Earl Gregg Swem Photograph Collection
Dublin Core
Title
Earl Gregg Swem Photograph Collection
Subject
Swem, E.G. (Earl Gregg), 1870-1965
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architectural photographs - 1920-1930
Description
Dr. Earl Gregg Swem served as a librarian at the College of William and Mary from 1920-1944. A graduate of Lafayette College, he began building his library career through several positions in the Chicago area in the late 19th-century. In 1903, he accepted an appointment to a position in the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress. He then held the position of Assistant State Librarian of Virginia from 1907-1919. In 1920, he arrived in Williamsburg to head the College of William & Mary's Library, where he worked diligently to expand its historical collections into what would one day be the nucleus of the library's Special Collections Research Center. During his tenure at the College of William & Mary, Swem also managed the William & Mary Quarterly and published the Virginia Historical Index in 1936. After his death in 1965, the College named its new main library the Earl Gregg Swem Library in his honor.
It is not known whether Swem took the photographs in this collection himself or gathered them from various local sources as part of his ongoing research on Virginia history topics. They date to circa 1920-1921 and primarily document buildings in Williamsburg's historic area prior to their restoration.
It is not known whether Swem took the photographs in this collection himself or gathered them from various local sources as part of his ongoing research on Virginia history topics. They date to circa 1920-1921 and primarily document buildings in Williamsburg's historic area prior to their restoration.
Creator
Swem, Earl Gregg
Date
Early 1920s
Format
jpeg
Type
Image
Rights Holder
Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation