Archives of American Art

Research material on William and Thomas Birch

Summary

Collection ID:
AAA.bircwill2
Creators:
Birch family
Dates:
circa 1799-1990
bulk 1940-1970
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.4 Linear feet
Repository:

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
Biographical material, writings, scrapbooks, correspondence, photographs, artwork, printed material and miscellany relating to William and Thomas Birch.
Scope and Contents
Biographical material includes research material on the Birch coat of arms; notes, including two scrapbooks, concerning the Birch family genealogy compiled by David Walter Harry and Thaddeus Harry, ancestors of William and Thomas Birch. Writings include thesis notes by Doris Jean Creer on William and Thomas Birch. Photographs are of Birch family members and works of art by William and Thomas Birch.
Scope and Contents
Artwork includes lithographs of oil paintngs by William and Thomas Birch, including Girard's Bank (1800), Second Street (1799), and If that Fellow Wants to Fight, We Won't Disappoint Him (1812); one black and white engraving and one aquatint of Bethlehem, Pa (circa 1820) by artist William Strickland based on an oil painting by Thomas Birch, and two black and white engravings and one aquatint of View of the Water Gap and Columbia Glass Works, River Delaware (circa 1820) by William Strickland based on an oil painting by Thomas Birch.
Scope and Contents
Printed material include exhibition catalogs and books, newspaper clippings and magazine articles. Also included is documentation of a donation of William Birch's paint box to the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Enamel painters, miniaturists, engravers, etchers, publishers; Philadelphia, Pa. William Russell Birch (1755-1834) is best known for his miniature and enamel portraits and this series of Views of Philadelphia which he worked on with his son Thomas Birch (1779-1851) and published in 1799-1800.

Administration

Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated in 2008 by Cindy Keene, daughter of David Walter Harry.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Scrapbooks Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Engravers -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Miniature painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Painters -- Pennsylvania -- Philadelphia Occupation Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Strickland, William, 1787-1854 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Birch, Thomas, 1779-1851 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Birch, William Russell, 1755-1834 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Creer, Doris Jean Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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