Sabina Elliott Wells Photographs (Group 5)

Photograph

-

Historic Charleston Foundation

1: River

1: River

Name/Title

Sabina Elliott Wells Photographs (Group 5)

Entry/Object ID

2006.016.07.5

Description

Thirty-four B&W photographs (scans of negatives) of river scenes, possibly Sliding Rock (NC), Chimney Rock (NC), mountains, dwellings probably in NC (Flat Rock, Cashiers, Whiteside) including Argyle at Flat Rock, a water mill and aqueduct, a couple (man and woman) standing by the river, open fields, and an observation tower. Scans of silver nitrate negatives (discarded). Grouped here as the negatives had been organized.

Collection

HCF Image Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2006.016.

Source or Donor

Ray, Cheryl

Acquisition Method

Gift

Credit Line

In Memory of John D. Doran

Made/Created

Artist

Wells, Sabina Elliott, 1876-1943

Date made

1898 - 1899

Lexicon

LOC Thesaurus for Graphic Materials

Men, Footpaths, Trees, Aqueducts, Waterfalls, Caves, Rocks, Meadows, Rivers, Couples, Observation towers, Water mills, Mountains

Search Terms

Lowcountry Digital Library, Granite, Chimney Rock (N.C.), Flat Rock (Henderson County, N.C.)--Buildings, structures, etc., Dwellings--North Carolina--Flat Rock (Henderson County), Architecture--North Carolina--Flat Rock, Forests and fields

Dimensions

Dimension Notes

File also contains prints of the photos, most measuring 1.5"x2" (in sleeves).

Location

Location

Container

PhotoBox 13

Shelf

AV Materials

Room

Margaretta P. Childs Archives

Building

Missroon House

Category

Permanent

Date

February 7, 2023

Relationships

Related Entries

Notes

2006.016.07, 2006.016.07.1, 2006.016.07.2, 2006.016.07.3, 2006.016.07.4, 2013.003.10

Provenance

Notes

The donor did not know how the negatives of photographs taken by Sabina E. Wells came into the possession of Mr. Doran. They were in five Charleston Museum envelopes, with handwritten notes as to contents on each envelope, including that "S.A. [sic] Wells of 44 S. Battery" took the photos 1899-1900; also noted was that that they were a gift of Anna Rutledge [gift to Charleston Museum or gift to John Doran?]. Early scans made of the negatives at the time of the donation were of poor quality. In June 2009, the negatives were re-scanned by Celeste Wiley (Charleston Archive, CCPL) and negatives were discarded due to combustibility.

Copyright

Copyright Details

Public domain.

General Notes

Note

Notes: High resolution scans of all photographs are on the WellsNegativesDVD. This record represents the grouping of photos as arranged in Envelope #5 in which the negatives came. Per Celeste Wiley, photo archivist, 2006: Probably taken with an early Brownie camera (Pocket Brownie #102), silver nitrate film. Argyle at Flat Rock identified by Langdon Edmunds Oppermann (6/26/09), with this information: "It was built starting in 1828 (or so) and finished ca. 1837 by Judge Mitchell King of Charleston, and was one of the first Flat Rock summer houses. King and others “found” Flat Rock while looking for a route for a proposed railroad connecting Charleston’s port with the Ohio Valley. I’ve attached a word doc with photos showing the house before (ca. 1907) and after. It was changed pretty drastically, but unfortunately wasn’t alone. There were 7 or 8 houses we know of that had significant Gothic details. All but 2 were remodeled, some in the first decade of 20th C (Richard S. Smith etc.) and others in the great be-columning of the next few decades. We don’t know what Argyle looked like before its Gothic phase. Argyle is the only house in Flat Rock still in the family that built it, and because it has passed down through sons, even the name is the same. Alex King of Atlanta owns it today, but unfortunately he hasn’t been able to keep it up. It has the most amazing group of outbuildings. About 15 of them were still standing a few years ago. I’ve included a photo of a row of them—an unusual row as you can see. Other outbuildings are “fancier,” including a wonderful library that burned about 10 years ago and a 2-story servants’ house still there."

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

June 2, 2009

Updated By

sferguson@historiccharleston.org

Update Date

July 17, 2023