Douglas Armsden Photograph Project
Douglas Armsden in his studio at 240 Whipple Road, Kittery, Maine, c. 1940s.
Between 2018 & 2021, the Athenaeum received the photograph collection of prolific photographer Douglas J. Armsden (1918-2009). Born in England and raised in upstate New York, Armsden and his family settled in Kittery Point, Maine. Armsden’s work captured the essence of the mid-20th century Seacoast region of New England and beyond. His work included wedding photography, family portraits, early documentation of historic houses, commercial and scenic images of Maine and New Hampshire, and editorial work for local newspapers and magazines such as New Hampshire Profile and Down East.
This collection also includes Armsden’s years of service in World War II documenting the Pacific Theater, and his daily life with his wife, Alice Decatur, and their three daughters as well as family and friends in their “little piece of heaven” along Fernald Cove in Kittery Point.
The photographic images in the collection include print photographs, color transparencies, 35 mm film, and both medium- and large-format negatives.
When cataloged, this single collection will double the Athenaeum’s entire photographic collection!
In 2018, the archival supplies for the collection were estimated to cost over $6,500. We received generous donations from members of the Athenaeum, the local community, and Seacoast businesses. In 2019, we were awarded a $1,500 grant from the Rosamond Thaxter Foundation, and on Sept. 8, 2020, the Athenaeum held a Bake Benefit at the Portsmouth Flatbread Company. For every pizza sold between 5 and 9 p.m., a portion of the proceeds went towards purchasing archival supplies. Combining all of these efforts, the Athenaeum raised the necessary funds needed to preserve the initial Armsden donation. Thank you!
While we met our goals for the 2018-2019 material, subsequent Armsden material was donated in late 2020 and 2021. We need an additional $2,500 for archival supplies.
If you would like to contribute to preserving this collection, click on the “Armsden Donate” button to go to PayPal. Remember, you don’t have to be a PayPal member to use PayPal. You can donate as a guest.
If you would prefer to pay by check, please make it out to to the Portsmouth Athenaeum with “Armsden” in the memo line and mail it to “Portsmouth Athenaeum, P.O. Box 366, Portsmouth, NH 03802.”
Thank you for your support!
Preserve Local History
Does Armsden Sound Familiar?
You may have come across Armsden’s photographs already in our collection. During his lifetime, Armsden donated a collection of negatives (P15 Armsden Photograph Collection). These invaluable historic images depict mid-20th century Portsmouth and other Seacoast locales. While there are duplicates in both collections, the images in P15 are an example of what the new complete Armsden collection will offer.
The existing P15 collection will also be reprocessed. Click here to view the P15 collection.
ARMSDEN PROJECT IN THE NEWS
FEATURED IMAGES BY ARMSDEN
![A perfect day to "Hit the Decks" and kick off the summer season on the Seacoast.☀️🚢💃🍷🍻
We are hitting the history deck with this early 1980s view of patrons enjoying drinks on the Riversmere deck at 37 Bow Street in Portsmouth.
What a view with the iconic tugs from Moran Towing and two of the three bridges in the background.😍
We can't help but check out those captain's chairs. #memoriesunlocked
One of the patrons is a member of the United States Air Force, and he was most likely stationed at the nearby Pease Air Force Base, which closed in 1991.
We can date the photograph to no later than 1984 when the Marie Moran tug was sold out of the area.
We'd love to know more about Riversmere. We know the restaurant name was registered in 1970 as Tumbledowns at Riversmere and again in 1979 under the name Whaleback Inn. The restaurant was listed in the early 1980s directories. By the early 1990s, this address was known as Pocos Bow Street Cantina / Poco Diablos, which had been next door at 45 Bow since 1983. After over three decades, Pocos closed last year, and soon Rio Tequila Cantina will open on this site.
The color transparency was captured by commercial photographer Douglas Armsden (1918-2009) of Kittery Point, Maine. Link in bio to find out more about the Armsden Photo Project.
[Courtesy of the Douglas Armsden Collection, Douglas Armsden Transparencies, P0061_00031]
Restaurants, shops, hotels, and other attractions participate in "Hit the Decks," and you can find special deals for this annual event at goportsmouth.com.
