A Guide to the Lawrence V. Smith Slide Collection, 1974-1983 Smith, Lawrence V., Slide Collection AV2015.4

A Guide to the Lawrence V. Smith Slide Collection, 1974-1983

A Collection in
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Accession number AV2015.4


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Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Library
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
P.O. Box 1776
Williamsburg, Virginia 23187
USA
Phone: (757) 565-8520
Fax: (757) 565-8528
Email: speccoll@cwf.org
URL: http://www.history.org

© 2017 By The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. All rights reserved.

Processed by: Marianne Martin and Faith Stahl

Repository
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Accession number
AV2015.4
Title
Lawrence V. Smith Slide Collection, 1974-1983
Extent
1535 slides .
Creator
Smith, Lawrence V. (Lawrence Victor), 1931-2010
Storage Location
AV2015.4
Language
English

Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection is open to research.

Use Restrictions

There are no restrictions.

Preferred Citation

Lawrence V. Smith Slide Collection, Special Collections, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library , Accession # AV2015.4, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Acquisition Information

Gift

Biographical Information

Lawrence V. Smith began his career with the intent of becoming a chemist but soon discovered an alternate path as a widely respected photo journalist and filmmaker. He received a B.S. in Education from Illinois State University in 1955 and commenced post-graduate studies in chemistry at Iowa State University. A term of services in the United States Army gave him the opportunity to learn how to operate a movie camera and he discovered his true calling behind the lens. His early photographic work combined his scientific background with his growing interest in filmmaking when he received a contract with Encyclopedia Britannica to direct the filming of a series of high school level chemistry classes. This was soon followed by an assignment with CBS-TV to document the Cuban Revolution in 1958, winning him his first Emmy award. He then went on to work for Russell-Barton Film Company on a series of television programs and documentaries.

Smith returned to TV news in 1963, when he joined ABC-TV, and a few years later became part of its Far East photography unit, where he served as Director of Photography for a number of documentaries about current events in the Far East. "Reflections in Vietnam" won him a second Emmy award. In 1965, Smith also founded Lawrence Smith Productions, Inc. and contracted with a wide variety of news agencies, television broadcasts, sports teams and political groups. His work as Director of Photography for "Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom" won him two successive Emmy awards in 1966 and 1967

The 1970s offered Smith the oopportunity for adventuresome photo and film shoots around the world, as well as the chance to impact the local filmmaking scene in his home town of Jacksonville, Florida. His underwater photography skills qualified him for the unique experience of living as an aquanaut for two weeks in the Virgin Islands in the Department of Interior's Tektite II Underwater Habitat. Smith also traveled to Africa to direct photography for a hunting safari special and devised new methods for seamless filming of the safari experience. At home, he joined local colleagues in forming the Jacksonville Motion Picture and Television Council and led the new group as its first President. During the 1970s, Smith and his wife, Linda Lockwood Slmith, also vacationed in Williamsburg, Virginia several times and this allowed him to capture his fascination with the living history museum on film.

Later in his career, Smith developed expertise in corporate and transportation photography, working on projects for CSX Transportation, the Occidental Chemical Corporation, and the Jacksonville Port Authority. He assisted Traffic World Magazine with stock images of a variety of transportation subjects and supplied at least twenty-six cover shots per year. The White House invited him to participate as a photographer in the 1992 Presidential Campaign Whistle Stop Tour. He photographed and filmed many navy vessels, submarines and aircraft in the 1990s, both for the military and for port authorities in Jacksonville, Los Angeles, and Long Beach. As the digital age of photography unfolded, Smith began to market his large archive of transportation photography and spent the remaining years of his career providing stock images rapidly via digital transmission to Business Week, Time Magazine, and U.S. News & World Report. Smith passed away on August 30, 2010. His legacy remains in the form of a vast pictorial archive of which his Colonial Williamsburg images form a small part.

Scope and Content

The Lawrence V. Smith Slide Collection encompasses color photographs Mr. Smith took during a series of visits to Colonial Williamsburg in the 1970s. Although not on official assignment to illustrate a story, his keen photographic eye still responded to the beauty and pageantry of Colonial Williamsburg, offering him the opportunity to experiment with new subject matter. His images capture a wide range of museum activities, exhibition buildings, personnel, and evocative moods within the Historic Area. The trade shops are particularly well-documented with images of the shop exterior and interiors, as well as extensive coverage of trade demonstrations. Those trades represented include the basket maker, brick maker, candle maker, cooper, leather maker, metalsmiths, milliner, printer and papermaker, textiles, and the wheelwright. Many close-up shots document methods used in the 1970s that are not necessarily still demonstrated in exactly the same way by tradesmen today.

