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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
Edward Beckwith Photograph Collection
Subject
The topic of the resource
Beckwith, Edward A.
Photographs - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Williamsburg
Architecture, Colonial - Virginia - Williamsburg
Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Beckwith, Edward A.
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
jpeg
Extent
The size or duration of the resource.
363 photographs
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Image
Rights Holder
A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.
Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Description
An account of the resource
Another collection of photos purchased by the Boston architectural firm of Perry, Shaw & Hepburn in 1930 originated with photographer and town resident Edward A. Beckwith. A letter preserved in Corporate Archives indicates that Mr. Beckwith dropped off a selection of images with Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin who forwarded a list of their subjects to Perry, Shaw & Hepburn for their consideration. Beckwith’s photos date to 1926-1933, a critical period in the town’s transformation. Tremendous changes began to occur in rapid succession as properties were acquired, buildings moved or torn down, foundations unearthed, and the first exhibition building, the Raleigh Tavern, opened in September 1932. While he was never on the architectural team’s payroll, Beckwith’s images attracted interest and became part of the growing archive assembled to aid ongoing restoration work.
Beckwith’s subjects encompass a broader geographic area and feature many examples of colonial homes in the mid-Atlantic region examined by the architects as part of their fieldwork. It is possible he accompanied them on some of their trips and helped to document extant structures. His images of Williamsburg are purely architectural in focus and highlight aspects of surviving colonial architecture under study. They offer a contrast to other pre-restoration photo collections which give glimpses into town life with street vistas, carriages, automobiles, and residents. As the third decade of the twentieth century started in Williamsburg, Beckwith stood poised with his camera to change the focus to the architectural transformations that were soon to take place. Evidence of early steps towards investigating structures and removing nineteenth-century additions and modifications is visible in several of his compositions. His contrasting views of the George Wythe House in 1926 and 1929 document its transition from a dilapidated and deteriorating building to the headquarters for Dr. Goodwin’s office to oversee restoration activities.
The collection encompasses black and white photographs and associated negatives documenting extant colonial era architecture throughout the state of Virginia in the late 1920s. They offered crucial visual references of specific architectural features of interest for the restoration of eighteenth century buildings in Williamsburg’s historic area. Williamsburg, Virginia structures depicted include Carter’s Grove, Barraud House, Bassett Hall, John Blair House, Bracken House, Thomas Everard House, Bruton Parish Church, Nelson-Galt House, Prentis Store, Powell House, The Quarter, Peyton Randolph House, Semple House, Tazewell Hall, Travis House, St. George Tucker House, Benjamin Waller House, and George Wythe House. In addition, many architectural sites elsewhere in Virginia that were visited and examined by the architectural team are represented in the photographs. They include Abingdon Church, Auburn, Belleville, Bonne Elms, Elmwood, Glebe House, Green Plains, Claremont Manor, Four Mile Tree, Hayfield, Jamestown Church, Kinloch, Larabee House, Little England, Lower Brandon, Mount Airy, Mount Clement, Nelson House, Port Royal, Prospect, Rosegill, Shirley, Smith’s Fort, Upper Brandon, Warner Hall, Westover, and Wilton.
All of the photos are 11 x 14 inch gelatin silver prints on paper. Originally presented in two folios, they clearly demonstrate a more direct intent to create aesthetically pleasing images that could possibly be used in a future architectural publication.
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
1926-1929
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.
11 x 14 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
Library, Randolph Williams House
Description
An account of the resource
Library, Randolph Williams House, Richmond, Virginia
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Beckwith, Edward
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1933
Date Created
Date of creation of the resource.
1933
Is Part Of
A related resource in which the described resource is physically or logically included.
Edward Beckwith Photograph Collection, AV2009.5
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
Be358
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
Architecture, Domestic - Virginia - Richmond
Historic buildings - Virginia - Richmond
Furnishings
Armchairs
Bookcases
Edward Beckwith
Fireplaces
Libraries
Mantels
Portraits
Randolph Williams House
Richmond
Virginia