Edward P. Harding papers
Scope and Content note
This collection documents the personal, political, and business activities of Edward P. Harding. Contents include correspondence, documents, financial records, genealogies, news clippings, bound volumes, scrapbooks, albums, photographs, negatives, and ephemera. The collection reflects Harding's contributions to state and national politics, particularly the presidential bids of Richard M. Nixon, the photo finishing industry, photography, boating, and his family life.
Dates
- Creation: 1863 - 2024
- Creation: Majority of material found within 1930 - 2024
Creator
- Harding, Edward P., 1923-2014 (Person)
Access
Unrestricted
Copyright
Access to collections at Maine Historical Society is not an authorization to publish. Rights and reproduction requests may be submitted in writing to the MHS Image Services Coordinator or Research & Administrative Librarian, subject to format.
Biographical note
Edward (Ned) Perry Harding (EPH) was born in Boston, Mass., on February 8, 1923, to Francis Austin Harding (1887-1961) and Dorothy Warner Harding (1888-1960), the sixth of seven children (Elizabeth, Dorothy, Louise, Francis, Goodwin, EPH, and William). The family lived in Chestnut Hill, Mass., and summered in Cataumet, Cape Cod, Mass., and North Haven, Me. He attended the Dexter School, Noble and Greenough, and Harvard University, from which he graduated in 1944, a year early as was customary during WWII.
After graduation, EPH initially worked at William Underwood, a deviled ham company that his father ran from 1909-1954. EPH soon relocated to New York City and took a job with Time-Life, a role more aligned with his lifelong love of photography. Once back in Massachusetts, EPH co-founded the Harding Glidden Photography Studio. In the late 1950s, he became part owner and president of Edson Marine, a manufacturer of products for boats.
In 1964, EPH and his young family moved to Maine. Married to Suzanne (Susie) Eckfeldt (1925-2015) and a father of five children (Anna, Susan, Linda, Edward, Michael), EPH purchased Bicknell Photo Service, a photo finishing company in Portland. Over the next 30 years, EPH transformed the small operation into the largest photo finisher on the east coast. He sold it to Konica in 1993.
EPH was politically active for much of his adult life. He worked as assistant director of National Volunteers for Richard Nixon's 1960 presidential campaign, organized and fund-raised for Nixon's successful 1968 and 1972 bids, and served as Maine's Republican party chair in the late 1960s. He contributed to many civic endeavors in Portland and founded various monthly meetings and groups for business owners in the city.
In the mid-1980s, EPH and Suzanne Harding divorced and EPH married Katherine Pulkkinen. EPH died at Maine Medical Center on February 2, 2014.
Extent
4 Linear Feet (6 boxes + 2 bound volumes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in two series.
- 1. Papers, 1899-2024
- 2. Photographs and oversize material, 1863-2024
Provenance
Gift of Linda Harding, September 19, 2024 (acc. no. 2024.138).
Separated Materials
A selection of objects was separated, including hand-painted photographs, a watercolor of a Bicknell Photo Service building, and various political paraphernalia, including Richard Nixon pins, "Nixon's the one" eyeglasses, a 1969 inaugural ball medallion, and Edward P. Harding's Nixon staff badges. These items were added to the MHS museum collection and can be located using the MHS museum catalog.
Processing note
The collection arrived well-organized, indexed, and arranged by Linda Harding. During archival processing, folder groupings were retained, though a handful of files were combined as appropriate. Folder titles were left the same or simplified. Arrangement of files into two series was done based on material type and was organized by subject and/or chronology.
News clippings were copied and most originals were not retained. Photographs originally housed with papers were left in place, while those that arrived in envelopes were filed together. Albums and scrapbooks were left intact, though one cover was removed for preservation purposes.
Source
- Harding, Linda (Donor, Person)
Subject
- Dexter Southfield School (Organization)
- Noble and Greenough School (Dedham, Mass.) (Organization)
- Harvard University (Organization)
- William Underwood Company (Organization)
- Harding family (Family)
- Wendell family (Family)
- Goodwin family (Family)
- Millar family (Family)
- Warner family (Family)
- Whiting family (Family)
- Austin family (Family)
- Republican National Convention (Organization)
- Republican National Convention ((1968 :) (Miami Beach, Fla.)) (Organization)
- Republican Party (Me.) (Organization)
- Bicknell Photo Service (Organization)
- Harding, Suzanne (Person)
- Erwin, James, 1920-2005 (Person)
- Flanigan, Peter M. (Peter Magnus), 1923-2013 (Person)
- Nixon, Richard M. (Richard Milhous), 1913-1994 (Person)
- Agnew, Spiro T., 1918-1996 (Person)
Genre / Form
- Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
- Legal documents
- Letters
- Photograph albums
- Photograph collections
- Photography -- Negatives
- Scrapbooks
Geographic
Topical
- Title
- Guide to the Edward P. Harding papers
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Jordis Rosberg, MHS Archivist, October 2024
- Date
- October 22, 2024
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Maine Historical Society Repository