Cheers to the new season!🍻
#riversmere #BowStreet #remembertheeighties #HitTheDecksPortsmouth #GoPortsmouthNH #tugboats #PiscataquaRiver #DouglasArmsden #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #Seacoast❤](https://i0.wp.com/portsmouthathenaeum.org/wp-content/plugins/instagram-feed-pro/img/placeholder.png?w=1080&ssl=1)
A perfect day to "Hit the Decks" and kick off the summer season on the Seacoast.☀️🚢💃🍷🍻
We are hitting the history deck with this early 1980s view of patrons enjoying drinks on the Riversmere deck at 37 Bow Street in Portsmouth.
What a view with the iconic tugs from Moran Towing and two of the three bridges in the background.😍
We can't help but check out those captain's chairs. #memoriesunlocked
One of the patrons is a member of the United States Air Force, and he was most likely stationed at the nearby Pease Air Force Base, which closed in 1991.
We can date the photograph to no later than 1984 when the Marie Moran tug was sold out of the area.
We'd love to know more about Riversmere. We know the restaurant name was registered in 1970 as Tumbledowns at Riversmere and again in 1979 under the name Whaleback Inn. The restaurant was listed in the early 1980s directories. By the early 1990s, this address was known as Pocos Bow Street Cantina / Poco Diablos, which had been next door at 45 Bow since 1983. After over three decades, Pocos closed last year, and soon Rio Tequila Cantina will open on this site.
The color transparency was captured by commercial photographer Douglas Armsden (1918-2009) of Kittery Point, Maine. Link in bio to find out more about the Armsden Photo Project.
[Courtesy of the Douglas Armsden Collection, Douglas Armsden Transparencies, P0061_00031]
Restaurants, shops, hotels, and other attractions participate in "Hit the Decks," and you can find special deals for this annual event at goportsmouth.com.
Cheers to the new season!🍻
#riversmere #BowStreet #remembertheeighties #HitTheDecksPortsmouth #GoPortsmouthNH #tugboats #PiscataquaRiver #DouglasArmsden #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #Seacoast❤
Happy #nationallibraryweek 📚
Here are some views of the old Portsmouth Public Library at the corner of Middle and Islington streets in 1948. Who wants to climb into these photos?😍
The photographs were captured by commercial photographer Douglas J. Armsden (1918-2009) of Kittery Point, Maine.
[Armsden Photograph Collection, P15.032]
At the time, the public library occupied the old Academy building. Erected in 1809 from plans by James Nutter, the Portsmouth Academy became a public school from the 1860s until 1890s. In December 1895, architect William A. Ashe remodeled the building for the new Portsmouth Public Library, which opened in 1896.
According to a 1947-article in the Portsmouth Herald, the public library was "an outgrowth of the Young People's union established in 1871, after an address by the late Rev. James D. Normandie. The Unitarian and Universalist societies secured rooms on the corner of Congress and Vaughan streets...In 1880, due partly to the influence of Miss Mary A. Foster, the books were arranged and cataloged. In April of 1881, the Congress hall was rented...The following spring, three rooms in the Franklin building were taken."
About the time of Armsden's photos, Dorothy Vaughan (1904-2004) was the head librarian with assistant librarians Elinor Pingree and Frances M. Anderson. The 1947 city directory listed the following library stats: 55,238 volumes; 85 periodicals on reading-room tables; 20,000 mounted pictures; and 80,635 volumes that circulated in 1946.
Following a 1950s expansion and later a 1970s addition, the library outgrew its space quickly. After many years of public debate, the @portsmouthpubliclibrary opened officially at its new site on Parrott Avenue in January 2007. The former library building is now part of the @portsmouthhistoricalsociety.
#portsmouthpubliclibrary #PPL #portsmouthacademy #IslingtonStreet #DouglasArmsden #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #Seacoast❤
So who else could cut a rug on April 1st with the release of the 1950 census?🙋♂️🙋🤓🎉💃🕺
Pictured are Connie Veilleux, left, and Connie Pendergast [Holt], right, both of Kittery, Maine, dancing at the "Teen-Age Canteen" sponsored by the Wallingford Harris American Legion Post No. 89 in Kittery, Maine, dated October 1950.
Douglas Armsden, of Kittery Point, was the staff photographer for Shoreliner magazine, and the image was used for the article "They Knew What They Wanted" about a weekly informal dance that kept "teen agers 'hep' and happy" at the American Legion.
And here's the caption for the photo:
"Although the jitterbug runs hot in a bobby-soxer's veins, most dancers in this locality seem to prefer the good ole waltz or fox-trot."
