The Bodleian Plate

Dublin Core

Title

The Bodleian Plate

Subject

Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
Governor's Palace (Williamsburg, Va.)
Wren Building (Williamsburg, Va.)
Capitol (Williamsburg, Va.)

Description

Lantern slide featuring a photograph of an engraving made from the Bodleian plate, an 18th-century copperplate discovered at the Bodleian Library that provided crucial visual evidence of the appearance of several public buildings in 18th-century Williamsburg. It is the fourth in a set produced by the Pacific Stereopticon Co. of Los Angeles, California, now defunct, to illustrate the story of Goodwin's dream to restore a portion of Williamsburg, Virginia to its 18th-century appearance as a shrine to early American ideals.

This was one of the most exciting and important discoveries during the initial research carried out by Foundation historians. Mary Goodwin, a cousin of Dr. Goodwin, found this 18th-century copper plate at Oxford University's Bodleian Library. It is thought to have been an illustration created for an unpublished description of Virginia by William Byrd II.

Creator

Byrd, William, 1674-1744

Publisher

Pacific Stereopticon Co.

Date

ca. 1740

Is Part Of

Pacific Stereopticon Co. Lantern Slide Collection

Format

jpeg

Type

Image

Identifier

PSC-004

Rights Holder

Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Still Image Item Type Metadata

Original Format

Lantern slide

Physical Dimensions

2 x 3 inches

Citation

Byrd, William, 1674-1744, “The Bodleian Plate,” John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, accessed March 28, 2024, https://rocklib.omeka.net/items/show/549.