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Sylvia Plath Collections: The Hughes Family Album

In previous years, I have created item-level catalogues for some of Sylvia Plath's scrapbooks (and one of Ted Hughes). I am happy to say that I am in the position to provide a page by page, photograph by photograph description of the Hughes Family Album assembled by Sylvia Plath between [1956] and 1962 that sold recently at Sotheby's. 

No, I did not buy it. I wish! Rather, I was able to work with photographs of all the pages. The previous catalogs are as follows:

High School scrapbook (Lilly Library)

Smith College scrapbook (Lilly Library)

Ted Hughes publications scrapbook (Emory University)

In addition to these above, Plath maintained, with less enthusiasm I think, a publications clipping scrapbook which is held by Smith College. However, the volume was disassembled and by that I mean individual clipped publications have been removed to folders for each respective work (the paper of the scrapbooks is very acidic, and the tape used was, of course, bad...Basic tape and archives are not friends). I will endeavor to present that to you such that it is next month. 

In a letter from Plath to her mother on 1 April 1957, she wrote, "I want to start a scrapbook. Our life together" (Vol II, 103). On the 12th of April that same year she reiterated: "I want to get a sumptuous scrapbook at home for Ted’s clippings & mine: also one for pics of us & for our children" (113). Pages 1 through 24 of the Hughes Family Album reflect September 1956 to December 1959; pages 25 through 49 represent, approximately, April 1960 to April 1962. When Plath and Hughes were in Yaddo there was temporary fear that some of the film from their trip was lost. On 18 September 1959, Plath wrote home, "We’re delighted you found the film. I felt quiet sad to think the parts of our trip we did want to remember---mostly animals and fish in various combination with ourselves---might be lost for good (358)".

This Hughes Family scrapbook was somewhat known as when I was selecting images of Plath and Hughes for The Letters of Sylvia Plath, I acquired a copy of a page from Emory. The three photos in Volume II of SP & TH in front of the car at the outset of their cross country trip in Wellesley, their "Canada encampment", and a photo of SP feeding a deer came from it. But it turns out Emory has a printout of a scan of that page... I did not realize that. I am grateful for David Trinidad's amazing essay "On the Road with Sylvia & Ted" which was helpful in supplying dates and/or date ranges for the summer 1959 cross country trip photographs.

Pages presented on Sotheby's website will be fully described with captions transcribed. Other pages will be summarized. All photographs are black and white prints unless otherwise noted. 

The Scrapbook in Adobe Bridge



Page 1: Four trimmed photographs

Cover page: Captioned by SP: "THE HUGHES FAMILY ALBUM~"

Photograph of a baby, no caption. Possibly Nicholas Hughes.

Photograph of Ted Hughes with caption: "AUG 17, 1930"

Photograph of Frieda Hughes with caption: "APRIL 1 1960"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath with caption: "OCT 27, '32"


Page 2: Six photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes seated on stone wall, Yorkshire, with caption "Ted overlooking Wilfred's cows: Yorkshire: 1957"

Photograph of Uncle Walter Farrar, standing, and Sylvia Plath, in a tree, at Top Withens, with caption "'Wuthering Heights' Walt & me (in tree)"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes at the Beacon, Yorkshire, with caption "In back of the Beacon in a high wind - 1957"

Photograph of Ted Hughes in front of bookcase at 55 Eltisley Avenue, Cambridge, England, circa 17 November 1956, with caption "Eltisley Avenue~" 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath in front of bookcase at 55 Eltisley Avenue, Cambridge, England, circa 17 November 1956, with caption "Cambridge, England"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath by apple tree at 55 Eltisley Avenue, Cambridge, England, with caption "The Eltisley apple tree", November 1956-June 1957


Page 3: Three photographs captioned "Cambridge - 1956 57"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath seated, and reading at 55 Eltisley Avenue, Cambridge, England

Photograph of Ted Hughes in a mirror, with caption "MONSIEUR du MIROIR"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath, Ted Hughes, Hilda Farrar, William Hughes, and Edith Hughes in Yorkshire, circa June 1957, with caption "At Home: Yorkshire: Edith, Hilda, Willy, Ted & me: 1957" [NOTE: Caption of "1957"by SP may be misdated. A photograph from this same day is annotated as Summer 1956 by Aurelia Schober Plath, held by Smith College.]


