Audrey Baines was born in Wimbledon, England, in 1927. She earned her B.A. degree in history from the University of Bristol in 1949. She married Ivor Noël Hume and helped him with his archaeological excavations. In 1950, she became an archaeological assistant at the Guildhall Museum in London and worked at several different sites.

In 1957, the Noël Humes joined the staff of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Ivor as Director of Archaeology and Audrey as Curator of Archaeological Collections. She later served as Curator of the Winthrop Rockefeller Archaeology Museum, located at Carter's Grove, and was chairman of the committee that oversaw the decorating of Shield's Tavern, one of Colonial Williamsburg's tavern restaurants. From 1991-1993, she was curator of the Virginia Company Foundation's Roanoke Island excavations. Mrs. Noël Hume was widely recognized as an expert on 17th and 18th century English ceramics.

Audrey Noël Hume wrote several books, including Archaeology and the Colonial Gardener and Food. She published many articles, including one about dating 17th and 18th century tobacco pipes. Before coming to the United States, she had written for Country Life, the Antique Dealer and Collector's Guide, and other publications. She also wrote about animals. Her book about tortoises, terrapins and turtles, published in Britain in 1953, is still considered a classic on the subject.

Mrs. Noël Hume died on August 21, 1993.

While working at the Guildhall Museum in London, in the early 1950s, Audrey Noël Hume found a resource there known as the “Noble Collection.” Working during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a Mr. Noble had amassed a collection of newspaper clippings that related to all aspects of London life. Inspired by this collection and disheartened by the lack of books on London's post-medieval years, Mrs. Noël Hume decided to start her own “Noble Collection.”

She collected magazine articles, newspaper clippings, pamphlets, and some photographs pertaining to archaeology, architecture, art, ceramics, glass, silver, clothing, textiles, jewelry, furniture, historical events and their associated artifacts, etc. In date, topics range from antiquity to the 20th century, but concentrate on the 17th and 18th centuries. Although focusing primarily on Britain and the United States, other countries are also covered.

The Audrey Noël Hume Pictorial Archive, contained in 65 boxes and several bundles of magazines, retains much the same order that it did when it was received. It was a work in progress, and, regrettably, Mrs. Noël Hume died before she was able to neatly arrange all her materials.

Box 1 through Box 18, folder 1, house folders that are labeled with letters. The letters refer to broad categories, such as B for archaeology, C for pre-17th century houses, E for 18th century houses, etc. A key to the meaning of the letters may be found attached to this inventory and in Box 63, folders 1 and 2. Many of these folders contain items that have been numbered. These numbered items have been indexed by topic, and that index is found primarily in boxes 57-60, with some indexing also located in boxes 61 and 62. Folders containing unnumbered items have not been indexed; some of these folders do contain an itemized list of topics covered within the folder. When these lists appear, it has been so noted on the inventory which follows.

The materials in boxes 18-56 are labeled by topical name. Although the materials are on the same subjects, they are arranged in three different groups because of the way that they were originally housed.

Boxes 18-37 contain mostly magazine articles and newspaper clippings. They have been arranged alphabetically by subject. Also included in this group are articles from the Dutch magazine Anteik, which have not been arranged by subject.

Boxes 38-46 contain mostly short articles and pictures which have been clipped out of magazines and glued onto notebook paper. These articles are arranged alphabetically by subject. Some photographs will also be found in these boxes. These materials were once in notebooks or scrapbooks, some of which had volume numbers. These numbers have been listed as part of the name of the folder, when known. The indexes to some of these materials are found in boxes 61-63.

The materials in boxes 47-56 are oversized materials. They have also been arranged alphabetically by topic. Most of these materials are on ceramics or glass, with only a few other subjects covered.

Such indexes to all the above materials as exist may be found in boxes 57-63, folder 7.

Box 63, folders 8-11 contain notes about food and drink in Colonial Williamsburg, possibly gathered for Mrs. Noël Hume's book Food.

Box 64 contains some writings of Audrey Noël Hume, mostly on natural history, another great interest of hers.

The rest of box 64 and most of box 65 hold newspaper clippings on various topics of interest to the Noël Humes. Many are about archaeology in Virginia. There are also files on some miscellaneous topics in box 65.

Also included with the collection are magazines which Mrs. Noël Hume planned to clip and add to her “Noble Collection.” A list of these may be found at the end of this inventory.

None

Copyright restrictions may apply

Gift of Ivor Noël Hume.

OVERVIEW OF THE COLLECTION Repository code: DeWint File name: Col541.xml Abstract: Audrey Noël Hume was Curator of Archaeological Collections at Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and wrote several books and many articles. She collected and organized magazine articles and newspaper clippings about archaeology, decorative arts, and fine arts, mostly dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, and mostly from Great Britain and the United States. Extent: 30 feet Date range: 1950-1993 Related materials: Language: English Winterthur Museum, Garden, and Library Joseph Downs Collection of Manuscripts and Printed Ephemera Winterthur, DE 19732 (302) 888-4853 Audrey Noël Hume Papers Col 541 Creator: Audrey Noël Hume Title: Papers Dates: 1950-1993 Call No.: Col. 541 Acc. No.: 98×5, 99×96 Quantity: 65 boxes plus magazines Location: 33 H-K