Call Number:

Woodford-WMPC-2023-009

Repository:

Woodford Mansion

Extent:

6.54 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

circa 1850-2010, Bulk circa 1940-2003 and ca. 1940-1995 (bulk)

Abstract:

This collection contains almost the entirety of the Woodford photo collection, with the only exceptions being a few photos directly connected to documents found within different trustee collections. This collection is arranged into 29 series and 6 subseries. Photo formats in the collection include a daguerreotype, tintypes, albumen prints, gelatin silver prints, and other photos developed from film.

This collection contains almost the entirety of the Woodford photo collection, with the only exceptions being a few photos directly connected to documents found within different trustee collections. The Woodford Mansion Photo Collection (WMPC) has photography from the era of every Woodford trustee from Daniel T. V. Huntoon, Jr. (1930-1943) through Larry Berger (1986-2018) as well as family and personal photos of Naomi Wood, the creator of the Naomi Wood trust that supports Woodford.

This collection is arranged into 29 series: Basement, Bedroom, Carriage & Chair House, Dining Room, Events, First Floor Stair Hall, Front Hall, Garden, General, Mansion Exterior, Naomi Wood, Naomi Wood Study, Negatives, New Kitchen, Nursery, Objects, Old Kitchen, Parlor, People, Porch, Second Floor Center Hall, Second Floor Stair Hall, Tenants' Cottage, Woodford Fire, Small Format/Framed, Large Format, Large Format/Framed, Oversized Photos, and Slide Collection. The Woodfire Fire series is further divided into six subseries: General, Objects, Objects--Furniture, Post-Fire Damage, Post-Fire Restoration, and Woodford Interior. The collection spans approximately 1850-2003. This estimation is to due an undated daguerreotype found within the Naomi Wood photographs, which would have more than likely been created sometime between 1850-1859. Photo formats in the collection include a daguerreotype, tintypes, albumen prints, gelatin silver prints, and other photos developed from film. The Naomi Wood series predominantly include personal and family photos. The photos from the various trustees focus mostly on interior and exterior shots of Woodford Mansion. Photos of the mansion are organized into series by room name/location. Another series of note is the Woodford fire photos, which show the immediate damage, aftermath, and restoration of the mansion from the July 11, 2003 fire.

Series: Basement This series contains a 1961 photo of a newly installed steel support beam in the basement of Woodford. Series: Bedroom This series is dedicated to photos of the bedroom at Woodford. The bedroom is located on the second floor of the mansion at the end of the central hallway. Photos in this series range from the 1940s-1995 with gaps in the 1950s and 1980s. Series: Carriage & Chair House This series contains photos of the carriage & chair house located in the rear of the mansion from 1962 and 1972. There are also photos with no date. Series: Dining Room This series holds photos of Woodford’s dining room, located on the first floor of the mansion to the right of the main entrance. When the mansion was first built, the dining room was divided into two bedroom. When the mansion was expanded to include a second floor with a bedroom upstairs, this space was converted into a dining room. Photos range from the 1940s-1995 with a gap in the 1950s.

Series: Events This series contains photos of different events held at Woodford. Records range from 1979-2010, with the bulk from the 1980s. There are photos from an unknown Snyder event that could be the reception for their Woodford book release, but it is not possible to be certain from the context provided. The bulk of the photos are of Christmas decorations for the holiday tours and includes the years 1979, 1980, 1987, 1988, and 2007. Series: First Floor Stair Hall This series is dedicated to Woodford’s first floor stair hall, which contains a stairway to the second story and a large entry to the piazza. Photos range from 1940s-1995 with a gap in the 1950s. Series: Front Hall This series holds photos of Woodford’s front hall that is home to the mansion’s main entry door as well as a rear door directly across from the entry that leads to the piazza. Photos are from the 1900s, 1940s, 1980s, and 1995. Series: Garden This series contains early 21st century photos of Woodford’s gardens.

Series: General The general series contains a large folder of duplicate photos taken from throughout the photo collection. There is also a file that contains photos taken by George O. Timanus in the 1940s for trustee John P. B. Sinkler’s “Naomi Wood Collection Guide Book”. These are also duplicate photos which are also found in the series within this collection dedicated to specific rooms inside the mansion. This series includes floor plans from 1932. Finally, there is a file with all the photos/images used in the Snyder’s Naomi Wood Collection and Woodford Mansion boo, thus this series is related to the Martin P./June Snyder Collection, specifically the Woodford Book Research series. Series: Mansion Exterior This series holds photos take of the exterior of Woodford. These photos range from the 1890s-2000 with some gap decades. Also included are photos of roof work done in 1961 and 1993. Finally, this series also holds prints, copies, and original artistic interpretations of Woodford’s exterior. Series: Naomi Wood This series is dedicated photos of Naomi Wood, her family, friends, dogs, homes, and decorative arts collections. Photos of note include photos taken in Wood’s Washington D.C. apartment, Paoli, PA home, and “The Shanty” in East Gloucester, MA that all show different objects from her and Huntoon’s collections on display. Photos range from the 1880s-1926.