Page 4: Four photographs captioned "En route to America: The Queen Elizabeth: June 1957"

Photograph of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath by railing on Queen Elizabeth, 25 June 1957, with caption "At the rail: approaching New York"

Photograph of Ted Hughes on Queen Elizabeth with Statue of Liberty in background, 25 June 1957, with caption "Ted & the Statue of Liberty"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath wearing bandanna standing by railing holding her coat on Queen Elizabeth, 25 June 1957

Photograph of Ted Hughes by railing on Queen Elizabeth, 25 June 1957


Page 5: Four photographs captioned "Queen Elizabeth: 1957"

Photograph of Ted Hughes on Queen Elizabeth, 25 June 1957

Photograph of Sylvia Plath on Queen Elizabeth, 25 June 1957

Photograph of Ted Hughes on Queen Elizabeth with Manhattan behind him, 25 June 1957, with caption "Ted's first view of NYC"

Photograph of Ted Hughes Queen Elizabeth looking toward Manhattan behind him, 25 June 1957


Page 6: Four photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes by railing on Queen Elizabeth, 25 June 1957 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath wearing bandanna standing by railing with her left hand over her right wrist on Queen Elizabeth, 25 June 1957

Photograph of Ted Hughes, smiling, seated in Adirondack chair, writing, in Wellesley, Massachusetts with birch trees behind him, circa August 1958 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes seated in Adirondack chair, looking down and writing, in Wellesley, Massachusetts with birch trees behind him, circa August 1958


Page 7: Four photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath seated, drawing, with cottage building in background, at Hidden Acres, Eastham, Massachusetts, circa August 1958 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath facing camera, holding drawing, at Hidden Acres, Eastham, Massachusetts, circa August 1958

Photograph of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes seated back-to-back at Hidden Acres, Eastham, Massachusetts, circa August 1958

Photograph of Sylvia Plath seated near wood pile, drawing, at Hidden Acres, Eastham, Massachusetts, circa August 1958


Page 8: Four photographs captioned "The Northampton Year: 1957-58"

Photograph of Ted Hughes and Oscar Williams, New York City, 4 June 1958, with caption "TED & OSCAR WILLIAMS on Oscar's NYC penthouse roof overlooking tugboats: 1958"

Photograph of Ted Hughes at Oscar Williams rooftop garden, New York City, 4 June 1958

Photograph of Sylvia Plath seated in front of a mirror, Springfield, Massachusetts, 18 April 1958

Photograph of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath seated in front of a mirror, Springfield, Massachusetts, 18 April 1958, with caption "Two poker-faced teachers after recording poems for Lee Anderson in Springfield, Mass."


Page 9: One photograph captioned "9 WILLOW STREET, BOSTON: 1958-59: Mademoiselle's Photo"

Photograph of Ted Hughes seated with legs crossed and Sylvia Plath, holding typewritten paper, at 9 Willow Street, Boston, circa autumn 1958, with caption "A year six floors up above an elegant alley, Beacon Hill"


Page 10: Three photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes by car in Wellesley, Massachusetts, circa 7 July 1959, with caption "Ready to start our camping trip around America: July 1959"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath at Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959, with caption "Our Canada encampment--Rock Lake"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath feeding a deer in Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959, with caption "Feeding blueberries to a Canadian deer" [NOTE: Captions provided here as they were printed in The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Vol II~pks]


Page 11: Two photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes at a picnic table in Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959 (photograph captioned) 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding a coffee mug at a picnic table in Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 12: Two photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath seated in a boat holding a fishing rod in Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath by a portable stove cooking fish in Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 13: Three photographs

Photograph of a hand sticking out of a car window petting a deer in Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath feeding a young buck blueberries in Rock Lake, Algonquin Park, Canada, circa 8-11 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes during a makeshift picnic with Wisconsin blue hills in the background, circa 14-15 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 14: Four photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath at water fountain, Cornucopia, Wisconsin, circa 14-15 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes seated at harbor, Cornucopia, Wisconsin, circa 14-15 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes drinking from the water fountain, Cornucopia, Wisconsin, circa 14-15 July 1959

