Name/Title
Carleton Kelsey CollectionEntry/Object ID
ARC.0936Scope and Content
The Carleton Kelsey Collection is comprised of postcards, photographs, negatives, slides, albums, articles, and research material relating to the growth of Montauk during the development of the railroad in the mid-1890s through the 1950s. Primary topics include the 1938 hurricane, Camp Hero, Camp Wikoff, Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders, the Coast Guard station, Fort Pond Bay Fishing Village, Montauk Association Houses, Montauk Lighthouse, Montauk Inn, Long Island Rail Road, and the Smith Meal Fish Factory at the Promised Land. An album of cyanotypes (c. 1890s) depicts exterior and interior views of the Montauk Association Houses alongside landscapes of Signal Hill, Lake Wyandanch, Oyster Pond, Gardiner's Island and Montauk Point. The collection includes an album of negatives taken by Richard F. Roberts of Montauk's ocean shores, cliffs, houses, roads, railroad station, buildings, and manor. A small collection of later photographs timestamped 2001 documenting various buildings around Montauk.Archive Details
Creator
Carleton KelseyDate(s) of Creation
1885 - 2001Archive Size/Extent
3 boxesRestrictions
Digital access copies can be found on New York Heritage Digital Collections. To view the physical collection, contact archives@montauklibrary.org to schedule a research appointment. The collection is open for research and can be used within the library under the supervision of the archivist.Archive Items Details
Title
Photograph & Photograph CollectionCreator
Carleton KelseyDate(s) of Creation
1897 - 2001Title
Montauk ca. 1930 (Album)Creator
Richard F. RobertsDate(s) of Creation
1930Title
Montauk Association Houses AlbumDate(s) of Creation
1885 - 1900Title
The Book of Common Prayer, Montauk Association 1887Date(s) of Creation
1887Acquisition
Acquisition Method
GiftAcquired From
Carleton KelseyCopyright
Type of License
In copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Copyright Holder
Montauk LibraryCopyright Details
Researchers assume all responsibility for copyright questions. Fair use is permitted. For all other uses please contact archives@montauklibrary.org.General Notes
Note Type
Historical NoteNote
Carleton Kelsey (1913-2005) was East Hampton Town Historian for 12 years, and Director of the Amagansett Library from 1964 to the year 2000. Born in Amagansett, New York, Montauk’s neighbor 11 miles to the east, Kelsey was fascinated with local history, antiques, and books. Even as a child, he dreamed of becoming a librarian. “I used to play librarian as a kid, instead of doctor. I had a dater, a stamp pad, and cards I arranged alphabetically,” Kelsey told a reporter in 1996 (recalled in his East Hampton Star obituary, 8.25.2005).
Carlton Kelsey’s passion for local history was contagious. He loved old houses and told stories of their owners, but he was also an expert on how those houses were built, becoming a consultant on early architecture. He collected traditions and folklore, myths and legends, and thousands of postcards and photographs relating to the East End.
In 2003, two years before his death, Kelsey’s postcards and photographs were distributed among various East End institutions according to subject matter and theme. The Montauk Library received over 300 photographs and postcards. Many rare views were included in the donation. The Amagansett Historical Association, of which Kelsey was a founding member, was the recipient of over 5,000 images. That collection is currently housed in the Long Island History Room of the East Hampton Library, where it is being digitized.