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04f01a896079193ce4cf93b8d04f28a7
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
E.L. Owens Photograph Album
Subject
The topic of the resource
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Yorktown
Historic buildings - Virginia - Jamestown
Monuments & memorials - Virginia
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
Williamsburg (Va.) - Photographs
Public buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Owens, E.L.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1911
Description
An account of the resource
Photograph album compiled by E.L. Owens in 1911 which encompasses images of street scenes, historic sites, monuments, and memorials that drew visitors to the Historic Triangle of Williamsburg, Jamestown, and Yorktown in early twentieth-century Virginia. It is an example of a travel album documenting the beginnings of the region's role as a tourist destination.
The period from the 1890s-1930s witnessed a rise in the production of many such personal mementoes. The Rockefeller Library holds a number of examples ranging from anonymous albums of pre-restoration photos, to scrapbooks compiled by families who lived in Williamsburg’s historic homes, to those documenting the early impressions of tourists between the 1930s-1950s.
Scrapbooks first became popular in the Victorian era as a place to collect and preserve cards, magazine articles, labels, autographs, and colorful prints. After the introduction of the Brownie camera in 1900, the photographic medium became more affordable for the average American and allowed photographs to act as a personal diary of activities. Around this same time, Williamsburg’s residents began working through organizations such as the APVA to rally efforts to preserve some of the town’s eighteenth-century structures and associated history.
Turn-of-the-century albums in the collection such as this one reveal local resident’s experimentation with photos and notations to record their responses to Williamsburg’s historic past.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Gelatin silver print
Physical Dimensions
The actual physical size of the original image.
8 x 10 inches
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Family on Ox Cart
Description
An account of the resource
An African American family posing on their ox cart in an unidentified location in Virginia
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Owens, E. L.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1911
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
1911
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
E. L. Owens Photograph Album, Box 1
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
jpeg
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
1 photograph
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
image
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
Owens029
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Subject
The topic of the resource
African Americans - Virginia - Photographs
African American families - Virginia
African American Children
African American Families
African American Women
Carts
E.L. Owens
Oxen
Virginia
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6b16aae2e34d8288707ded0e89d4e82b
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Highlights of the Albert Durant Photography Collection
Description
An account of the resource
The Albert Durant Photography Collection encompasses photoprints, negatives, slides, and personal papers that document the photographic production of Williamsburg's first black city-licensed photographer, Albert Durant. Durant's photographic output provides a priceless visual history of African American life in Williamsburg, Virginia and surrounding communities from the late 1930s to the early 1960s. Since the collection encompasses ten thousand images, highlights of some of the major subject categories covered by the photos are presented here.
The collection provides a fascinating glimpse into African American social life in Williamsburg during the 1940s and 1950s. Durant captured the atmosphere of local jazz and night clubs through scenes of performers singing and dancing and audiences socializing. Durant also acted as photographer for many African American clubs and organizations. Along with taking formal group portraits, he documented these groups through informal shots of meetings, dinners, and special events.
African American student life during segregation is also featured in this visual archive. While a high school student at James City County Training School, Durant began developing his interest in photography by taking images of student activities, including sports, dances, plays, assemblies, and graduations. As an adult, Durant acted as a portrait photographer for Junior-Senior Proms at local black high schools and also documented the sports teams, marching bands, choirs, students, and faculty at Bruton Heights School in Williamsburg.
African American spiritual life is another strength of the collection. Durant photographed church groups, such as choirs and missionary circles, as well as individuals participating in rituals at many different black churches in the Williamsburg area.
Occupations, working conditions, and business opportunities for African Americans in Williamsburg are recorded in Durant's photos, too. The photos show African Americans working in restaurants, beauty and barber shops, stores, offices, dry cleaners, and gas stations.
Albert Wadsworth Durant was born on February 2, 1920 in New York City to Samuel and Bessie Durant. His mother was a native of Williamsburg who moved with her husband to New York and worked as a domestic servant for a family. After the death of her husband, who was originally from the West Indies, Bessie Durant and her children relocated to Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1929.
At age 36, Durant married Elsie Lucille Ferguson on August 18, 1956. They raised three sons, Albert W. Durant Jr., Byron Murphy, and Roderick Ferguson, and two daughters, Yvette Durant and Deanna Ferguson.
Albert Durant ran his own chauffeuring and limousine business in the Williamsburg area, providing services to many distinguished visitors to the city, including the Queen Mother of England, the Prince of Japan, and various chief justices. He often took his customers on excursions to local historic sites, including Colonial Williamsburg, Jamestown, and the James River plantations. Through course work at the College of William and Mary, Durant acquired a background in American history which enabled him to provide historical commentary as he drove customers through the countryside.
Durant's contacts at the College of William and Mary sparked his initial interest in photography and once he had obtained equipment and training, Durant began creating his own historical record of the Williamsburg area. He produced hundreds of portraits documenting the families and activities of African American residents and also documented significant events, places, and persons in and around Williamsburg.
In addition, Albert Durant worked to improve conditions for African Americans in Williamsburg by serving in various positions in the city's government. He acted as the first black Justice of the Peace and Bail Commissioner in Williamsburg and served as the first black magistrate of the General District Court from his appointment in 1962 until his retirement in 1975.
Albert Durant died at age 71 on April 14, 1991.
Still Image
A static visual representation. Examples of still images are: paintings, drawings, graphic designs, plans and maps. Recommended best practice is to assign the type "text" to images of textual materials.
Original Format
If the image is of an object, state the type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data
Gelatin silver print
Physical Dimensions
The actual physical size of the original image.
8x10 inches
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Bruton Heights Homecoming Queen and Family
Subject
The topic of the resource
African American Photographers
African Americans - Virginia - Williamsburg - photographs
African American families - Virginia - Williamsburg - photographs
African Americans - Education - Virginia - Williamsburg
Description
An account of the resource
A Bruton Heights School Homecoming Queen poses with her family, Williamsburg, Virginia, circa 1950's.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Durant, Albert W
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Circa 1950's
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
Circa 1950's
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
jpeg
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
DUR-5415
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Albert W Durant Photography Collection, AV-1992.1, Box 8, Folder 7
African American Families
African Americans
Albert Wadsworth Durant
Bruton Heights School
Homecoming
Homecoming Queen
Students
Virginia
Williamsburg