Images(5)

Friendship Album for Martha A. Corning

Date1859-1867

Owned by Martha A. Corning

Publisher Leavitt & Allen

OriginAmerica, New York, Palmyra

MediumLeather bound album with paper, plant specimens, and textiles

DimensionsOverall: 8 3/8 × 7 × 3/4in. (21.3 × 17.8 × 1.9cm)

Credit LineBequest of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Hennage

Object number2023.1300.1

DescriptionA leather book filled with notes, drawings, prints, and natural materials.
Label TextThis album was given to Martha A. Corning of Palmyra, New York by her brother, John W. Corning. It is filled with signatures, verses, poems, and letters from Martha's friends and family, including drawings, notes, and plant specimens from her father, Lieutenant Colonel Joseph W. Corning, who served in the 33rd New York Infantry during the American Civil War. One page of the album includes a print of barns that were repurposed as hospitals during the Battle of Williamsburg, which his regiment fought in. Below the image, Joseph W. Corning wrote personal comments on the battle.

The practice of passing an album from friend to friend so that they could sign, share heartfelt verses, or write personalized letters in it reached its height near the start of the Civil War. Women often received an album when they graduated from school or celebrated their marriage, as these life changes marked the end of childhood and often shifted friendship dynamics. Along with the responsibilities of wifehood and motherhood, the entrance into adulthood came with a fear of an untimely death due to complications during childbirth. Martha gathered signatures from men and women in her home of Palmyra; in surrounding towns including Seneca Falls, Newark, Ontario, and Rochester; and in her father’s hometown of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
Inscribedon first page:
"Martha A. Corning,
from her Brother,
January 1st 1859."
ProvenanceDate unknown-1990, Albert [1926-2021] and Shirley Small (Bethesda, MD); 1990-2020, Joseph H. [1921-2010] and June S. [1927-2020] Hennage (Williamsburg, VA); 2023-present, bequeathed to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.