Mary E.A. Mitchell Collection
Scope and Contents
The collection consists of 86 packages of strip negatives. Some packages contained multiple negatives bringing the total number of strip negatives to 97. The strip negatives contain between one and seven images, with 372 total images in the collection. All images were taken by Mary Mitchell and are of locations throughout D.C. including the U.S. Capitol building, Chinatown, Dupont Circle, National Mall, and Lafayette Square. It appears that this collection includes 85 or more images that were printed in Mary Mitchell’s book Washington: Portrait of the Capital (1972, Barre Publishers).
Dates
- Creation: 1960-1975
Creator
- Mitchell, Mary E.A. (Person)
Language of Materials
English
Conditions Governing Use
There are no restrictions on viewing this collection and all photographs are in the public domain, therefore there are no restrictions on reproductions. Reproductions should appear with the proper attribution indicating that the photograph is housed in the Mary Mitchell Collection and indicate that they appear “courtesy of the DC Public Library, Special Collections.”
Biographical / Historical
Mary E. A. Mitchell, a photographer and historian, was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota and attended Wellesley College. She moved to Washington, D.C. in 1953 and lived there until the death of her husband in 1985 when she moved to Newton, Connecticut to be closer to her two daughters. Ms. Mitchell has written several books on Washington, including: A Walk in Georgetown (1966, Barre Publishers), Divided Town (1968, Barre Publishers), Washington: Portrait of the Capital (1972, Barre Publishers), Glimpses of Georgetown (1983, The Road Street Press), and Chronicles of Georgetown Life, 1865-1900 (1986, Seven Locks Press).
Extent
1 Boxes
Custodial History
There is no deed of gift and it is uncertain as to how the library acquired these photographs. A handwritten note appears on the original storage envelope indicating it was donated to the Library in 1975.
Processing Information
For each strip negative the following process was used in their re-housing. The strips were assigned a number and then re-housed in acid-free archival envelopes. If there were multiple images on the strip, then each image was assigned a letter. Letters were assigned from top to bottom or from left to right, depending on the type of strip negative. Any intellectual information on original housing was transferred to the new housing.
Processing Information
Basic archival procedures were used at the time of processing. The negative strips were assigned a number and then re-housed in acid-free archival envelopes. If there were multiple images on the strip, then each image was assigned a letter. Letters were assigned from top to bottom or from left to right, depending on the type of strip negative. Any intellectual information on original housing was transferred to the new housing.
- Title
- Mary E.A. Mitchell
- Subtitle
- An inventory of the Mary E.A. Mitchell Collection at DC Public Library
- Author
- Finding aid prepared by Mark S. Greek.
- Date
- 2006-05
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Repository Details
Part of the The People's Archive, Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library Repository