Mr. Smith also photographed the exterior and interior of numerous exhibition buildings and many of the images document exterior features or interior furnishings that have since been modified as a result of further research on the part of Colonial Williamsburg curators and historians. Thus, they capture a unique perspective on interpretation of period rooms, paint colors, historic signs, and architectural elements during the 1970s.

Mr. Smith's interest in transportation is evident in the many photos he took of colonial carriages and ox carts. His slides document a wide range of wagons and open-air carriages used to transport guests around the Historic Area. A unique pair of photos captures an official United States helicopter on a Colonial Williamsburg green ready for loading visiting dignitaries for a flight back to Washington DC.

Smith also captured holiday events at Colonial Williamsburg. His 1976 visit to experience Colonial Williamsburg at Christmas is represented in a series of slides of Christmas decorations and the annual Christmas parade on Duke of Gloucester Street. In 1978, he returned for Fourth of July festivities and photographed a parade, militia drills, flag bearers, and the Fife and Drum Corps.

The visitor's experience at Colonial Williamsburg taverns, retail stores, and the Williamsburg Inn are featured, as well. Mr. and Mrs. Smith stayed at both the Market Square Tavern and the Williamsburg Inn during different visits and Smith photographed the architectural features, signboards, interior furnishings, and grounds of each. The couple also ate meals at the King's Arms Tavern and Chowning's Tavern and toured the Raleigh Tavern and Wetherburn's Tavern properties. They also shopped by the Prentis Store, Tarpley's Store, and the Craft House, where Smith took a succession of detail photos of shop window displays and reproduction colonial goods.

Arrangement

Arranged by series.

Related Material

Lawrence Smith's images can be found in repositories around the country, including the Smithsonian Museum of American History, the University of North Florida Library, the Jacksonville Historical Society, the National Museum of Commercial Aviation, and the Vietnam Center and Archive. A complete list of institutions, private owners, and commerical owners holding portions of his photographic and film archives can be found in the biographical information folder within the collection.

Index Terms

    Persons:

  • Historic buildings - Virginia - Williamsburg
  • Photographers - Florida - Jacksonville
  • Photojournalists - American
  • Slides
  • Smith, Lawrence V. (Lawrence Victor), 1931-2010
  • Transparencies
  • Williamsburg (Va.) - Buildings, structures, etc.
  • Williamsburg (Va.) - Photographs

Significant Places Associated With the Collection

  • Transparencies
  • Williamsburg (Va.) - Buildings, structures, etc.
  • Williamsburg (Va.) - Photographs

Contents List

About the Photographer 1974-2014
Box 1
Information about the photographer, including a resume, obituary, newspaper articles, and a list of other institutions holding portions of his image collections. The series also encompasses color print of Lawrence Smith in his home office and Lawrence Smith with his wife, Linda Lockwood Smith.

Chronological

Brush-Everard House July 1978
Box 1
Fifteen color slides of the interior of the Brush-Everard House at Colonial Williamsburg, including the kitchen, garden house, parlor, dining room, and bedrooms.

Chronological

Bruton Parish Church 1978-1983
Box 1
Twenty-six color slides of the exterior and interior of Bruton Parish Church

Chronological

Capitol 1976-1983
Box 1
Sixty-five color slides of the exterior, exterior details, and interior of the Capitol at Colonial Williamsburg, including the Committee Room, House of Burgesses, General Court, and Council Room.

Chronological

Carriages 1978-1983
Box 1
One hundred twenty-six color slides of a variety of carriages at Colonial Williamsburg

Chronological

Carter's Grove Plantation 1978
Box 1
Ninety-two color slides of Carter's Grove Plantation, Virginia, including exterior views of the river and land side elevations and interior views of the Breakfast Room, Entrance Hall, Dining Room, Kitchen, Refusal Room, New Sitting Room, Office, and Mr. and Mrs. McCrea's Bedrooms.

