The Prat Sisters: Free Spirits of the 1890s

In 1898, May Rosina Prat studied decorative leatherwork and bookbinding with Evelyn Hunter Nordhoff at the Elephant Bindery, New York City. Nordhoff died unexpectedly in November 1898, at the age of 33, after a brief illness. May Rosina, her sister Minnie, and other former students kept the Elephant Bindery going after Nordhoff's death. By 1900, the Minnie and May Rosina had opened their own bindery and leather working studio, the Primrose Bindery, in Le Boutilier Studios, 37 West 22nd Street. Minnie died of typhoid fever on September 4, 1901, while on vacation at Wolfville. May had typhoid at the same time, but recovered. She continued the Primrose Bindery with her sister Annie's help. In 1903, May became engaged to be married to Richard Starr of Starrs Point, N.S. In the spring of 1904, she closed the bindery and returned to Nova Scotia to be married.

Date: Between 1898 and 1903

Artist: May Rosina Prat

Reference: Prat, Starr family Nova Scotia Archives 1985-524 no. 520