For our last “From the Archives,” we celebrated the birthday of Francis W. Kelsey, professor of Latin at the University of Michigan from 1893 to 1927, and namesake of the Kelsey Museum of Archaeology. We know a lot about Professor Kelsey through his letters, his writings, and his work (beautifully distilled in John Griffiths Pedley’s biography, The Life and Work of Francis Willey Kelsey: Archaeology, Antiquity, and the Arts). Kelsey’s body of work is quite impressive, and it is no wonder why he was regarded as an expert during his time.
One other fact about Kelsey we learn through his letters is how devoted a father he was. In this blog and in Pedley’s book we learn more about Kelsey’s personal life, his background, and his family. He wrote to his wife, Mary Isabelle, on a seemingly daily basis when traveling, and often corresponded with his three children, Ruth, Charlotte, and Easton. In a previous blog post, we dedicated Father’s Day to Francis Kelsey, and highlighted his relationship with his offspring.
For this month’s “From the Archives,” we take time to shine the spotlight on the youngest Kelsey, Easton. Easton Trowbridge Kelsey (named after his great-grandmother on his father’s side) was born 22 June 1904 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a full decade after eldest sibling Ruth (born 1894), and seven years after Charlotte (born 1897). He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and received his AB from the University of Michigan.
From the Kelsey archives:
“During the 1920s Easton Kelsey traveled extensively with his father in Europe and the Near East, as photographer’s assistant and chauffeur. Mr. Kelsey entered the U.S. Foreign Service in 1930 and was initially posted to the Foreign Service School of the Dept. of State, followed by assignment to Cairo. Subsequent assignments included Beirut, Oslo, Fort William, Port Arthur, Toronto, Lisbon, and Sao Paulo.
After his retirement from the U.S. Consular Service, Easton Kelsey settled in the Toronto area, where he served as secretary of the Quetico Foundation. He and his wife, the former Vida Kennedy McClure, made a number of gifts to the Kelsey Museum, for the most part, ancient coins which they had collected in Europe and the Near East. Mr. Kelsey passed away on December 18, 1975 in Toronto Canada.”
We have had a chance to see Easton often through these blog posts, as he traveled with his father and his colleagues in Europe, southwest Asia, and northern Africa.
This month, we highlight not only photographs of Easton during his travels (George Swain often placed him next to the monuments he was photographing, for scale), but also his own contributions to the archives. Easton had his own Kodak which he used to capture the sights and sites he visited on his travels. His 500+ photographs are indicated in the archives by the prefix “KK” (Kodak Kelsey). In the sample below, we see photographs of Easton standing next to the pyramids in Giza, with his family in Jerusalem, in Istanbul (then Constantinople), in a wrecked vehicle in France at the end of WWI, standing in a wheat field in England, in Greece. And we also get a glimpse of what he was seeing: views of Dimé (ancient Soknopaiou Nesos) and Cairo, the Parthenon, his mother taking in the pyramids at Giza and Sakkara, his bunk on a ship crossing the Mediterranean. He even captured Swain at work in Patmos, Greece.
This June, we wish the youngest Kelsey child a very happy birthday. He was much loved by his father and was able to enjoy some amazing adventures with him. The archives are a testament to that relationship, and his photographs attest to the excitement they shared together. Happy birthday.
