Suburban homes on the "Old Colony." A directory for those who seek a suburban residence.

Suburban homes on the "Old Colony." A directory for those who seek a suburban residence.

Boston, Passenger Dept., Old Colony Railroad

1889

This directory is significant to the Lamplighter since it is about suburban homes on “Old Colony”, a place in Boston – the setting of this novel. This directory was published in 1889, around 35 years after “The Lamplighter” was published (1854), but the descriptions of the houses in the directory indicate that these suburban houses have been around for a while.

In the description of the suburban homes, a particular place named “Milton” is discussed, situated in the Dorchester district of Boston. The directory states that the rich businessmen have long viewed it as one of the best places for a summer or a permanent residence. Gertrude had to live with the Grahams after uncle True passed away, in a place in Dorchester. The Grahams were also fairly rich. There are also two other noticeable similarities; the residences in Milton are near excellent public schools. Gertrude attended a public school while staying with the Grahams. The houses described in Milton are described to have dairy farming. While there was no mention of any farming in the novel when Gertrude lived with the Grahams, she did do gardening, which could be related to the farming stated here.

The information in this directory helps us understand why the suburban house of the Grahams is significant. Milton is a described in the directory as the most beautiful place, more charming than any other area around. If we assume that the Grahams did indeed reside in Milton, we can see how this conforms to the description of the life Mr. Graham liked to live – grand but peaceful. The description in the directory states “The natural attractions of Milton are superlative,…”. Mr. Graham was also described to have an attraction towards natural beauty, highlighted by his hobby for gardening.

This directory was found by a specified search in the HathiTrust Digital library. The search included the keywords Boston and suburban houses, and the date was of the results was set to before 1900. Upon careful observation of the results, this item seemed to provide the most accurate representation of Mr. Graham’s residence in Dorchester.

Md. Ashraf Ansary

Old Colony Railroad Company. Passenger Dept. [from old catalog]. Suburban Homes On the "Old Colony.": A Directory for Those Who Seek a Suburban Residence. Boston: Passenger Dept., Old Colony Railroad, 1889. HathiTrust Digital Library. Web. 23 Mar. 2015

(1) Original document is out of copyright (it was published before 1923). Every effort has been made to comply with the provisions of any licensing agreements associated with digitization of the original document. For further information, please see the “about” page.

Boston, Passenger Dept., Old Colony Railroad

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