From the Archives: Frank Cousins Photographs
FROM THE ARCHIVES: This photograph of the parlor, taken by Frank Cousins, dates to sometime between 1865 and 1914 and is held by the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. It is one of a collection of 18 of his photographs held by the library featuring the interior and exterior of the Keith House (additional images below).
Frank Cousins (July 1, 1851 – June 6, 1925) was an American writer and photographer of Federal style architecture in New England. His photographs added to the preservation movement in the early 1900s by documenting buildings and a style of architecture that was in danger of being demolished. He was born, lived, and worked in Salem, MA. In addition to New England, he photographed landmarks and architecture in Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City, and other locations in the eastern United States as well as in Europe. In 1913, he was contracted by the Art Commission of New York City to document buildings that were to be demolished. He was especially interested in locales related to the author Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was also from Salem.