“Wrecked armored car, camouflaged, probably French, on the Miette side of the slope of the ridge. Easton Kelsey inside for scale.” Berry-au-Bac and vicinity, France. October 18, 1919. KS021.05.“Part of train and Easton Kelsey at Agram.” Zagreb. November 16, 1919. KS024.01.“Nearer view of Easton Kelsey and the side of the sleeping car, at Agram.” Zagreb. November 16, 1919. KS024.02.“Easton Kelsey by the parapet of one of the Seven Towers.” Constantinople, Turkey. December 24, 1919. KS053.12.“Easton Kelsey by the flag in the stern of the launch.” Constantinople, Turkey. December 24, 1919. KS054.08.“Our party starting for the Mount of Olives. Beginning at the left; Easton Kelsey, Mrs. E. M. Norton, G. R. Swain, Mrs. Kelsey, the guide and Professor Kelsey.” Jerusalem. January 21, 1920. KS111.01.“Easton Kelsey by the base of one of colossi.” Karnak. February 13 or 14, 1920. KS140.24.“Statues in the second court.” Karnak. February 13, 1920. KK010.“Ruined colossus of Rameses II, Easton Kelsey on top.” Karnak. February 13 or 14, 1920. KK012.“Two of the statues in the Temple of Ammon. Easton Kelsey for scale.” Karnak. February 13 or 14, 1920. KK025.“Guide, with Mrs. Ellen M. Norton (veiled) on a donkey.” February 13 or 14, 1920. KK033.“Statues of Thotmes III, 7th pylon, temple of Ammon.” Karnak. February 13 or 14, 1920. KK034.“Easton Kelsey standing in front of painted reliefs.” Deir el-Bahri, February 13 or 14, 1920.“Sakkara trip. Easton Kelsey on a donkey near the site of Memphis.” Near Memphis, Egypt, February 17, 1920. KK041“Shepheard’s. Easton Kelsey on an upper balcony of the hotel.” Cairo. March 1, 1920. KK071.“Pyramids. The Sphinx and Cheops, with sundry tourists and other animals.” Cairo. March 3, 1920. KK073.“Pyramids. Mrs. F. W. Kelsey in the desert. Cheops and Kephren in the distance.” Cairo. March 26, 1920. KK089.“Pyramids. Easton Kelsey by the base of the first pyramid, Cheops. Shows size of stones.” Cairo. March 26, 1920. KS156.10.“Sakkara trip. Mrs. Kelsey, Easton Kelsey, and G. R. Swain on mules, Sakkara trip; guides by road, palms back.” March 30, 1920. KK119.“Sakkara trip. Guide with Mrs. Kelsey on a donkey, ruined pyramid in the background.” Cairo. March 30, 1920. KK118.“Mosque of Ibn Tuloun, looking from the minaret toward the Citadel and Mosque of Ali.” Cairo. April 19, 1920. KK137.“Mosque of Ibn Tuloun, view from the minaret; somewhat similar to KK 135.” Cairo. April 19, 1920. KK138.“Dimay. Ruins of the temple enclosure, Dimay.” Dimé, Egypt. April 27, 1920. KK156.“Smith-Thompson No. 212 (U.S. Destroyer). Easton Kelsey’s bunk.” Mediterranean, Alexandria to Patmos. May 3, 1920. KK176.“Monastery. G.R. Swain photographing manuscripts on the roof of the monastery.” Patmos, Greece. May 7, 1920. KK195.“Views. Easton Kelsey on a rock in the foreground. Looking toward the harbor and monastery, from north of La Scala.” Patmos, Greece. May 8, 1920. KK204.“General views. Splendid wall of squared stone at the Acropolis, bevelled down the exposed corner. Easton Kelsey for scale. This is the finest masonry on the Acropolis.” On verso of photo: “Patmos. Some of the masonry on the summit of the acropolis. No one knows when or by whom the stone work (of excellent technique) was constructed.” May 15, 1920. 7.0386“Bosporus. Roumeli Hissar. Detail of the stairway inside with Easton Kelsey carrying a camera case.” Constantinople, Turkey. June 14, 1920. KS203.06.“Acropolis. Parthenon, first view as you come up through the Propylaea.” Athens, Greece. June 22, 1920. KK271.“Cookham. An English wheat field, with Easton Kelsey standing in the grain.” Cookham, England. July 18, 1920. KK311.“Easton Kelsey, Swain, guard and the truck.” Ak Shehir Chaussée, Turkey. September 2, 1924. KR098.06.