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding a fish with Marica Nozal looking on, Cornucopia, Wisconsin, circa 14-15 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 15: Four photographs

Photograph of the car in Oasis, Nevada, circa 25 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes standing before a prairie, circa 17-18 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath(?) pumping water at Custer, Montana, circa 18 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath walking into a prairie with hillocks in distance, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, circa 17-18 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 16: Three photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes in the Badlands, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, circa 17-18 July 1959 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath striking a pose, standing on rocky outcropping, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota, circa 17-18 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of of two bears, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959


Page 17 Four [three] photographs

Photograph of a bear, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959(photograph captioned)

Photograph of a bear, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph missing

Photograph of a bear leaning into a car, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 18: Four photographs captioned "FISHING in Yellowstone Lake for trout  - 'Fishing Bridge' jammed in background -"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath, in profile, on a boat, fishing, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959, with caption "A nibble...a strike..."

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding a fishing rod in her right hand and a fish in her left hand, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959, with caption "'ONE"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding a fish in her right hand and a fishing rod in her left hand, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959, with caption "'TWO"

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding a fishing rod in her right hand and a fish in her left hand, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959, with caption "'THREE'"


Page 19: Four photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding a fish in his right hand and a fishing rod in his left hand, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959, with caption "'FOUR'"

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding a fish in his right hand and a fishing rod in his left hand, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959, with caption "'FIVE'"

Photograph of Ted Hughes on a boat seated before six fish, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959

Photograph of Sylvia Plath on a boat seated before six fish, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959, with caption "SIX in ALL!"


Page 20: Four photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath by Grotto Geyser, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath rowing a boat, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath by Grand Geyser, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath standing beneath a Natural Bridge, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 21: Three photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes at a fountain paint pot, Yellowstone Park, circa 19-23 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes by Jackson Lake, Wyoming, with Grand Tetons in background, 24 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath by Jackson Lake, Wyoming, with Grand Tetons in background, 24 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 22: Three photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath standing beneath tall palm trees on N Street, Sacramento, California, 27 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes standing by tall palm trees, across the street from Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1300 N Street, Sacramento, California, 27 July 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath standing against the car, across the street from Westminster Presbyterian Church, 1300 N Street, Sacramento, California, 17 July 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 23: Three photographs

Photograph of their camping set up on Stinson Beach, California, circa 28 July 1959 (photograph captioned) 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath at a lookout above the Grand Canyon, Arizona, circa 4-5 August 1959 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath looking to her right above the Grand Canyon, Arizona, circa 4-5 August 1959 (photograph captioned)


Page 24: One photograph 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes in a dining room on board the SS United States, circa 12 December 1959. Captioned: "The Gala Banquet on the ungallant SS United States: December '59. Return to Europe, a Pooker on the way after autumn at Yaddo" 


Page 25: Six photographs 

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, London, England, circa 22 April 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, London, England, Spring 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, London, England, Spring 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, London, England, Spring 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, London, England, Spring 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Edith Hughes, Ted Hughes, and Sylvia Plath holding Frieda Hughes, 11 St. George's Terrace garden, London, England, 5 June 1960 (photograph captioned)


Page 26: Four photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes eating a banana, at/en route to Stonehenge, England, circa 14 May 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath seated in grass holding Frieda Hughes, at/en route to Stonehenge, England, circa 14 May 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, London, England, Spring 1960

Photograph of Sylvia Plath seated in grass holding Frieda Hughes, at/en route to Stonehenge, England, circa 14 May 1960


Page 27: Four photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath and Ted Hughes carrying Frieda Hughes, Stonehenge, England, circa 14 May 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes lying on the side of a ditch next to Sylvia Plath holding Frieda Hughes, Stonehenge, England, circa 14 May 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath next to Frieda Hughes, London, England, circa June 1960 (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding Frieda Hughes next to a lamp, London, England, circa June 1960 (photograph captioned)


Page 28: Four photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath with Ted Hughes, holding Frieda Hughes, at Knole, England, 27 May 1960  (photograph captioned)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath with Ted Hughes, holding Frieda Hughes, at Knole, England, 27 May 1960