Series: Naomi Wood Study This series contains photos of the Naomi Wood Study, formerly known as the Maple Study due to the large number of Maple pieces once on display in this space. Photos in this series range from the 1940s-1995 with gap decades of the 1950s and 1980s. Series: Negatives This series holds negatives from three notable Woodford publications: Sinkler’s “Naomi Wood Collection Guide Book”, the Snyder’s Naomi Wood Collection and Woodford Mansion book, and postcards created for the gift shop in the 1970s. There is also a folder dedicated to general negatives with no date. Series: New Kitchen This series contains photos from 1995 of the modern kitchen within the 20th century addition on the rear of the mansion. Series: Nursery This series holds photos from 1995 as well as not dated photos of Woodford’s nursery located on the second floor of the mansion. Series: Objects This series holds photos of deaccessions, Delftware (c. 1981), silhouettes/miniatures, and the Thayer Bowl, an object that features an image of Woodford. Series: Old Kitchen This series is dedicated to photos of the old kitchen in Woodford accessible from the central stair hall and new kitchen. The old kitchen also contains doorway that leads to spiral staircases that lead to the basement, second story, and garret attic, which servants used to quickly and discretely access different levels of the home. Photos are from the 1940s, 1970s, and 1995. Series: Parlor This series holds photos of Woodford’s first floor parlor located immediately to the left of the main entryway in the mansion. Photos range from the 1940s-1995 with a gap in the 1950s. Series: People This series contains photos of people related to Woodford mansion in some capacity. This includes former occupants, trustees, guides, and volunteers. Some images are of paintings. The bulk of the photos have no date, but the Larry Berger and George Mohr folders are dated 1987-1988. Series: Porch The porch, also known as the Victorian porch, was a former part of the mansion that was removed with the restoration of the piazza. It was located off of the first floor stair hall entryway. Photos in this series were taken in 1995. Series: Second Floor Center Hall The second-floor center hall connects from the second-floor stair hall and has two entrances to the Naomi Wood study and the entrance to the bedroom. The windows at the end of the hall look over the front lawn and entry gate of the mansion. Photos in this series range from the 1900s-1995, with gaps from the 1910s-1930s, and the 1950s. Series: Second Flood Stair Hall Photos in this series show Woodford’s second-floor stair hall, located at the top of the mansion’s main stairway. Images are from the 1940s and 1995. Series: Tenant’s Cottage This series features photos of the Woodford Tenant’s Cottage from unknown dates. Series: Woodford Fire This series contains photos related to the 2003 Woodford fire. This includes photos of the fire damage, disaster response, restoration of the house, and reopening. Photos range from 2003-2005. Series: Small Format/Framed This series contains small format and framed images predominantly related to the Naomi Wood photo series. It includes an unidentified daguerreotype (likely Caleb Wood Jr.) and tintype of Wood ancestors. It also holds two small oval framed photos from the 1890s of Naomi Wood and her father Caleb Wood Jr. Series: Large Format This series mostly contains bound albums of photos that could not be separated from their original housing. This includes an album created by Huntoon of interior/exterior Woodford views from 1929-1937, a 1911 scrapbook of William R. Smith’s botanical gardens in Washington D.C. (Naomi Wood collection related), and a 1973 pictorial analyses of Woodford’s delftware collection. Also included is a large format photo of Woodford from August, 1928. Series: Large Format/Framed This collection contains framed large format photos. This includes three date unknown images, two of which are silhouettes, of Naomi Wood’s mother Susan Wood. There is also a photo of Naomi’s dog Rye and a 1937 image of Huntoon with his dog Wisp. Series: Oversized Photos Photos in this series are oversized and are thus stored in a large textile box. The series includes a blown-up copy of a small 1890s photo of Naomi Wood and three photos related to the 2003-2005 conservation of objects following the 2003 Woodford fire. Series: Woodford Slide Collection The bulk of this series contains slides of objects from Woodford’s collections created by conservators throughout the mansion’s recovery period (2003-2005) from the 2003 Woodford fire. There are also some slides from the day of the fire. Also included are various slides of the exterior and interior of Woodford from the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Finally there are a few smaller collections related to events at Woodford and other general views of the mansion interior/exterior. Slides in this series range from the 1970s-2005.