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

 

Creator:         Kirkconnell, Barbara M.                                

Title:               Barbara Kirkconnell papers

Dates:             1985-2009

Call No.:         Col. 801

Acc. No.:        07x3; 07x15; 08x104; 11x29; 11x76; 13x72; 16x60

Quantity:        18 boxes (about 7.5 linear feet), 7 volumes

Location:        8 H 1-3

 

 

 

BIOGRAPHICAL STATEMENT

 

Barbara M. Kirkconnell is a specialist in period styles of draperies, including curtains and bed hangings.  She received a bachelor’s degree in interior design from the University of Florida and a master’s degree in historic preservation from the University of Maryland.  Because her husband was a career army officer, she came to her profession later in life.  During her studies, she met the architectural historian and restorer William Seale, with whom she worked on a number of projects.  Among her larger undertakings were the George Eastman House (Rochester, N.Y.), Riversdale (Maryland), Montpelier Mansion (Maryland), and Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin).  She has her own business, the Decorative Arts Studio.

 

 

SCOPE AND CONTENT

 

Collection documents Barbara Kirkconnell’s work on a number of historic house restoration projects, including Adena, Darnall’s Chance, George Eastman House, Montpelier Mansion (Md.), Reynolda House, Riversdale, Ten Chimneys, and Traveler’s Rest (Nashville).  As well, the files document commissions she undertook for private clients.  Although her specialty was in draperies, sometimes she also chose wallpapers and carpets.  Mrs. Kirkconnell supplied her clients with samples of fabric, wallpaper, and trim, and even sometimes stitched samples of what she proposed.  When needed, she had to find suppliers of drapery hardware and other items.  Poss Tarpley was frequently hired to assist her with sewing and embroidery.  (Several files were marked with her name.)   Mrs. Kirkconnell assisted historic preservationist William Seale on some of his projects, including the Alabama State Capitol and the George Eastman House.

 

The collection also includes Mrs. Kirkconnell’s notebooks in which she kept notes, names of contacts, ideas, and other information; calendars, scheduling both private (such as medical appointments) and work activities; her schedules of the Attingham summer school (attended 1993) and other Attingham tours; photographs and slides she took of the projects on which she worked and historic sites which she visited; and other information she collected.  Her copy of Mistress of Riversdale was marked to assist her with her work on that house.  In a letter, she mentioned that she found several old upholstery and drapery manuals to be of great use to her, and those titles are part of the collection as well. 

 

 

ORGANIZATION

 

The collection is divided into two series: Project Files; and Other Files (chiefly office files).  The project files are in alphabetical order by name of house or client, with the larger projects in Boxes 1-8 and private clients in Box 9.  All oversized material is found in Box 16.  Many photographs are found in the project files, but others are in boxes 17-18.

 

 

LANGUAGE OF MATERIALS

 

The materials are in English.  Some items are in French, Swedish or Irish Gaelic.

 

 

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS

 

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

           

 

PROVENANCE

           

All accessions are gift of Barbara Kirkconnell.

 

 

ACCESS POINTS

 

People:

            Seale, William.

            Tarpley, Poss.

            Marshall, George C. (George Catlett), 1880-1959.

           

 

Topics:

            Adena (Ohio : Estate)

            Attingham Trust for the Study of the Country House in Britain.

            Darnall’s Chance (Md. : Estate)

            Decorative Arts Studio.

George Eastman House.

Montpelier Mansion (Md. : Estate)

Reynolda House.

Riversdale (Md. : Estate)

Traveler’s Rest (Tenn. : Estate)

Ten Chimneys (Wis. : House)

Draperies.

            Draperies – Handbooks, manuals, etc.

            Historic buildings – Preservation.

Interior decoration – United States.

Textile fabrics – Specimens.

Upholstery.

Upholstery – Handbooks, manuals, etc.

Wallpaper – Specimens.

Alabama – Capital and capitol.

Color photographs.

Research notes.

Interior decorators.

 

 

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE COLLECTION

 

Location: 8 H 1-3

 

 

Series I: Project files

 

 

Box 1: project files:

 

Folders 1-3:     Adena (Chillicothe, Ohio)

                        [includes one drawing, acc. 13x72; see also oversize box]

 

Folder 4:          Adena (Chillicothe, Ohio): bills

 

Folder 5:          Adena (Chillicothe, Ohio): by room

 

Folder 6:          Adena (Chillicothe, Ohio): photographs and negatives

 

Folder 7:          Adena (Chillicothe, Ohio): silk embroidered table cloth and rosettes for curtains

(Poss Tarpley file)

                        [note: the pattern for this tablecloth is in the oversize box]

 

Folder 8:          Alabama State Capitol: Historic Furnishings Plan (acc. 07x15.2)

 

 

Box 2: project files:

 

Folder 1:          Alabama State House

 

Folders 2-3:     Bragg-Mitchell Mansion (Mobile, Ala.)

