John Beattie Granite Works Store Book
Date1890-1899
MediumPhotography
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (a, overall height x width): 3 5/8 × 5 11/16in. (9.2 × 14.4cm)
Primary Dimensions (b, overall height x width): 3 5/8 × 5 11/16in. (9.2 × 14.4cm)
Primary Dimensions (b, overall height x width): 3 5/8 × 5 11/16in. (9.2 × 14.4cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineBequest from the Estate of Elizabeth Beattie
DescriptionBlack and white copy photographs of a coupon book for merchandise at the company store of the John Beattie Granite Works.
Object number2023.17.90a-b
CopyrightPublic Domain
InscribedHandwritten on envelope in blue: “John Beattie granite / works had a / “Company Store” too, / The picture is something / the printer put on for / decoration – looks like / a sawmill with ramp to / the river. / Sold groceries– shoes– / cloth + such”Handwritten on envelope in black ink: “Store Book / John Beattie / Leete Island / He carried no / charge accounts / The granite workers / were a mobile lot + / often left town with / unpaid charge accounts”NotesSubject Note: John Beattie's granite quarry, situated in Guilford on the Long Island Sound, was well-positioned to distribute granite via a fleet of schooners to locations in Connecticut and New York. Notably, granite from Beattie's quarry was used in the pedestal at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
The quarry operated from 1869, when Scottish immigrant Beattie purchased 400 acres of land on Leetes Island, until about 1918, when Beattie's sons closed up shop 20 years after his death. At its height, the quarry employed 700 people, many of them immigrants from Scotland, Ireland, England, Finland, Sweden, and Italy.
On View
Not on view
1890-1918
1890-1918
c. 1912-1913
1890-1918
1918