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Library of Virginia
The Library of Virginia© 2007 By The Library of Virginia. All Rights Reserved.
Processed by: Rebecca Dobyns
Collection is open to research.
Permission to publish material from the Willoughby A. Reade Photograph Collection must be obtained from Prints and Photographs Department, Special Collections Branch, Library of Virginia.
The Willoughby A. Reade Photograph Collection: Abingdon, Va. and Surrounding Areas, 1901-1910, Prints and Photographs Department, Special Collections Branch, Library of Virginia
A gift of Mrs. Willoughby Reade, nee Nannie Hunter Griffin (Nan), to Special Collections, Library of Virginia in 1954.
Willoughby A. Reade was born in London, England in 1865. He traveled with his family to Canada where they lived for several years before moving on to the United States when he was about ten years old. He was a graduate of Howard College in Alabama, and attended Emory and Henry College (1883-1884) near Abingdon, listing his domicile as Wytheville, Virginia. He worked as a professor of English at the prestigious Episcopal High School in Alexandria from 1894 to 1947. There he served as the Head of the department of English and Elocution for fifteen years. He published several books, including England and the Continent (1891), The Epic of King Author (1890), and When Hearts Were True a collection of short stories set in Virginia (1907).
Reade's first wife was Mary Wheeler Robertson of Abingdon, Virginia, daughter of Captain Frank Smith Robertson and granddaughter of ex-Governor Wyndham Robertson. Willoughby and Mary Robertson were married June 26, 1894. The Meadows, Mary's childhood home which passed to her from her father, Captain Frank Smith Robertson, became the Reade's annual summer place. The Meadows had been the property of Captain Francis Smith through his marriage to the widow of wealthy Southwest Virginian, William King.
The subject locale of this collection is on the property of The Meadows, the outskirts of Abingdon, and the dramatic natural landscape nearby. The house is the site of the first national camp for girls. One of the photographs in the album shows tents located around the house in the early days before the camp became known offically as Camp Glenrochie, ca. 1910. The Reade's operated the camp together, until Mary died 11 January 1919. Willoughby continued as director of the camp until 1946, when his son Frank R. Reade and wife Jean Cunningham assumed directorship. Reade married again sometime after 1920 to Nannie H. Griffin of Bedford. They moved to her family home after his retirement in 1946. During his stay he wrote the Bicentennial Theme Song Beautiful Bedford. Willoughby died 9 June 1952 at 86 after a long illness and is buried in Longwood Cemetery.
Important connections were made about Willoughby Reade and the period of the photographs due to the organization and presentation of materials (UA 2-1-3) donated by Frank Robertson Reade to Valdosta State University, where he worked as a professor. A finding aid and web exhibit are available from the Valdosta State University Archives and Special Collections website. Additional sources consulted were the online Ancestry Library Edition, 1920 and 1930 United States Federal Census, Heritage Quest Online, Washington Post Obituary 18 Jan 1919 for Mrs. Willoughby Reade (Mary Robertson), Washington Post Announcement to Retire 26 June 1946, Washington Post Obituary 15 June 1952 for Willoughby Reade, and Library of Southern Literature , 1929.
The Willoughby A. Reade Collection includes a photo album, glass plate negatives, and contact prints. The thirty-eight page photo album has seventy-eight prints the majority of which are platinum prints fixed to the pages with handwritten captions underneath. The photographs depict the period from approximately 1901 to 1910. One of the photographs depicts girls in front of a small number of tents, likely the earliest days of Mary Reade's idea for a camp. The album also contains photographs of the house - The Meadows, a few men, women and children, and area landscapes - including Abingdon. There are a few prints of a young boy identified as F.R.R. which is likely Mary and Willoughby's son Frank around age eight to twelve. The majority of prints are composed in the pictorialist style whose subjects include locations of special interest in the surrounding region such as; Devil's Backbone, South Holston River, Pinnacle Rocks at White Top, and the vista of Red Rock Cove. The glass plate negatives match sixteen prints in the album.
