The Winterthur Library

The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum

5105 Kennett Pike, Winterthur, DE 19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

Title: Papers of the Whitehall estate

Dates: ca. 1763-1780, ca. 1950-2010

Call No.: Col. 205

Acc. No.: 92x93; 10x102

Quantity: 4 boxes, 1 folder

Location: 3 G 1-4, map case D, drawer 4

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

Whitehall, an estate located near Annapolis, Maryland, was designed and built in the mid-1760s for and under the supervision of Horatio Sharpe, the incumbent governor of Maryland. It is believed that the home was designed by Joseph Horatio Anderson. The central block of the home is considered the first evidence of the Classical Revival style in America, anticipating the Greek temple home by 30 years, although Whitehall is considered a Roman temple, not a Greek one. Whitehall is a red brick mansion with a handsome central white portico looking toward the Chesapeake Bay and two short flanking wings. It is almost 200 feet long and one room deep, with two stories on the land side of the facade and only one on the water side. It has a grand central hall which extends through two floors with elaborately carved woodwork. William Buckland is thought to have been responsible for the elaborate interior. Whitehall also boasted the first water closet in America; it was located in a wing that was demolished in the late 18^th century.

After Sharpe was called back to England in 1773 and subsequently died, the property was left to his secretary John Ridout. Ridout descendants farmed the plantation until 1895, when the house was bought by Mrs. John P. Story of Washington, D.C. In 1929, the house, grounds, and original furnishings owned by Mrs. Story were purchased by Francis P. Garvan as part of his plan for the restoration of Annapolis. The house went unoccupied for nearly two decades and the furnishings were dispersed. In 1946, the property was acquired by Charles Scarlett, Jr.

After purchasing the estate, Scarlett began to investigate the origin and development of Whitehall. In 1954, he started a renovation project. Believing that the second story, a 1792 addition, ruined the original architectural splendor, that part of the building was removed. Scarlett took an archeological approach to the restoration, which included lab tests of chips of the original paint to reproduce the colors. The restoration was supervised by a Ridout descendent, Charles D. Ridout.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The collection includes 18^tth, 20^th, and 21^st century architectural drawings of Whitehall and other buildings, including a stable and a water closet for Whitehall, and a proposed State House for Maryland. The 20^th century drawings were done by Charles Scarlett as he had the house restored to its original size. In 2010, an architectural firm did additional elevation drawings of the house and wings. As well, there are financial records of the Whitehall plantation from the 1770s, manuscripts and modern notes collected during Scarlett's research on the house, photographs taken before and after Mr. Scarlett’s restoration of the house, and publications relating to Whitehall.

ORGANIZATION

The materials are arranged by size and then by accession number. Box 1 contains the 18^th century drawings, plus a few 20^th century ones. Box 2 contains the 18^th century financial records of the plantation, plus some additional modern drawings by Worth Bailey. Boxes 3 and 4 contain materials and photographs collected during the restoration of the home. The elevation drawings done in 2010 are in a map case.

The slides which came in as part of this collection are now in the slide library (see note under Related Material).

When the drawings were given to Winterthur they were mounted on black acidic paper using poorly attached photo corners. The drawings have since been removed from the scrapbook and are house in acid free folders.

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

The materials are in English.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

Collection is open to the public. Copyright restrictions may apply.

PROVENANCE

Accession 92x93: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Scarlett, Jr.

Accession 10x102: gift of Davis A. Buckley.

RELATED MATERIALS:

There are photographs of Whitehall in the R.T. Haines Halsey Papers, Collection 56.

ACCESS POINTS

People:

Sharpe, Horatio, 1718-1790.

Buckland, William, 1734-1774.

Anderson, Joseph Horatio.

Yeldell, William.

Ridout, John.

Scarlett, Charles.

Topics:

Agriculture - Maryland - Accounting.

Architectural drawing - Detailing.

Architectural photography.

Architecture - Details.

Architecture, Domestic - Maryland - Annapolis.

Architecture, Georgian - Maryland - Annapolis.

Classical revival.

Decoration and ornament, Architectural.

Dwellings - Maryland - Conservation and restoration.

Dwellings - Maryland - Annapolis - Designs and plans.

Farm layout.

Farm produce.

Finance, Personal - Maryland - Annapolis.

House furnishings - Photographs.

Interior decoration - Photographs.

Livestock.

Paint

Plantations - Maryland.

Seals (Numismatics)

Stables - Drawings.

Toilets – Pictorial works.

Wood-carving - Maryland - Annapolis.

Wood-engraving - Specimens.

Whitehall (Md. : Estate)

Maryland – Capital and capitol.

United States - History - Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775.

United States - History - Revolution, 1775-1783 - Economic aspects.

Architectural drawings.

Accounts.

Receipts.

Correspondence

Photoprints

Slides.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

Location: 3 G 1-4, Map Case D, drawer 4

Note: accession numbers begin with 92x93, unless otherwise noted.

