Resources

Oxford Studios Family Portraits

Brothers Drtad "Dite" Boyajian of Somerville and Harry Boyajian of Cambridge were born to Armenian immigrants in Providence, RI.  They opened their Oxford Studios photography business on Boylston St. in Boston in 1946.  Dite had served as a stateside U.S. Army photographer in Texas during World War II.  Harry took on the role of salesman for the business.  They later moved the operation to two locations on Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge.

Oxford Studios preserved the history of many families from the area in classic style studio portraiture.  When Harry left the business in the 1950s, the brothers agreed that Harry's family would possess and own the proofs of the portraits taken by Oxford.  In 2015, Harry's son, David, donated the proofs of Watertown residents taken during the 1940s and 50s to the Historical Society of Watertown.  The HSW invited members of the community to a November 2016 Bring Family Photos Home for the Holidays event where proofs could be claimed by families or friends of the families at no charge.

Millie (McLaughlin) Leitner of School Street in
Watertown claimed proofs of herself and her brothers

Updated lists of the claimed proofs and those that remain unclaimed can be viewed by surname and by street address.  Interested parties should contact the Historical Society.