(folder 2: acc. 08x104; folder 3: acc. 11x29)

 

Folder 4:          Chambers House (Beaumont, Tex.) (acc. 08x104)

 

Folder 5:          Darnall’s Chance (Upper Marlboro, Md.)

                        [see also oversize box]

 

Folder 6:          Darnall’s Chance (Upper Marlboro, Md.): bed hangings proposal

(Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 7:          Darnall’s Chance (Upper Marlboro, Md.): carpet sample

 

Folder 8:          Delaney, Morgan D. (11x76)

 

Folder 9:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): Historic Furnishings Plan (acc. 07x15.3)

 

Folder 10:        George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): calendar, 1989

 

Folder 11:        George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): checking account

 

Folder 12:        George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): contracts and agreements

 

Folder 13:        George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): correspondence, newspaper clippings, call slips

 

Folder 14:        George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): curtains: details, discussions

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

 

Box 3: project files:

 

Folder 1:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): curtains: notes

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 2:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): elevations of living room, not needed for curtains

 

Folder 3:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): expenses (miscellaneous): paid

 

Folder 4:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): fabric bills, some with samples

 

Folder 5:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): hardware

 

Folder 6:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): master bedroom

 

Folders 7-8:     George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): notes and fabric samples

 

Folder 9:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): opening ceremonies

 

 

Box 4: project files:

 

Folder 1:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): photos and floor plan; report on house [some photos from acc. 13x72]

 

Folder 2:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): project notebook

 

Folder 3:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): pulls

 

Folder 4:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): research and resources

 

Folder 5:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): shades

 

Folder 6:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): silk correspondence

 

Folder 7:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): specifications and notes

 

Folder 8:          George Eastman House (Rochester, NY): trims and fabric samples

 

Folders 9-10:   George Marshall House (“Dodona,” Leesburg, Va.)

 

Folder 11:        George Marshall House (“Dodona,” Leesburg, Va.): articles, inventory

 

 

Box 5: project files:

 

Folder 1:          Henry B. Plant Museum (Tampa, Fla.) (acc. 11x29)

 

Folder 2:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.), 1986-1988, and parlor, 1991 (acc. 11x76; also one drawing is 13x72)

 

Folder 3:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): bedrooms; white-on-white quilt

 

Folder 4:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): best bedroom: white hangings and curtains

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 5:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): best bedroom: white hangings and curtains: edging samples

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 6:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): best bedroom: winter hangings (gold and purple)

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 7:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): “current stuff”

 

Folder 8:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): dining room details and pattern for foot pillow

 

 

Box 6: project files:

 

Folder 1:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): fireboards

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 2:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): Project for the Interiors (general information)

 

Folders 3-4:     Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.):  project notebook

 

Folder 5:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): various projects: notes

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 6:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): various projects: red drapes, crumb cloth, bed steps, lines, wood boxes

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 7:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): wallpaper and borders: bid

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 8:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): wallpaper and borders: notes

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 9:          Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): wallpaper and borders: report

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 10:        Montpelier Mansion (Laurel, Md.): white trapunto quilt for best bedroom

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 11-12:  Pond Spring: General Joe Wheeler house (Alabama) (acc. 08x104)

 

Folders 13:      Reynolda House (Winston-Salem, N.C.) (folder 1 of 2, continues in next box)

 

 

Box 7: project files:

 

Folders 1:        Reynolda House (Winston-Salem, N.C.) (folder 2 of 2, continued from previous box)

 

Folders 2-3:     Riversdale (Prince George’s County, Md.)