Box 1: Drawings

.1 Document entitled: "An explanation of the seven drawings & c." Explanations are given for (A) general plan of house and offices, with semi-octagon fortification and bastion; (B) water closet [see .3]; (C) two obelisks; (D) sections of the rooms; and (E) octagon stable with elevation, section, and plan.

The paper has the watermark of a shield and the letters GR.

.2a Plan A: general plan of Whitehall, with offices to west and east.

.2b Drawing, done in 1951 by Charles Scarlett, showing details of the grounds on the land side of the house. Scarlett’s drawing outlines the courtyard, bastions, ditch, slope bank, the ha (i.e. ha-ha), and a petard gate. His letters match those in the explanatory document (.1) for (A).

.3 Plan B: Color drawing of water closet featuring its plan and elevation for the west extension. Attributed to Anderson. (see also .1 above and .24 in Box 2 for explanations of this drawing)

.4 Elevation and plan of an octagonal stable with cupola. Attributed to Anderson.

Paper has watermark of J. Whatman.

.5 Plan, elevation, and explanation of east and west wings of Whitehall with connecting arcades. One wing contained the water closet, and the other a well. Each wing was connected to an office building.

Paper has watermark of J. Whatman.

.6 "The Eastern Parrapet & Ballustrade fronting Garden” and “The West front to the Garden," with notes about sizes.

Paper has watermark of fleur-de-lis, a shield, and the initials LVG.

.7 Pencil drawing labeled "A Draft of Ornaments for the Hall at Whitehall." The sketch has been attributed to William Buckland.

The paper has the watermark of Gerrevink, a Dutch papermaker.

.8 Elevation and plan of finials, patterns, and window shades.

Paper has watermark of a shield and the initials GR.

Also a photocopy of a note by Charles Scarlett about finding similar gilded finials in someone’s garret.

.9 Curved templates, with numbers needed of each item.

.10 Elevation and plan of proposed Maryland State House, with plan of the flues. (This proposed building was never executed.)

Paper has watermark of fleur-de-lis, shield and the initials LVG.

.11 Longitudinal section and transverse section of the Maryland State House, which was not built.

Paper has watermark of fleur-de-lis, shield and the initials LVG.

.28 Perspective drawing of the central portion of Whitehall, 1950, showing how house would look without the 1790s second floor addition. Initialed and dated C.S. Jr., 1950.

.29 Drawing of the plan of ground, by Charles Scarlett, January 1951. Shows main house, offices to west and east and attached arcades (one of which held water closet, and the other a well), and bastion on one side of house.

.52 Device used to situate stable on the property, and notes about stable dig, ca.1950s?

Box 2:

Folder 1: Plantation records, 1773-1780

.12 Disbursements from the Whitehall plantation to John Ridout, 1773-1780.

Written on cover: “Accot. extracted from Acct. Record(?) between J. R. & H.S. intended to shew what part of the Disbursements ought to be charged to Plantation & what Credits ought to be given it for sundry Sums rec’d by J.R. so as to be a ground work together with W.Y.’s acct. for stating an acct. of Profit & Loss with sd. Plantation.”

.13 Col. Sharpe to William Yeldell, 1773-1775

Wages paid (including paying Mrs. Ricketts for midwifery services), items bought for the family, quarters of beef, calves, lamb, sugar, cloth, money due to cooper, and spinning and weaving.

.14 Accounts current, Col. Sharpe’s plantation with William Yeldell, overseer, 1772-1778.

.15 Account, Whitehall Plantation to William Yeldell, 1775-1777

.16 Col. Sharpe to William Yeldell, 1775-1777

oats, whey, barley, mending shoes, blacksmithing, etc.

.17 Plantation accounts, Col. Sharpe to Wm. Yeldell, 1777-1780

(endorsed: Copy from Wm. Y’s book from 30 June 1777 to 30 June 1780)

.18a-b Net profit of the plantation, 1774-1778

Note: .18a written on back of printed form to certify that ships have been registered, Annapolis, 177-

Folder 2: Plantation records, 1774-1778

.19 Short statement of the profit from Whitehall plantation (“the mill not included”), 1773-1778.

.20-.23 Disbursements and receipts, 1773-1780

Includes overseer's wages. Continental currency was used in 1777 and 1778.

Folder 3: Miscellaneous 18^th century documents

.24 Explanation of a small part of the plan of the water closet (.3 in Box 1); however, most of the items mentioned in this explanation are not on that plan

.25 Letter from Whitehall, August 22, 1772, written by Sharpe to John Hesselius(? name is at bottom of first page). About needing additional land so can get more water into the mill pond. (also a photocopy)

.26 Letter, Sharpe, Annapolis, March 6, 1767, to Gov. Penn. Written by John Ridout for Sharpe’s signature. Agent for Lord Baltimore is to remit money to Mr. Shippen. Will be at Chester Town (also referred to as Chester) on the 19^th unless the meeting is postponed.

