#boston

Honestly I don’t know how many dumbbell presses he had done at this point, but I just wanted to lend a helping hand, and show my support. I’m just that kind of guy.

From the early 1900s to about 1950, the Kennedy and Fitzgerald families documented their lives on nitrate photographic film. They were part of a new generation of amateur photographers utilizing a new medium that enabled them to produce numerous snapshots of everyday life – of friends and relatives, trips, holidays, and other celebratory occasions. When nitrate film became commercially available in the late 1880s, it made possible technical advancements in amateur roll film for smaller, more mobile cameras, ushering in the practice of family photography.  

More than a century later, the surviving nitrate negatives from the Kennedy Family Collection have been digitized due in part to the inherently fragile and unstable nature of the medium, but also to provide greater access and ensure future use while the physical objects remain safely preserved in their original format and condition.

The JFK Library is pleased to announce the completion of an 18-month grant project to catalog and provide online access to these newly digitized materials. Archivists created robust descriptions and metadata records for all of the nitrate negatives in the collection so that users can browse, search, and discover these historic photographs. Over 1,700 photographs are now available on the Library’s website. The nitrates represent a subset of photographic materials in a collection that provides access to the more personal, private moments of this prominent family not found in other historical sources. 

These photos – the third in a series of posts to highlight images from this cataloging project - feature former Mayor of Boston, John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald, pictured alone or with his wife, Mary Josephine Hannon Fitzgerald, and their children and grandchildren. The following images offer glimpses into Honey Fitz’s personality, his family and public service life, and the keen interest he held for his Irish heritage. 

To browse all of the Kennedy Family Collection photos in which John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald appears, visit the Digital Archives.   

Photographs © John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.

KFC1429N. Mayor John F. Fitzgerald and Rose Fitzgerald Aboard R.M.S. Franconia, ca. June 27-August 16, 1911

KFC887N. John F. “Honey Fitz” Fitzgerald with Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., at Nantasket Beach, ca. 1916

KFC803N. John F. Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Fitzgerald in Palm Beach, Florida, ca. 1915-1916

KFC807N. John F. Fitzgerald, Mary Josephine Fitzgerald, and Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy in Palm Beach, Florida, ca. 1915-1916

KFC232N. Kennedy Family Children with Their Grandparents, John F. Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Fitzgerald, in Cohasset, ca. 1922

KFC211N. Kennedy Family Children with Their Grandparents, John F. Fitzgerald and Mary Josephine Fitzgerald, in Cohasset, ca. 1922

KFC1422N. Mayor John F. Fitzgerald with John Hays Hammond, Sr., Aboard R.M.S. Franconia,ca. June 27-August 16, 1911

KFC1559N. Mayor John F. Fitzgerald and Boston Chamber of Commerce Delegates at Residence of Sir Thomas Lipton in England, ca. July 5, 1911

KFC1481N. Mayor John F. Fitzgerald with Rose Fitzgerald, Agnes Fitzgerald, and Hugh Nawn Aboard Sir Thomas Lipton’s Yacht in England, ca. August 7, 1911

KFC240N. Mayor John F. Fitzgerald at Gatun Locks in Panama, ca. May 1-4, 1913

KFC1442N. John F. Fitzgerald at Blarney Castle in County Cork, Ireland, ca. August 8, 1908

KFC1519N. John F. Fitzgerald and Agnes Fitzgerald Visit Treaty Stone of Limerick in Limerick, Ireland, ca. August 5, 1908

KFC1447N. John F. Fitzgerald Swims in Ireland, ca. August 1908-August 1909

KFC1430N. John F. Fitzgerald with Donkey in Ireland, ca. August 1908-August 1909

Read more about the project on the Library’s Blog. Photographs © John F. Kennedy Library Foundation.