It's the bee's knees. #bobbysoxers #FTW🙌
We included a few more images & captions from the article.
2. "Like the cat who swallowed the canary, Jimmie Custer beams his approval as Francis (Babe) Malloy, Director of the City Recreation Projects, presents a box of chocolates to Janice Baird [Daring] who has just won the candy spotlight prize dance. Jitterbug contests, candy prize dances and all manner of others vary the routine of these Saturday night festivities."
3. In the back row (l to r) is Bob Goodwin, co-chairman and WWII veteran; Grace Garrett, auxiliary chairman and Gold Star Mother; and Joe Hamel, co-chairman and WWII veteran. In the front row, (l to r) is Connie Veilleux, president of the Teen-Age Canteen; Polly Cressey [Jabre], secretary; and Norman Ayotte, vice-president.
"Meeting of the board of the Kittery Teen-Age Canteen to plan a special dance. Once or twice annually, an orchestra is hired for big dances... Organized in 1948, the Teen-Age Canteen under the supervision of the American Legion and its Auxiliary, is run for the teen-agers by the teen-agers...In the background is the wonderful gift of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Thorner...the jukebox!"
These images & six more about the #TeenAgeCanteen can be found in our online catalog.
👉Link in bio.
#1950s #imlivingtheteenagecanteen #shoreliner #DouglasArmsden #kitterymaine #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #Seacoast❤
With a few of us on the hunt for last-minute gifts, we thought we'd find inspiration wandering down a toy aisle at J.J. Newberry's on Congress Street, circa 1957.🧸🧒🎄
Newberry's was a five-and-dime store on Congress Street from about 1927 until it closed in early January 1992.
The photograph was by commercial photographer Douglas Armsden of Kittery Point, Maine.
[Armsden Photograph Collection, P15.081]
We see Eegee's crying doll Sniffles complete with her own bar of Ivory soap, Sewing Center kits, Junior's Covered Wagons, Rex 80 coaster wagons, washer & dryer toys, Col-R-Tone Tops, train and farm toys from the Processed Plastic Company, American Plastic Bricks by Elgo, and more.
We cropped a few details from the Armsden photo, and we roughly matched them with existing images of the toys found online from sites such as eBay, Pinterest, and Worthpoint auctions.
What a sight it must have been for a child to walk down that toy aisle in all its full-color glory. In a short video, we used a colorizing app to reimagine, but the colors are a little off.🤷♂️
Do you remember shopping at J.J. Newberry's in Portsmouth? Proprietor Sherry Wood is looking for memories for an upcoming "At the Athenaeum" article on Newberry's. You can share your memories with Sherry via email using jsmith@portsmouthathenaeum.org with "J.J. Newberry" in the subject line.
#jjnewberry #CongressStreet
#DouglasArmsden
#christmaseve #toys #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #Seacoast❤
Happy Thanksgiving!🦃
Here is one of several photos of a Thanksgiving party hosted by the Smith family at the Rockingham Hotel on State Street in Portsmouth, c. 1960s.
Margaret Tasher Smith (1907-1995) is seen holding her plate while an unidentified chef carves into the turkey. Margaret and her husband James Barker Smith operated the Wentworth-by-the-Sea Hotel in New Castle from 1946 until 1980. From all appearances, the Smiths loved a themed party, and this feast was no exception. Other photos include a female bartender dressed as a Pilgrim serving drinks.🥂
[Photo by Douglas Armsden, Wentworth-by-the-Sea Photograph Collection, P24.599]
Margaret originally gave the hotel's records (including the photograph collection) to the Henley Corporation, the new hotel owners, believing that the collection should stay within the hotel. When the hotel operations declined and the building was threatened with demolition, the material was given to the Friends of the Wentworth, an organization dedicated to preserving the Wentworth-by-the Sea. In 1994, the Friends brought the collection to the Athenaeum, which we are thankful.🙏
#happythanksgiving #rockingamhotel #WentworthbytheSea #MargaretTasherSmith #DouglasArmsden #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #NH #Maine #Seacoast❤
Harvesting up another image for #TransparencyTuesday 🦀🍎
Pictured are a group of children gathering crab apples in the front yard of the Armsden residence on Pepperrell Road, Kittery Point, Maine. Undated.
The two girls are the daughters of Douglas (the photographer) and Alice Decatur Armsden. On the left is Gay and on the right is Catherine. In the foreground, the two boys are neighbors Larry Forbes, left, and Tommy Struzenski, right.