 

Folder 4:          Riversdale (Prince George’s County, Md.): grant (acc. 08x104)

 

Folder 5:          Riversdale (Prince George’s County, Md.): photographs and slides

 

Folder 6:          Riversdale (Prince George’s County, Md.): report on construction of wallpaper Poss Tarpley)

 

Folder 7:          Riversdale (Prince George’s County, Md.): wallpaper and dado installation

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 8:          Seale, William (Prince St., Alexandria, Va.): stair hall ceiling (Japanese paper)

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

 

Box 8-A: Project files:

 

Folder 1:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin)

 

Folder 2:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin) (with samples and photographs) (folder 1 of 2, continued in next box)

 

Folder 3:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin) (with samples and photographs) (folder 2 of 2, continued from previous box)

 

Folder 4:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): articles, tour brochures

 

Folder 5:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): dining room

 

Folder 6:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): final report by William Seale

 

Folder 7:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): French stringing of drapery and traverse rods

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Folder 8:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): garden room

 

Folder 9:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): living room and master bedroom

 

Folder 10:        Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): photographs

 

Folder 11:        Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): project notebook

 

 

Box 8-B: Project files:

 

Folder 1:          Ten Chimneys (Wisconsin): Syrie Maugham room

 

Folder 2:          Traveler’s Rest (Nashville, Tenn.)

 

Folder 3:          Traveler’s Rest (Nashville, Tenn.): edging for curtains

                        (Poss Tarpley file)

 

Project files: (William Seale was only peripherally involved with these projects):

 

Folder 4-5:      McLean Gardens (Manager: G. Petsche) (includes 07x15.1 and 11x76)

 

 

Box 9: Project files: (William Seale was only peripherally involved with these projects):

 

Folder 1:          Minogue, Anne (Almodington, Princess Anne County, Md.)

 

Folder 2:          Minogue, Anne (Almodington, Princess Anne County, Md.): photocopies

 

Folder 3:          Minor, Aileen

 

Folder 4:          Posner, Susan

 

Folder 5:          Schwebel, Todd

 

Folder 6:          Strawberry Mansion (Philadelphia)

 

Folder 7:          Wolf, Elizabeth and Hans

 

 

Series II: office and other files; Attingham tours

 

Box 10:

 

Folder 1:          article on Franklin D. Roosevelt

 

Folder 2:          Bed hangings (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 3:          Catoctin Mountain Park: proposal for study (acc. 11x76)

                        [note: the study was published in 1988 as Catoctin Mountain Park: An Administrative History.]

 

Folder 4:          correspondence and other information

 

Folder 5:          Draperies (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 6:          Draperies and curtains: manuals on how to make

 

Folder 7:          Idea and information notebook, 1985

 

Folder 8:          Idea and information notebook, 1985-1987

 

Folder 9:          Idea and information notebook, fall 1987-Dec. 1988

 

Folder 10:        Idea and information notebook, 1989

 

 

Box 11:

 

Folder 1:          Idea and information notebook, 1991

 

Folder 2:          Idea and information notebook, ca. 1993

 

Folder 3:          Idea and information notebook, 1995(?)

 

Folders 4-5:     Idea and information notebook, 1997

 

Folder 6:          Idea and information notebook, 1999

 

Folder 7:          Idea and information notebook, 2004 (acc. 08x104)

 

Folder 8:          journal of European trip, 1991 (acc. 07x15)

 

Folder 9:          Kirkconnell, Barbara: resume, etc.

 

Folder 10:        “Learning to Spin on the Great Wheel,” class paper by Kirkconnell (acc. 08x104)

 

Folder 11:        Lighting (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 12:        office files, 1986

 

 

Box 12:

 

Folder 1:          office files, 1987

 

Folder 2:          office files, 1988

 

Folder 3:          office files, 1989

 

Folder 4:          office files, 1990

 

Folder 5:          office files, 1991 (first trip to Paris and London)

 

Folder 6:          office files, 1992

 

Folder 7:          office files, 1993

 

Folder 8:          office files, 1994

 

Folder 9:          office files, 1995

 

Folder 10:        office files, 1996

 

Folders 11-12:             office files, 1997

 

Folder 13:        office files, 1998

 

Folder 14:        office files, 1999

 

 

Box 13-A:

 

Folder 1:          office files, 2000

 

Folder 2:          office files, 2001

 

Folder 3:          Paint (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 5:          Paints and finishes (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 6:          Passementerie (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 6:          Plastering (acc. 11x76);

                        and Workshop on Historic Interiors: Historic Interior Plaster (acc. 13x72)

 

Folder 7:          record book

 

Folder 8:          Seale, William (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 9:          Seale, William: restoration report on Oakmont Country Club, 1992

 

Folder 10:        Seale, William: The White House (acc. 08x104)

 

Folder 11:        Tarpley, Poss: resume

 

Folder 12:        talks by Kirkconnell (acc. 08x104)

 

Folder 13:        talk: “Curtains and their fabrication,” with slides (acc. 16x60)

 

Folder 14:        “Trois Siecles de Papiers Peints”: photocopy  (acc. 11x76)

                        [paper published by Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, 1967, in French]

 

 

Box 13-B:

 

Folder 1:          Wallpaper (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 2:          Wallpaper: Bradbury & Bradbury (acc. 11x76)

 

 

Box 14: Attingham Summer School, 1993

 

Folder 1:          Attingham Summer School (acc. 11x76)

 

Folder 2:          Attingham Summer School, 1993

 

Folder 3:          Attingham Summer School, 1993: notes

 

Folder 4:          Attingham Summer School, 1993: postcards, brochures, etc.

