‘All Aboard for Quisset’ | Timeless New England

Baldwin Coolidge found inspiration in the comings and goings of Woods Hole scientists and students.

The intersection of art and science came together when Baldwin Coolidge (1845–1928) brought his heavy, large-format cameras and dry-plate glass negatives to the dock on Quissett Harbor in 1897, at a time when Woods Hole, a village in the town of Falmouth, Massachusetts, was already amassing a reputation for its oceanographic research. Coolidge had made his mark as a Boston photographer, especially with his exquisite portraits of art and priceless objects shown at the Museum of Fine Arts. But when summer came, he’d retreat to Cape Cod and a studio on Martha’s Vineyard. He was drawn to the countryside and to Quissett Harbor life (he spelled it Quisset), but especially to the Woods Hole students who spent days collecting marine specimens. On this voyage aboard the Vigilant in 1897 was 23-year-old Gertrude Stein. Just six years later she would move to Paris and in time become both a famous writer and a cultivator of artists and writers, including Picasso and Hemingway. But all that still lay ahead. Here she stands in the stern (at far right in this photo), a young woman immersed in the pursuit of tiny sea organisms, hopeful of becoming a doctor: one more image in a lifetime of frames preserved for history by Baldwin Coolidge. 

Historic New England has a collection of more than 2,000 regional images by Baldwin Coolidge. To learn more and to order prints, contact: archives@historicnewengland.org.

To see additional Coolidge photos online, visit: woodsholemuseum.org/wordpress. The Woods Hole Historical Museum has also published a book of Coolidge’s work: New England Views: The Photography of Baldwin Coolidge (1845-1928).

Mel Allen

Now editor at large, Mel Allen's first byline in Yankee appeared in 1977 and he joined the staff in 1979 as a senior editor. Eventually he became executive editor and led the staff as editor from 2006 to 2025. During his career he has edited and written for every section of the magazine, including home, food, and travel, while his pursuit of long-form storytelling has always been vital to his mission as well. He has raced a sled dog team, crawled into the dens of black bears, fished with the legendary Ted Williams, profiled astronaut Alan Shephard, and stood beneath a battleship before it was launched. He also once helped author Stephen King round up his pigs for market, but that story is for another day. Mel is author of Here in New England: Unforgettable Stories of People, Places, and Memories That Connect Us All (Earth Sky + Water LLC, 2025).

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