[Douglas Armsden Transparencies, P0061_00501]
You can learn more about the Armsden Photograph Project on our website. Link in bio.
#kitterypointmaine #harvest #crabapples #DouglasArmsden
#collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #Maine #Seacoast❤
An autumn view of the oldest surviving wood-frame house in New Hampshire.🍂 #TransparencyTuesday
Built circa 1664, the Richard Jackson House still stands on Northwest Street along the north shore (also known historically as the Christian Shore) of the North Mill Pond in Portsmouth.
For seven generations, the building remained in the Jackson family until 1924 when the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities (now known as @historicnewengland) purchased the property. Today, the historic house museum is opened seasonally.
The undated image was taken by local commercial photographer Douglas Armsden (1918-2009). You can learn more about the Armsden Project on our website. Link in bio.
[Douglas Armsden Transparencies, P0061_00185]
#RichardJacksonHouse #JacksonHouse #historicnewengland #DouglasArmsden #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #NH #Maine #Seacoast❤
Have you picked out your pumpkins yet? 🎃🍂🍁 #TransparencyTuesday
Here an older man carves into a pumpkin while a young boy, possibly his grandson, looks on. Both are unidentified, but they may be related to the Armsden family of Kittery Point, Maine, and the image may have been taken in the Kittery vicinity, c. 1950.
UPDATE: A similar image (though printed in b/w) was used as the cover of Shoreliner magazine in October 1951. The photo caption was the following:
"October means just one thing to a small boy... Halloween! And Halloween means, of course, jack-o-lanterns. Not every small boy is as fortunate as the tow-headed lad in our picture in having a willing friend, wise in the ways of carving pumpkin heads, to wield the jackknife. Percy Amee, well known resident of Kittery Point, Me., is carving the orange pumpkin for his young neighbor, John Rice, in this appealing photo by Douglas Armsden."
James Percy Amee (1871-1960) was a lifelong resident of Kittery Point and worked at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard as a marine engineer until he retired in 1937. He and his wife, Grace Hoyt, raised their family on their farm on Chauncey Creek Road where this photo was taken.
Local commercial photographer Douglas Armsden (1918-2009) lived near Mr. Amee. You can learn more about our ongoing project to process the Armsden collection, an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 images, by clicking on the link in our bio.
[Douglas Armsden Transparencies, P0061_00500.]
Thank you to @bevdan48 for the update!🙏
#jackolantern #pumpkins #ameefamily #ricefamily #Shoreliner #Halloween #DouglasArmsden #kitterypointmaine #chaunceycreek #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #seacoast❤
Do you recognize this view?👁🐦👁
From an aerial image, we've zoomed into sections of the old North End neighborhood, c. 1967. And they are in color!🥰
By the early 20th century, the North End had become a true American melting pot, with a richly diverse population, and while predominately Italian, the neighborhood included Yankee-born, Greek, Polish, Chinese, Swedish and African-American families. This image is historically significant since almost the entire North End was demolished during the Vaughan Street Urban Renewal Project, c.1968-1973.
[Douglas Armsden Transparencies, P0061_00010]
To help orientate, the first image is the site of the c. 1972 Portsmouth Herald building at the intersection of Maplewood & Raynes avenues. The next image is mainly the site of the c. 1985 Sheraton Hotel on the corner of Market & Deer streets. We've also included close-ups of Market Square, Prescott Park, and the original aerial shot, which goes beyond New Castle to the Isles of Shoals. #asthecrowflies
The color positive film was taken by local commercial photographer Douglas Armsden (1918-2009). And with the assistance of UNH intern Jess Manning, we've begun cataloging this colorful grouping from the 25,000 to 30,000 images recently donated by his daughters.❤
We are still in need of additional archival supplies to preserve this historically valuable material. On our website you can learn more about the project and how to donate.🙏👉Link in bio.
Going forward, we'll be using #TransparencyTuesday to share ongoing examples of this new collection.
You can also learn more about the North End neighborhood in our online catalog. If you have North End photographs we would love to preserve or create a digital scan of them for future generations. Please contact James at jsmith@portsmouthathenaeum.org.
#DouglasArmsden #aerialphotographs #NorthEnd #LostPortsmouth #lostneighborhood #collectpreserveshare📖 #localhistory #PortsmouthNH #nh #Maine #seacoast❤