 

Folder 5:          Attingham Summer School, 1993: negatives (acc. 11x76)

[Note: photos from this tour are in Box 17]

 

 

Guide books to the following properties: Althorp, Arundel Castle, Blenheim Palace, Bolsover Castle, Charlecote Park, Chatsworth, Church of St. Mary the Virgin (Bottesford), Claydon House, Cobbe Collection of Paintings, Cobbe Foundation and Collection of Instruments, Faringdon Collection, Goodwood, Haddon Hall, Hardwick Hall, Hatchlands Park, Kedleston Hall, Petworth House, Polesden Lacey, Royal Pavilion (Brighton), Stowe Landscape Gardens, and Wellington

 

 

Box 15:

 

Folder 1:          American Friends of the Attingham Summer School

 

Folder 2:          Attingham Study Week: Ireland, 2000

 

Folder 3:          Attingham Study Week: Ireland, 2000: brochures, postcards

 

Folder 4:          Attingham Study Week: Ireland, 2000: negatives [photos are in Box 18]

 

Folder 5:          Attingham Study Week: Sweden, 2003

 

Folder 6:          Attingham Study Week: Sweden, 2003: brochures, postcards

 

Folder 7:          Photographs, contact sheets, negatives: Eastman House

 

Folder 8:          Negatives: Montpelier Mansion (Md.)

 

Folder 9:          Negatives: miscellaneous subjects (some identified, some not)

 

Folder 10:        Calendars, 1986, 1994, 1995, 2000-2002 [additional calendars are in oversize box, Box 16]

 

 

Box 16: oversize box

 

Folder 1:          Adena (Ohio): Poss Tarpley’s pattern for roses table covering

 

Folder 2:          Darnall’s Chance (Md.): model for hangings [made-up fabric sample]

 

Folder 3:          Glin Castle (Co. Limerick): reprint of article from Country Life

 

Folder 4:          Marshall House (Va.): model for curtains [made-up fabric sample]

 

Calendars, 1987-1993, 1996-1999, 2004-2005 [additional calendars are in Box 15]

 

Pin made from 33 cent postage stamp featuring Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontaine, who lived at Ten Chimneys

 

Two samples of crochet trim, source unknown

 

 

Box 17: Photographs: Attingham Summer School, 1993 (acc. 07x3)

                        [negatives are in Box 14]

 

 

Box 18: photograph; slides; postcards

 

Includes photos and postcards of Attingham Study Week in Ireland (2000), Paris (1997), Eastman House, Monpelier Mansion, and other trips and places, some identified, some not;

Slides are of Eastman House, McLean Gardens, Montpelier mansion, Natchez, New Orleans, and a few other places

(all slides, and some photos and postcards are from acc. 13x72)

 

 

 

VOLUMES ON SHELF:

 

Abel, Victor Darwin.  Floor and Wall Coverings.  Scranton, Pa.: International Textbook Co., 1939.

 

Callicott, Margaret Law, ed.  Mistress of Riversdale: The Plantation Letters of Rosalie Stier Calvert, 1795-1821.  Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1991.

 

Foster, Agnes.  Making Curtains and Hangings.  New York: McBride & Co., 1915.

 

Hasluck, Paul N., ed.  Upholstery.  New York: Cassell & Co., 1914.

 

Johnson, Craig.  James J. Hill House.  St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1993. (acc. 08x104)

 

Kirkconnell, Barbara M.; Fred Kuss; and Robert E. Kauffman.  Catoctin Mountain Park: An Administrative History.  Contract no. 3055-5-8001.  National Capital Region, National Park Service, February 1988.

 

University of Maryland, College Park.  School of Architecture.  Brunswick, Maryland : downtown revitalization design study, under the direction of David Fogle; conducted by Karl Davis .. [et al., including Barbara M. Kirckconnell] ; with technical assistance from Laurie Putscher.  [College Park, Md.] : University of Maryland, School of Architecture, [1985].  (acc. 11x76)