Photograph of Sylvia Plath with Ted Hughes, holding Frieda Hughes, at Knole, England, 27 May 1960

Photograph of Sylvia Plath atop Primrose Hill having a picnic, at London, England, 16 June 1960 (photograph captioned)



Page 29: One photograph 

Photograph of Stephen Spender, W. H. Auden, Ted Hughes,  T. S. Eliot, and Louis MacNeice, Faber & Faber, London, England, 23 June 1960. Captioned: "'A Pride of Poets': Faber Party for Auden: April 21, 1960: SPENDER, AUDEN ⭐HUGHES⭐ ELIOT & MACNIECE" [NOTE: The caption is misdated by SP. See The Letters of Sylvia Plath, Vol II, pp, 484 for a description of the event and the taking of the photograph.~pks]


Page 30: Six photographs

Photograph of Valerie Eliot, T.S. Eliot, and Ted Hughes, Faber & Faber, London, England, 23 June 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes talking to T.S. Eliot, Faber & Faber, London, England, 23 June 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes talking to T.S. Eliot, Faber & Faber, London, England, 23 June 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes talking to Valerie and T.S. Eliot, Faber & Faber, London, England, 23 June 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes talking to Valerie and T.S. Eliot, Faber & Faber, London, England, 23 June 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes talking to Valerie and T.S. Eliot, Faber & Faber, London, England, 23 June 1960 (photographs captioned)


Page 31: Two photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes lying on a bed, London, England, circa 1 July 1960 

Photograph of Frieda Hughes lying on a bed, London, England, circa 1 July 1960 (photographs captioned)


Page 32: Six photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes holding a teddy bear, London, England, circa Summer 1960

Photograph of Frieda Hughes holding a magazine, London, England, circa Summer 1960

Photograph of Frieda Hughes looking up and smiling, London, England, circa Summer 1960

Photograph of Frieda Hughes holding baby food and Sylvia Plath, London, England, circa Summer 1960 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath wearing a dark tank top holding Frieda Hughes, London, England, circa Summer 1960

Photograph of Frieda Hughes holding a jar of peas with Sylvia Plath spoon-feeding her, London, England, circa Summer 1960


Page 33: Two photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding Frieda Hughes in front of Isis reproduction, London, England, circa Spring-Summer 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding Frieda Hughes on a bed, London, England, circa Spring-Summer 1960


Page 34: Three photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on a couch next to Sylvia Plath's coat, London, England, circa Summer-Autumn 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes and Frieda Hughes (double exposure of a photograph of Frieda Hughes), London, England, circa Summer-Autumn 1960

Photograph (possibly) of a child [a Frankfort(?) or a Secker-Walker(?)] snuggling Frieda Hughes's neck, on a carpet, London, circa Summer-Autumn 1960


Page 35: Six photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on a bed holding a teddy bear, London, England, circa Summer-Fall 1960

Photograph of Frieda Hughes being held in kitchen of 3 Chalcot Square, London, England, circa Summer-Fall 1960

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on a bed next to a teddy bear, London, England, circa Summer-Fall 1960

Photograph of Ted Hughes seated on a bed holding Frieda Hughes (same as photo on page 32), London, England, circa Spring-Summer 1960

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a carry-cot, London, England, circa Summer-Fall 1960

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding Frieda Hughes holding a Raggedy-Ann doll in their living room, London, England, circa Summer-Fall 1960


Page 36: Six photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes looking Frieda Hughes on a bed, London, England

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding Frieda Hughes next to a lamp, London, England, circa June 1960 (same as on page 27)

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding Frieda Hughes holding a teddy bear in bedroom, London, England

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding Frieda Hughes holding a teddy bear, London, England

Photograph of Frieda Hughes holding one of her parents' fingers in bedroom, London, England

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding Frieda Hughes in bedroom, London, England 


Page 37: Four photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in her crib, circa February 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in her crib next to Isis poster, circa February 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in her crib in bedroom, circa February 1961, London, England 

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in her crib in bedroom, circa February 1961, London, England 


Page 38: Four photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on bed in bedroom, circa February 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on bed in bedroom, circa February 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on bed in bedroom, circa February 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on bed in bedroom, circa February 1961, London, England (color)


