfy the holders of all copyright. Questions concerning copyright and permission to publish should be directed to the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives.
Historical and biographical Note
Ruth Priest Gray was a life long resident of Cambridge and one of a sturdy breed of educated New England ladies with strong convictions, and with equally strong energy and commitment to serve her community. A biographical sketch of Ruth Gray is included in Series V -- Ruth Priest Gray, Personal Information.
Mrs. Gray was interested in a wide variety of Cambridge subject matter, too diverse to be named in detail, but included obituaries, retirements, fires, personalities, organizations, local color, community services, historical items, and celebrations. But above all she recorded the environment of the City of Cambridge: the construction of new buildings, parks, water supply, and street scenes. Topics notably absent here include politics, engagements and weddings.
Mrs. Gray was interested in a wide variety of Cambridge subject matter, too diverse to be named in detail, but included obituaries, retirements, fires, personalities, organizations, local color, community services, historical items, and celebrations. But above all she recorded the environment of the City of Cambridge: the construction of new buildings, parks, water supply, and street scenes. Topics notably absent here include politics, engagements and weddings.
Extent
0.5 linear feet
2 records cartons (1 flat box)
Abstract
This collection of scrap books were prepared by Ruth P. Gray, span a forty-five year time period, and are made up predominantly of newspaper clippings, with a scattering of magazine articles and fliers. The scrap books give a sweeping picture of the environment and life of Cambridge in the latter half of the Twentieth Century. Mrs. Gray was interested in a wide variety of Cambridge subject matter, including obituaries, retirements, fires, personalities, organizations, local color, community services, historical items, and celebrations. But above all she recorded the built environment of the City of Cambridge. Topics notably absent here include politics, engagements and weddings.
Collection Arrangement
The collection is divided into four series corresponding to the four scrap books with a final biographical section on Ruth Priest Gray.
- Series I: Scrap Book Number I 1936-1966
- Series II: Scrap Book Number II_1959-1965
- Series III: Scrap Book Number III 1966-1971
- Series IV: Scrap Book Number IV 1971-1981
- Series V: Ruth Priest Gray, Personal Information
Physical Location
Collection is stored on-site.
Provenance
This collection of scrap books was purchased in 2005 from the online auction house, eBay, by Charles M. Sullivan, Executive Director of the Cambridge Historical Commission.
Separated Material
The original consignment included six scrap books, five prepared by Ruth Priest Gray and one by Cora R. Gray. Two of these scraps books, one on Boston by Ruth Gray and one on historic houses of New England by Cora Gray, were not taken into the collection, since their subject matter falls outside the purview of the Cambridge Historical Commission. These two books are, however, preserved with the collection. They are: Clippings of Boston, 1967-1981, by Ruth Priest Gray and Pictures of New England Historic Houses, 1930 and undated, by Cora R. Gray.
One photograph of an unidentified woman was removed and placed with the archival storage box “Misc. People.” It was labeled “Daniel W. Shaw Collection” for identification purposes. Fifteen 1” by 2” cards that had illustrations on them which only could be seen when held to a light were given to SPNEA in July of 1995.
One photograph of an unidentified woman was removed and placed with the archival storage box “Misc. People.” It was labeled “Daniel W. Shaw Collection” for identification purposes. Fifteen 1” by 2” cards that had illustrations on them which only could be seen when held to a light were given to SPNEA in July of 1995.
Processing Information
Processing and finding aid by H. Alice Dodds, 2007-2008. Encoded by Brittany Fox, January 2021.
The earliest volume, Scrap Book I, had hard covers and was bound with a cord. Scrap Books II and III were made of the simplest spiral bound notebooks with blue lined white paper. The pages of Scrap Book IV were loose and held in a file folder. The covers of these scrap books have been removed to allow for processing and preservation, but are preserved with the collection.
The clippings and other materials are affixed to the scrap book pages by water based glue and are far too fragile to be made available for use by the general public. However, all four scrap books have been reconstituted, their photocopied pages exactly replicate the original volumes, and are accessible for general use.
Box I houses the surrogate records available for research and Box II contains the four original scrapbooks that have been processed and the two scrap books that have not been processed.
The earliest volume, Scrap Book I, had hard covers and was bound with a cord. Scrap Books II and III were made of the simplest spiral bound notebooks with blue lined white paper. The pages of Scrap Book IV were loose and held in a file folder. The covers of these scrap books have been removed to allow for processing and preservation, but are preserved with the collection.
The clippings and other materials are affixed to the scrap book pages by water based glue and are far too fragile to be made available for use by the general public. However, all four scrap books have been reconstituted, their photocopied pages exactly replicate the original volumes, and are accessible for general use.
Box I houses the surrogate records available for research and Box II contains the four original scrapbooks that have been processed and the two scrap books that have not been processed.
- Title
- Inventory of the Ruth Priest Gray Scrap Book Collection, 1936-1981
- Author
- Processing and finding aid by H. Alice Dodds, 2007-2008. Machine-readable finding aid by Brittany Fox, January 2021.
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Was Prepared Using Dacs
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Description is in English.
Repository Details
Part of the Cambridge Historical Commission Archives Repository
Contact:
831 Massachusetts Avenue
2nd Floor
Cambridge Massachusetts 02139 US
617-349-4683
histcomm@cambridgema.gov
831 Massachusetts Avenue
2nd Floor
Cambridge Massachusetts 02139 US
617-349-4683
histcomm@cambridgema.gov