Colonial

Williamsburg’s

Photo Archives:

A Hidden Resource with Broader Potential

Marianne Martin

Colonial Williamsburg FoundationApril 2012

Decorative ArtsDeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum

Masterworks Gallery

Folk ArtAbby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum

The Quilting Party, America, probably 1854-1875

Promotional Photography

Bill Barker as

Thomas Jefferson

Costumed Interpreters,

Duke of Gloucester St.

Archaeological Artifacts

Chowning’s Tavern dinnerware, fragments & reproduction

Exhibition Buildings

Governor’s Palace Wigmaker’s Shop

Educational Programming

Costumed interpreters participating in “So Far from Scioto” program

Hidden Gems

Winston Churchill & Dwight D. Eisenhowerat the Raleigh Tavern, March 8, 1946

Shirley Temple at WilliamsburgInn, 1938

Role of Photo Archives

Answering questions about historic structures

Documenting archaeological artifacts and

excavations

Providing material culture for analysis by

curators

Augmenting evidence presented in typical

18th-century formats

Recording the Foundation’s activities

Birth of Photo Archives

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. examining plans and photos with the Rev.

W.A.R. Goodwin and others

Bodleian Plate, ca.1740 Aerial Photo, 1927

Preliminary Plan, 1927

Pre-Restoration & Progress Photos

Pre-Restoration View

Duke of Gloucester St.

John Blair House,

Restoration Progress

Core Historical Archive

Construction progress on

King’s Arms Barber Shop

Duke of Gloucester St.,

Williamsburg, Virginia

1928

F.S. Lincoln

Collection

Bar Room, Raleigh Tavern

Ballroom Wing,

Governor’s Palace

Audiovisual Services Department

Examples of “Hidden Gems”

International Relations

Era of Segregation in Williamsburg

Blue Laws in Virginia

Film History

World War II Era Williamsburg

Hiroshima Maidens

Nicolae Ceausescu

President of Romania

Era of Segregation

Bruton Heights

School

“White City”

African-American Life

Albert Durant Photography Collection

World War II Williamsburg

Mr. & Mrs. Rockefeller with

soldiers at the USO

Troops from Camp Peary

entering Williamsburg Theater

Bottle Clubs in Virginia

Golden Horseshoe Club

Williamsburg Inn

Traditional Library Clientele

Museum Curators

Architectural Historians

Archaeologists

Historians

Costumed Interpreters

Product Managers

New Collaborations:

Music of Williamsburg

Production still from “Music of Williamsburg”

Alan Lomax Photos

Issues Raised by Collaboration

Copyright Compliance

Mounting Photos on Class Website

Limited Use Agreement

Outcomes of CollaborationStudent research findings added to our

library’s holdings

Exchange of information with Lomax

Archive in New York

Publicity for the archive via publications

Student M.A. thesis topic

Class Publications

Williamsburg Documentary

Project

Student Projects

Grocery Stores & Restaurants

Entertainment & Night Life

Public School Systems

Film History

Movies Filmed in Williamsburg

Grocery Stores

Restaurants

Entertainment

Night Life

Public Schools

History & Memory in the Urban Landscape

Archives as repositories of city history

Examination of pre-restoration views

of Williamsburg

Comparison with more current city views

Effects of restoration on city’s growth

Outcomes of Collaboration

Photos shared with greater college

community via internal intranet site

Oral histories conducted by students

compliment our holdings

Student web exhibits archived via D-Space

at Swem Library, College of William & Mary

Challenges with Online Access

African-American Life

Reunion Groups

Golden Horseshoe Bottle Club

At the Movies in Williamsburg

Rev. W.A.R. Goodwin & guests outside the Williamsburg Theatre, ca. 1932

Bruton Heights School

Reunions

Summary of Collaboration Benefits

New findings/documentation about photos

Publicity for photo archive via student or

community group projects

Increased classroom use of images

Highlights need for Internet accessible

image database

Researchers interacting with photos in

new ways

CONTENTdm Pilot Project

Web-Based Finding Aids

More Hidden Gems

Tanks on Duke

of Gloucester St. World War II Soldiers in Pillory

Hillside Café

Acknowledgements

With special thanks to the following:

Cathy Grosfils, former Visual Resources Editorial

Librarian

Jenna Simpson, Ph.D. candidate, College

of William & Mary

Photographic Services Department, The

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Doug Mayo & George Yetter, Special Collections

Department

Contact Information

Marianne Martin

The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

P.O. Box 1776

Williamsburg, VA 23187-1776

Phone: 757-565-8542

Email: mmartin@cwf.org