Description:
"The Hermit of Erving, Massachusetts, was a man who gave his name as John Smith. He began living in a cave in March, 1867, on Northfield Mountain, above the village of Erving Center. The true story of his life before he came to Erving is impossible to verify. Smith tended to tell many stories about himself and his past, many of them contradictory and more than a few of them incredible. For example, he claimed he had "worked" as a hermit in England, a choice he made to recover from a broken heart. His accent revealed his Scottish origin. Immigrating to Boston from Britain, Smith traveled west and found the cave he took as his home. He lived there alone and undiscovered for a summer before he was found by hunters in September, 1867. Smith immediately became something of a celebrity. His fame was increased when two biographies of him (1868 and 1871), appeared, both entitled, "The Hermit of Erving Castle." Both repeated the stories he told to entertain his many guests. Smith lived in or near the cave until October 1899, when he was found to be too frail to maintain himself. He died at the town farm in Montague, Massachusetts, in March 1900." [passage is quoted from the PVMA website.] Stereoview of "John the Hermit" of Erving, Massachusetts; the rectangular cardboard backing is a relatively thick yellow color, there are two indentical photographic images pasted on the front, side by side, at the base of the stereoview is the ink inscription, "John the Hermit Northfield Mountain Mass." The photograph depicts John the Hermit of Erving, seated in his cave and knitting, John has a full beard and a hat on, the entrance to the cave is partially covered by vertical boards, the base of the entrance has a field stone wall, standing against the wall on the left is a man in a hat with vest and chain crossing his legs, at the right is a man seated with his legs crossed - he is wearing a hat.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2015.7 |
