A Month On Mt. Desert, 1855: Revisiting The Tracy Log Book

A Month On Mt. Desert, 1855: Revisiting The Tracy Log Book

John Bigelow Taylor is a photographer and publisher. He lives with his partner, Dianne Dubler, in New York’s lower Hudson Valley. Together they have produced the photography for over 300 books. Mr. Taylor is the great-great-grandson of Charles Tracy, who along with Frederic Church and 26 others visited Mt. Desert in the summer of 1855. The Tracy party, as it was known, is often cited as the first summer visitors to the island. Charles Tracy’s diary - what he called his Log Book - recounts the visit in wonderful detail. The diary, now in the Morgan Library, was enhanced with a charming series of 19 cartoons created by Church - no doubt to entertain young members of the party on a rainy Somesville day.

The originals, which remain in the Tracy family’s archives, have been reproduced in a large format to be displayed for 2 years at Garland Farm. Mr. Taylor will discuss the Log Book and its history of publication including the 1997 edition, edited by Anne Mazlish, and a new forthcoming edition.

Host or Publisher Beatrix Farrand Society