Page 39: Four photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on couch in living room surrounded by stuffed animals and a Raggedy-Ann doll, circa February-March 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on couch in living room surrounded by stuffed animals and a Raggedy-Ann doll and holding a book (Pat the Bunny, see letter to Marion Freeman, Vol II, p. 594), circa March 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a crib surrounded by stuffed animals and a Raggedy-Ann doll, circa February-March 1961, London, England (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on couch in living room surrounded by stuffed animals and a Raggedy-Ann doll and holding a book (Pat the Bunny, see letter to Marion Freeman, Vol II, p. 594), circa March 1961, London, England (color)


Page 40: Six photograph

Photograph of Frieda Hughes reaching for her birthday cake with one candle, 1 April 1961, London, England

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a chair eating birthday cake, 1 April 1961, London, England

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a chair eating birthday cake, 1 April 1961, London, England

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a chair eating birthday cake, 1 April 1961, London, England

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a chair looking at a balloon, 1 April 1961, London, England

Photograph of Frieda Hughes wearing a hat holding something up to her mouth, circa Spring-Fall 1961, London, England


Page 41: Six photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes squatting on the floor, circa Spring-Summer 1961

Photograph of Frieda Hughes on a bed with (Sylvia Plath?), circa Spring-Summer 1961

Photograph of Frieda Hughes seated on a bed with Sylvia Plath, (Yorkshire?), circa Summer 1961

Photograph of Frieda Hughes standing on the floor in a kitchen with Sylvia Plath seated, wearing an apron, (Yorkshire?), circa Summer 1961

Photograph of Frieda Hughes (Sylvia Plath trimmed herself out of the photograph), 1 April 1960 (per caption on back of photo), London, England

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a high chair with Edith Hughes and William Hughes, (Yorkshire?), circa Summer 1961


Page 42: Five photographs

Photograph of Court Green from, approximately, the elm trees, North Tawton, circa September 1961

Photograph of courtyard and Frieda Hughes standing by car, at Court Green, North Tawton, circa September 1961 

Photograph of the front of Court Green, North Tawton, circa September 1961. Sylvia Plath possibly seated in chair near front door. 

Photograph of the front of Court Green, Sylvia Plath possibly seated near front door, North Tawton, circa September 1961 

Photograph of Sylvia Plath wearing an apron standing near to Frieda Hughes who is reaching for the car door handle in the courtyard at Court Green, North Tawton, circa September 1961


Page 43: Four photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes wearing a red nightgown, seated in a chair holding books, Court Green, North Tawton, December 1961 (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes wearing a red nightgown, seated in a chair holding books, Court Green, North Tawton, December 1961 (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes wearing blue pajamas holding a shoe, seated on a window seat, Court Green, North Tawton, December 1961 (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes seated in a chair, Court Green, North Tawton, December 1961 (color)


Page 44: Six photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath and Frieda Hughes holding a book in the living room, Court Green, North Tawton, circa December 1961

Photograph of Frieda Hughes seated in a chair by a table, Court Green, North Tawton, circa winter 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes wearing her blue hooded French jacket in Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, standing, with her hands together, Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes with her right hand on Nicholas Hughes, and Sylvia Plath with her left hand on her son in the living room, Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, standing and smiling, in Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962


Page 45: Six photographs

Photograph of Ted Hughes seated in the courtyard, writing?, with Frieda Hughes nearby next to the pram, Court Green, North Tawton, circa Spring 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes standing in the courtyard next to (the lavatory?) door, Court Green, North Tawton, circa Spring 1962 

Photograph of Frieda Hughes carrying a basket by the back door of Court Green, North Tawton, circa Spring 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in the living room, Court Green, North Tawton, circa Spring 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes holding a bowl with food in it, Court Green, North Tawton, circa Spring 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes sitting in a chair holding a bowl of food and a stuffed animal, Court Green, North Tawton, circa Spring 1962


Page 46: Five photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a nightgown seated in a chair in the living room, Court Green, North Tawton, circa December 1961

Photograph of Frieda Hughes in a nightgown seated in a chair in the living room, Court Green, North Tawton, circa December 1961