Chronological

Christmas January 1976
Box 1
Thirty-three color slides of Christmas decorations and activities at Colonial Williamsburg in December 1975, including a parade with the Fife and Drum Corps.

Chronological

Costumed Interpreters 1978
Box 1
Eighteen color slides of costumed interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg in 1978, including junior interpreters, musical street performers, and militia men.
Courthouse, Market Square, and Powder Magazine
Box 1
Thirty-eight color slides of the exteriors of the Powder Magazine and Courthouse at Colonial Williamsburg, as well as vistas across Market Square that include cannons and bagpipers.
Fourth of July 1978
Box 1
Sixty-five color slides of Fourth of July festivities at Colonial Williamsburg in 1978, including a parade and militia drills.
Gardens 1976-1983
Box 1
Fifty-nine color slides of gardens at Colonial Williamsburg, including the Governor's Palace, Orlando Jones House, and various close-up views of individual flowers and plants.
Governor's Palace 1978
Box 1
Seventy-nine color slides of exterior, interior, and gardens of the Governor's Palace at Colonial Williamsburg.
Miscellaneous 1978-1983
Box 1
Eleven color slides of miscellaneous subjects at Colonial Williamsburg, including fences, benches, architectural details, and the landing of a dignitary in a helicoptor on Market Square.
Miscellaneous Buildings 1978-1983
Box 1
Forty-three color slides of a variety of buildings that are part of Colonial Williamsburg, including Grissell Hay Lodging House, Ludwell Tenement, Tayloe House, Levingston Kitchen, Lightfoot Kitchen, George Wythe House, Peter Hay Shop, James Geddy House, and Benjamin Powell Laundry.
Music Teacher's Shop (Mary Stith Shop) 1978
Box 2
Forty-nine color slides of the exterior and interior of the Music Teacher's Shop (Mary Stith Shop), including close-ups of musical instruments and costumed interpreters performing.
Oxen Carts 1978
Box 2
Eleven color slides of teams of oxen pulling carts on Duke of Gloucester Street and Market Square.
Retail Stores 1978
Box 2
Nineteen color slides of various retail stores at Colonial Williamsburg, including Tarpley's Store, Prentis Store, and the Craft House.
Robertson's Windmill 1978-1983
Box 2
Sixteen color slides of exterior and interior of Robertson's Windmill at Colonial Williamsburg.
Street Scenes 1978-1983
Box 2
One hundred twenty color slides of various street scenes at Colonial Williamsburg, including Duke of Gloucester Street, Nicholson Street, and Francis Street.
Taverns 1978-1983
Box 2
Color slides of taverns at Colonial Williamsburg, including Chowning's Tavern, Market Square Tavern, Christiana Campbell's Tavern, Kings Arms Tavern, Raleigh Tavern, and Brick House Tavern.
Trades - Basketmaking 1978
Box 2
Three color slides of costumed interpreters demonstrating basketmaking techniques at Colonial Williamsburg

Chronological

Trades - Brickmaking 1978
Box 2

Thirty-two color slides of costumed interpreters demonstrating brickmaking techniques at Colonial Williamsburg

Chronological

Trades - Candlemaking 1978
Box 2
Nineteen color slides of costumed interpreters demonstrating candlemaking techniques at Colonial Williamsburg.

Chronological

Trades - Cooper 1978
Box 2
Thirty-four color slides of Colonial Williamsburg coopers at work making barrels.

Chronological

Trades - Leathermaking 1978
Box 2
Eleven color slides of costumed interpreters demonstrating leathermaking techniques at Colonial Williamsburg.

Chronological

Trades - Metalsmithing 1978-1983
Box 2
One hundred thirty-two color slides of blacksmiths, silversmiths, and founders at work at Colonial Williamsburg.

Chronological

Trades - Textiles 1978
Box 2
Seven color slides of a costumed interpreted dyeing wool for the production at textiles at Colonial Williamsburg.

Chronological

Trades - Wheelwright 1978
Box 2
Eight color slides of a wheelwright at work in the Governor's Palace Stabe complex at Colonial Williamsburg.

Chronological

Williamsburg Inn 1978-1983
Box 2
Thirty-seven color slides of the exterior and interior of the Williamsburg Inn, including the entrance, rear terrace, and Regency Room.

Chronological