Each item in the Photo Album is numbered with a caption and/or description. The three series correspond to format and are referenced with abbreviations such as: Photo Album - PA, silver gelatin Contact Prints - CP, and Glass Plate negatives - GP. There are seventy-eight prints in the Photo Album numbered sequentially from PA#1 to PA#78. Since each of the Glass Plate Negatives match prints in the Photo Album, they share the number with a different prefix, GP, for the glass plate format. If a print from the album has a matching glass plate the GP designation will be noted at the end of the description.
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series I: Photo Album......................PA Series II: Contact Prints...................CP Series III: Glass Plate Negatives.......GPThe Photo Album depicts subjects related to The Meadows , home of Willoughby and Mary Robertson Reade, the site of Camp Glenrochie , and pictorialist depictions of natural landscape subjects from Abingdon, Virginia to Eastern Tennessee. They include; the surrounding area of White Top, Red Rock Cove, Pinnacle Rock, Backbone Rock, Watuaga River, and South Holston River. In the following list of Photo Album (PA) prints, the following is described for each: the print number, the page number and placement (left/right,etc.), the handwritten caption, additional information in brackets, a description of the view, and existence of either a glass plate negative (GP), or a contact print (CP).
Maintained in original order :
- The Meadows - Top Right Page One; view of pond and house in grove of trees
- Abingdon - Bottom, Page One - view of town from top of hill
- Park Hill - Top left, Page Two - view of town from top of hill
- 12 bass, 29 lbs. - Top right, Page Two - view of bass on hook line hung on tree by the house
- 14 wall eyed pike - Bottom left, Page Two - view of a string of bass tacked to column of house
- From Glenrochie Tower - Bottom right, Page Two - view of mountains
- Althea Walk, The Meadows - Top left, Page Three - view of field and flowers
- Abingdon - Top right, Page Three - view of town
- Park Hill - Bottom left, Page Three - view of pond through trees
- Park Hill - Bottom right, Page Three - view of hill behind pond
- Devil's Backbone, 94' High, 64'Wide at Top - Left, Page Four - view of the tunnel created by Empire Mining Company for a railroad ca. 1901 - GP, CP
- Wild Grape Vine - Top right, Page Four - view of vines up close
- Below Damascus - Bottom right, Page Four - view of [Holston] river and rocks
- Backbone Rock - Left, Page Five - view of rock with men gathered below, ca.1901
- Untitled - Bottom left, Page Five - view of river bed with one man fishing another on horseback
- Jim Wilson - Left, Page Five - view of man fly fishing
- White Top Laurel - Page Six - view of river bank with laurel and distant mountains
- White Top Laurel - Left, Page Seven - view of bank with staghorn sumac in forground, river, and rocks - GP, CP
- Same [White Top Laurel] - Right, Page Seven - view of river bank with laurel and distant mountains
- Frog, South Fork Holston [river] - Left, Page Eight - view of rock face as it meets and is reflected in the river - GP, CP
- Big Trout, White Top Laurel - Right, Page Eight - view of river, bed rock, angled rock formation toward river
- White Top Laurel Falls - Left, Page Nine - view of water falls and pool in foreground
- Same [White Top Laurel Falls] - Left, Page Nine - view of calm water looking back at falls - GP, CP
- White Top Laurel - Left, Page Ten - view of river, cliffs behind and breaks
- Same [White Top Laurel] - Left, Page Ten - view of river, cliffs behind and breaks
- Spoon Mountain, Damascus - Left, Page Eleven - view of meadow with mountain in distance
- Bridge on Road to Taylor's Valley - Right, Page Eleven - view of rocky stream bed and rough hewn log bridge
- Lower Fall, Taylor's Valley Creek - Page Twelve - view of waterfall in background, to pool in foreground, handcolored
- Upper Fall, Taylor's Valley Creek, My finest negative, 13 second exposure, light down to 128 - Page Thirteen - view of step incline of rocks with waterfall cascade