.27 Fragment of a receipt, Maryland, June 24, 1765, Robert and James Christie at Messrs. Bland & Barnett, to pay Joseph Galloway; also signed Catherine Coutt.

On back: “Pay the contents to the Honable. Cecilius Calvert,” signed Horo. Sharpe; also signed by William Anderson. Names Jos. Menting(?) and Rob. Rives(?) also appear.

And a note by Charles Scarlett about having found a preliminary study for a formal document plan in Mrs. Dugan’s garret, but the document found was probably not this receipt.

Folders 4 - 10: Drawings by Worth Bailey for Whitehall, 20^th century

.35 Mill

.36 Eight-oared barge

.37 Saddle

.38 Monument

.39 Table with eagle base

.40 Portico

.41 Silver two handled cup with lid, with note “in Ridout House, Annap.”

Folder 11:

.42 The Sun Magazine (Baltimore), December 17, 1972, featuring an article on Whitehall, with color pictures of its interior. Written by Helen Henry.

Folder 12: copies of Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) photos, taken in 1930s (acc. 10x102)

10x102.2 steps to door in central portion of house, garden side

10x102.3 one of the wings of Whitehall

10x102.4 part of one of the wings, showing a balcony

10x102.5-6 overall views of the house, taken before the 2d story addition was removed

10x102.7 classical portico on central portion of house, taken before 2d story addition was removed

Box 3: Notes on restoration and original house

Folder 1: .32 Paint Color Study.

Twenty-two page report by Penelope Hartshorne, dated 1961, on the analysis of paint chips from Whitehall. Includes color samples.

Folder 2: .33 Modern paint samples with textual descriptions of the colors (folder labeled: paints for rooms)

Folder 3: .43a-b Maryland Historical Magazine, March 1951, containing an article by Charles Scarlett entitled "Governor Horatio Sharpe's Whitehall." Also an offprint. Both contain annotations from the author.

Folder 4: .44 Old English Coffee Houses. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Press 1954.

Folder 5: .45 Scarlett's notes on the house

Folders 6-12 .47a-q Photographs of the house, most are black-and-white photographs of the exterior taken before the restoration. A few color Polaroids of the interior were taken after the restoration. (7 folders)

Folder 13: .49 Correspondence and notes on the Tyron Place Restoration

Folder 14: .50 Illustration of the Union Flag, i.e., the British Union jack, and correspondence with Scarlett about flags for Gov. Sharpe’s regiments

Folder 15: [none] photocopy of letter from Scarlett to H. F. du Pont, Oct. 20, 1959 (original in Winterthur Archives)

Folder 16: Slides, some taken by Mr. Scarlett and some by Damie Stillman in 1992, during and after restoration;

Views of garden façade, portico (entrance) façade, center hall, other rooms, includes details of doors and windows

Box 4: Miscellaneous Oversize

.0 Title page of scrapbook, “Whitehall, 1764,” with photograph of dog and pressed flower

.1b Photostat of part of the “Explanation of the seven drawings,” the original of which is .1a in Box 1 (This came from the scrapbook.)

.30 Plan of the "North or Approach Facade," i.e. the land side, of Whitehall, pencil drawing by Charles Scarlett, 1950. This shows the house with the second story additions, which were later removed.

.31 Perspective drawing of Whitehall done in pencil by Charles Scarlett, 1949. It shows details of the roof and of a column. This drawing was done to show what the house looked like before the second story additions were added in the 1790s.

.34 Original watercolor design of the seal of Maryland, initialed and dated on back: R.G.H.P., 1876. Also a photostatic copy of the seal.

.48 Copies of original documents pertaining to Horatio Sharpe and Whitehall.

Includes published staircase designs by A. Swan; plan of house and bastion; room elevation designed by Thomas Lightoler; photo of carved wood or plaster ornament; estimate of making a canal in Bohemia and Apoquinimy Rivers; letter from architect Joseph Horatio Anderson (about building in Providence, 1770, including typed transcription); document mentioning various laws, signed James Brooks, Annapolis, 1774; typed copies of deeds relating to Whitehall estate; and other various papers.

.51 The Sunday Sun (Baltimore), June 29, 1930, with an article called "White Hall [sic], Maryland's Typical House." (in a frame)

.53 Scale drawings of architectural details found at Whitehall, done for the Historic American Buildings Survey by Worth Bailey, n.d. (2 copies). Details are of Great Seal of Maryland, fragment of floral manteling, probably prong from earls’ cap, and fish fragment.

.54 Drawings for a proposed Maryland State House, photostatic copies of .10 and .11, in Box 1.

Map Case D, drawer 4

acc. 10x102.1a-h black line drawings prepared by Davis Buckley Architects and Planners, Sept. 30, 2010, includes plans of lower and main levels (main house and wings), roof plan (house and wings), south elevation (house and wings), east elevation and east elevation of northside wing, north and south elevations (house and wings), and a north elevation which shows only part of the wings