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blogbrainsmallSeacoast History Blog #112  
April 17, 2011

At first reader John Cowles thought he had located a previously unknown image of island poet Celia Thaxter. I think probably not. I’ve seen a score of images of Celia over the years and the one below bears only a slight resemblance. So the question is, who is she? The engraving came with a pile of other engravings the same size, John says. Those he recognized were often famous writers like James Fenimore Cooper and Charles Dickens, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Others were US political figures like John Jay, Benjamin Franklin, Salmon Chase, William Seward, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster. (Continued below)

If you recognize this lady, send along an email and a link to a Web page whre we can confirm her identity. And thanks in advance. We love posting curious pix from readers, and there are more to come

Mystery_Woman

The Mystery Solved

From SeacaostNH.com Reader Jane Davis

I found the Mystery Woman -- Elizabeth Stuart Phelps (most likely an acquaintance of Celia Thaxter). I kept thinking that she was either Willa Cather or Sara Orne Jewett and I found a web site of Sara Orne Jewett's circle of friends that included pictures of Sara, Willa, and Celia....and this one of Elizabeth.

 


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