- White Top Laurel - Left, Page Fourteen - view of rock formation tower, part of cliff along river - GP, CP
- Same [White Top Laurel] - Right, Page Fourteen - view of pool of water with river lined with bank of trees receeding to mountains in distance - GP, CP
- South Holston, fish trap at Ed Mahaffey's - Top left, Page Fifteen - view from above river to rocky bed and fish trap
- Same [South Holston, fish trap at Ed Mahaffey's] - Bottom right, Page Fifteen - view of fish trap in river up close - GP, CP
- South Fork of Holston - Left, Page Sixteen - view of bank lined with trees, up river to bend
- Same [South Fork of Holston] - Right, Page Sixteen - view of river at widest, banks with trees
- South Fork of Holston - Left, Page Seventeen - view of rocky shore to river, tree lined bank in distance - GP, CP
- Same [South Fork of Holston] - Left, Page Seventeen - view up river showing banks with trees and a small island, river like glass in foreground - GP, CP
- South Fork of Holston - Left, Page Eighteen - view of river reflective and calm by the shore line - GP, CP
- Same [South Fork of Holston] - Left, Page Eighteen - view from above the valley, see river and mountains - GP, CP
- Old Iron Furnace, Denton's Creek and Holston - Left, Page Nineteen - view now under water due to the South Holston Dam
- Looking out of Red Rock Cove - Right, Page Nineteen - view was the private property of Captain Frank S. Robertson
- The Red Rock, Top of Cove - Left, Page Twenty - view to the distant knob - GP, CP
- Same [The Red Rock, Top of Cove] - Right, Page Twenty - view the distant knob showing the rock - GP, CP
- The Holmes Family, Red Rock Cove - Left, Page Twenty-one - view of men and women along fence with buildings behind
- South Fork - Right, Page Twenty-one - view of river, bend at rocky bank [South Holston]
- Untitled [South Fork] - Left, Page Twenty-two - view of calm river with jagged rock formation rising above it [South Holston]
- Untitled [South Fork] - Top right, Page Twenty-two - view valley with train on train trestle
- Untitled - Bottom right, Page Twenty-two - view of Rhododendron
- Untitled - Left, Page Twenty-three - view, close up of rock at river
- Untitled - Top right, Page Twenty-three - view of water cascading down step bank of rocks in river
- Untitled [White Top] - Bottom right, Page Twenty-three - view of hill top with large rocks and two men, one with telescope
- Falls north of Abingdon - Left, Page Twenty-four - view of waterfall through trees - GP, CP
- Same [Falls north of Abingdon] - Left, Page Twenty-four - view,close up of waterfall - GP, CP
- Rhododendron in Knobs - Left, Page Twenty-five - view of flora - GP, CP
- Ferns on White Top - Right, Page Twenty-five - view of flora
- Pinnacle Rock, White Top - Left, Page Twenty-six - view of rock - GP, CP
- Cattle on White Top - Top right, Page Twenty-six - view of cattle
- Lashorn Forest - Bottom right, Page Twenty-six - view of field with horizon of this tree, a species of Norway Spruce, native to this region -
- Spring near Top - Page Twenty-seven - view of spring surrounded by rocks
- Pond Mountain - Left, Page Twenty-eight - view of mountain ridge
- Lashorn Forest, White Top - Left, Page Twenty-eight - view of meadow with trees surrounding field
- Indian Grave, White Top - Left, Page Twenty-nine - view of mound in forest ground
- Fall north of Abingdon - Right, Page Twenty-nine - view of waterfalls
- Fall north of Abingdon - Right, Page Twenty-nine - view of waterfalls
- F.R.R. and Red Rock [Frank Robertson Reade] - Page Thirty - view of Frank R. Reade as a young boy with mountains in distance
- In Red Rock Cove - Page Thirty-one - view of top of mountain with rocks - GP, CP
- Front View Meadows, Evelyn - Page Thirty-two - view of five females in white dresses on road in front of The Meadows hidden by trees - GP, CP
- First Glenrochie tents in circle, front of Meadows - Page Thirty-three - view of camp tents and girls washing pans in foreground (ca. 1905)
