The Winterthur Library

 The Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera

Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum, Winterthur, DE  19735

302-888-4600 or 800-448-3883

 

 

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION

 

Creator:          Williams, Isaac L., 1817-1895.                                    

Title:               Drawings and scrapbook

Dates:             1863-1895

Call No.:         Col. 264

Acc. No.:         74x437; 84x160

Quantity:        50 items

Location:        4 C 10

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Isaac L. Williams was a portrait, landscape, and figure painter.  Born June 24, 1817 in Philadelphia, he studied under John R. Smith and John Neagle.  Williams began exhibiting his work in Philadelphia in 1837.  His work was also displayed in New York City, Boston, Baltimore, and Washington, D.C.  Although he began his career as a portrait painter, by 1844 he was focusing primarily on landscapes.  Williams had a studio in Lancaster, Pa. in 1854 and 1855 and traveled through Europe in 1866.  He owned property in Odessa, Delaware.  Williams became a member of the Artists' Fund Society in 1860 and later served as its president.  He died in Philadelphia on April 23, 1895.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Consists of a portfolio of 45 sheets of drawings signed by or attributed to Isaac L. Williams, dating from 1868 to 1890, and a scrapbook of newspaper clippings pertaining to art and other subjects kept between 1863 and 1886.  The drawings provide some visual references to the New Jersey-Delaware area in the 19th century.  Illustrations depict such things as trees, scenery, and pastures, and there are sketches of individuals and people sitting in outdoor settings.  As well, one illustration is called “Craft on Lake Champlain.”  Also included are a list of course offerings from the Committee on Instruction, School of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1894 and 1895; an invitation to Williams from the Reception Committee of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania; a printed sheet describing Masonic decorations on an unidentified portrait; and a catalog of artists' supplies from Ripka & Co.

 

Highlights of the scrapbook include reviews of art exhibitions and books, the “Varieties” column from a Philadelphia newspaper, an article on ancient houses in Philadelphia, a funeral notice and fire insurance policy for John Williams, and engravings from Frank Leslie’s illustrated newspaper.   

 

ORGANIZATION

 

The items are in accession number order.

 

Index to names appearing in scrapbook is part of this finding aid.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

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

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

Accession 74x437: gift of Christine Beecher. 

Accession 84x160: gift of George Hopper Fitch.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

Topics:

            Ripka & Co.

            Artists Fund Society.

            Artists' preparatory studies.

            Art - Study and teaching.

            Art criticism.

            Pencil drawing.

            Artists’ materials - Catalogs.

            Human beings in art.

            Trees in art.

            Landscape in art.

            Philadelphia (Pa.) - Social life and customs.

            Philadelphia (Pa.) - Description and travel.

            Sketches.

            Drawings.

            Trade catalogs.

            Scrapbooks.

            Clippings.

            Artists.

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 4 C 10

 

 

 

Names in acc. 74x437, Isaac S. Williams Scrapbook; see also the index in front of the volume.

(The list below is just a partial index to the contents of the scrapbook.)

 

(Note: stamped on the front cover of the scrapbook is Artists Fund Annual, 1868.)

 

 

American Fire Insurance Company 5

 

Bartram's House 16

Belmont 16

Boudinot, Elias 16

 

Cliveden 16

 

Davidson, J. 0. 19

 

Johnson (of Williams & Johnson) 5

 

Kneass, W. 5

 

Leslie, Frank 18, 19

Logan, William (House) 16

 

Mason & Dixon - Monument House 16

McCall, Archibald 16

Monument House - Mason and Dixon 16

 

New York Yacht Club 19

 

Pemberton, James (House) 16

 

Rakestraw, Joseph 9

Ross, John 16

 

Stamper, John (House) 16

 

Whitby Hill 16

Williams & Johnson 5

Williams, Isaac L. - see Isaac S. Williams

Williams, Isaac S.  [no page number given]

Williams, John (Jun.) 9

Wister House, Germantown 16

 

Items in acc. 84x160:

 

Circular of Committee on Instruction, Schools of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, season of 1894-1895

 

“The Decorations on the Portrait are so constantly assumed to be Masonic (which none of them are) as to justify the following explanation of what they really signify.”  There is nothing to indicate to which portrait the flier refers.

 

Ripka & Co., Philadelphia.  Artists and Wax Flower Materials [trade catalog]

 

Portfolio of sketches: boats, trees, people outdoors, landscapes, etc., many dated;

WARNING: many of the sketches are fragile; please handle with care.

The portfolio volume bears the arms of the City of Philadelphia on the front cover and a view of the waterworks on the Schuylkill River on the back cover.