Photograph of Sylvia Plath and Frieda Hughes in the living room, Court Green, North Tawton, circa December 1961 (similar to first photograph on page 44)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes holding stuffed animals and a basket, sitting on Sylvia Plath's lap, Court Green, North Tawton, January 1962 (color)

Photograph of Frieda Hughes sitting on Sylvia Plath's lap holding a book, Court Green, North Tawton, January 1962 (color)


Page 47: Five photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, with right hand pointing at camera, with Sylvia Plath holding Nicholas Hughes in the living room on Christening Day, Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962 

Photograph (close-up) of Sylvia Plath holding Nicholas Hughes on his Christening day, Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes, Sylvia Plath, and Nicholas Hughes on Christening Day, Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962

Photograph (close-up) of Nicholas Hughes being held by Sylvia Plath, looking at camera, in Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding Nicholas Hughes on his Christening day, Court Green, North Tawton, 25 March 1962


Page 48: Six photographs

Photograph of Frieda Hughes opening a present at a table with her birthday cake, Court Green, North Tawton, 1 April 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes opening a present at a table with her birthday cake, Court Green, North Tawton, 1 April 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes at a table with her birthday cake with daffodils in a vase in the foreground, Court Green, North Tawton, 1 April 1962

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding Nicholas Hughes and looking at Frieda Hughes, Court Green, North Tawton, 1 April 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes looking at bubbles, Court Green, North Tawton, 1 April 1962

Photograph of Frieda Hughes seated at a chair, with her name spelled out in blocks on the table, Court Green, North Tawton, 1 April 1962

Page 49: Four photographs

Photograph of Sylvia Plath, wearing a blue sweater, holding Frieda Hughes while sitting among the daffodils, Court Green, North Tawton (color)

Photograph of Ted Hughes holding Frieda Hughes while sitting among the daffodils and Court Green in the background, North Tawton (color)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding Nicholas Hughes, next to Frieda Hughes, while sitting among the daffodils, Court Green, North Tawton (color)

Photograph of Sylvia Plath holding Nicholas Hughes, next to Frieda Hughes, while sitting among the daffodils, Court Green, North Tawton (color)


One thing that struck me as peculiar about this photograph album is the absence of the Plath family. No photographs of her mother and none of her brother. None of the Schobers, none of her Aunt Frieda Heinrichs. But yet there are photographs of Hugheses and Farrars. I suppose on a literal level it is a "Hughes Family" album, but the lack of the Plath-side was striking to me.

All the photographs have been catalogued in my Sylvia Plath Photographs tab on my Sylvia Plath Archival Documents Hub spreadsheet. 

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All links accessed 23 July 2021.

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Sylvia Plath's Gravestone Vandalized

The following news story appeared online this morning: HEPTONSTALL, ENGLAND (APFS) - The small village of Heptonstall is once again in the news because of the grave site of American poet Sylvia Plath. The headstone controversy rose to a fever pitch in 1989 when Plath's grave was left unmarked for a long period of time after vandals repeatedly chiseled her married surname Hughes off the stone marker. Author Nick Hornby commented, "I like Plath, but the controversy reaching its fever pitch in the 80s had nothing to do with my book title choice." Today, however, it was discovered that the grave was defaced but in quite an unlikely fashion. This time, Plath's headstone has had slashed-off her maiden name "Plath," so the stone now reads "Sylvia Hughes." A statement posted on Twitter from @masculinistsfortedhughes (Masculinists for Ted Hughes) has claimed responsibility saying that, "We did this because as Ted Hughes' first wife, Sylvia de

Sylvia Plath and McLean Hospital

In August when I was in the final preparations for the tour of Sylvia Plath The Bell Jar sites, I found that I had long been mistaken about a couple of things. This is my coming clean. It was my intention in this blog post to discuss just McLean, but I found myself deeply immersed in other aspects of Plath's recovery. The other thing I was mistaken about will be discussed in a separate blog post. I suppose I need to state from the outset that I am drawing conclusions from Plath's actual experiences from what she wrote in The Bell Jar and vice versa, taking information from the novel that is presently unconfirmed or murky and applying it to Plath's biography. There is enough in The Bell Jar , I think, based on real life to make these decisions. At the same time, I like to think that I know enough to distinguish where things are authentic and where details were clearly made up, slightly fudged, or out of chronological order. McLean Hospital was Plath's third and last