- Untitled - Page Thirty-four - view of Natural Bridge [taken from path]
- Pinnacle Rock on White Top - Left, Page Thirty-five - view of mountains in distance and the large Pinnacle rock on right
- Lashorn Forest - Top right, Page Thirty-five - view close up of tree line
- Same [Lashorn Forest] - Bottom right, Page Thirty-five - view of meadow enclosed by Lashorn trees
- Buffalo Rock on White Top - Page Thirty-six - view of rock
- Watauga River - Page Thirty-seven - view of tributary of Watuaga, South Fork of Holston showing industrial buildings on the bank
- Untitled - Page Thirty-eight - view of camp girls on horseback (ca. 1905)
- Untitled, unmounted - Page Thirty-nine - view of rock cliffs and river - GP, CP
- Untitled, unmounted - Page Thirty-nine - view of small waterfall
- Untitled, unmounted - Page Thirty-nine - view of F.R.R. [Frank Robertson Reade] on top of rocks
The Glass Plate negatives depict subjects related to The Meadows , and pictorialist depictions of natural landscape subjects near Abingdon, Damascus, Virginia and East Tennessee; White Top, Red Rock Cove, Pinnacle Rock, Backbone Rock, White Top Laurel River, Watuaga River, and South Holston River and several waterfalls north of Abingdon.
The Glass Plate negatives have been assigned numbers according to their prints in the majority series of the collection, the Photo Album. There are a total of thirty-two glass plate negatives, sixteen negatives appear as prints in the Series I: Photo Album. The Photo Album prints were numbered PA#1 through PA#78, and glass plates negatives that match the print are assigned the same number with the glass plate (GP) format prefix.
Glass plate negatives which do not appear as prints in the photo album are numbered starting with #79 after the last Photo Album print, #78. In the following list of GP negatives, the following is described for each: the negative number, the handwritten caption (in italics), additional information in brackets if known, and or a description of the view.
Arrangement: The sixteen Glass Plate negatives that have matching prints appear non-sequentially. However they are listed in order from GP#11 through GP#76, the remaining items do not have prints in the photo album:
- view of Devil's Backbone, 94' High, 64'Wide at Top
- view of White Top Laurel
- view of Frog, South Fork Holston [river]
- view of White Top Laurel Falls
- view of White Top Laurel
- view of pool of water with river [White Top Laurel] lined with trees, mountains in distance
- view of South Fork of Holston
- view of South Fork of Holston
- view of The Red Rock, Top of Cove
- view of The Red Rock, Top of Cove
- view of Rhododendron in Knobs
- view of Pinnacle Rock, White Top
- view of F.R.R. and Red Rock [Frank Robertson Reade]
- view of In Red Rock Cove
- view of rock cliffs and river [unmounted photo in album]
- view of six girls and one boy on top of large rock [Red Rock Cove]
- view of The Meadows house in grove of trees with buildings in the rear
- view of group of men standing on rock piles in front of Backbone Rock tunnel, blasted open by Empire Mining Company for railroad ca. 1901, Damascus, Virginia
- view of rocks [Red Rock Cove]
- view of rocks and mountain range beyond [Red Rock Cove]
- view of rock formation at close range [Pinnacle Rock]
- view of group of two large rock formations at close range [Pinnacle Rock]
- view of group of three large rock formations at close range [Pinnacle Rock]
- view of two men standing at top of rock formation [Red Rock Cove]
- view of Natural Bridge from creek bed
- view of rocky river bed, rock formations on bank, oak barrel to the side [South Fork Holston]
- view of two men standing on rocks in river fly fishing [South Fork Holston]
The Contact Prints are silver gelatin contact positives of the Glass Plate negatives in the collection. They are numbered and match the number assigned to the respective glass plate negative if it exists in the collection. The thirty-two prints are represented within the numbering sequence CP#11 through GP#90. The subjects are listed and described in the previous series.