Archives of American Gardens

Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection, circa 1925-1940

Summary

Collection ID:
AAG.SHP
Creators:
Shipman, Ellen Biddle, 1869-1950
Dates:
circa 1903-1950
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
.48 Cubic feet
3 boxes
film negatives, glass plate negatives, glass lantern slides, and autochromes
Repository:

Content Description

Content Description
The Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection consists of (350) film and glass plate negatives, glass lantern slides, and autochromes that document over fifty gardens designed by landscape architect Ellen Shipman. The negatives copy photographs and plans from Shipman's office and are not the original 'masters.'

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is arranged geographically by state, according to the location of the garden.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Ellen (Biddle) Shipman (1869-1950) was a pioneering landscape architect who designed hundreds of gardens throughout the United States from the late 1910s thoughout the 1940s. She was mentored by architect and landscape architect Charles A Platt and gained professional experience in his office. Shipman made a point of hiring women to work in her Manhattan office. Most of her commissions were for private clients, though she did design several public spaces including school campuses, library grounds, and memorials.

Administration

Sponsor
Cataloging of the Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection was made possible with support from the Smithsonian American Women's History Initiative.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Taylor Belcher, III and Anthony W. Belcher donated the collection to the Archives of American Gardens in 2021.
Existence and Location of Copies
The Ellen McGowan Biddle Shipman papers, 1914-1946, Collection Number 1259 in the Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections at Cornell University Library include copies of some of the images in this collection.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
Access to original archival materials by appointment only. Researcher must submit request for appointment in writing. Certain items may be restricted and not available to researchers. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Conditions Governing Use
Archives of American Gardens encourages the use of its archival materials for non-commercial, educational and personal use under the fair use provision of U.S. copyright law. Use or copyright restrictions may exist. It is incumbent upon the researcher to ascertain copyright status and assume responsibility for usage. All requests for duplication and use must be submitted in writing and approved by Archives of American Gardens. Please direct reference inquiries to the Archives of American Gardens: aag@si.edu.
Preferred Citation
Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Ellen Shipman garden photography collection.

Related Materials
Cornell University Library's Division of Rare and Manuscript Collections includes the Ellen McGowan Biddle Shipman papers, 1914-1946, Collection Number 1259.

More Information

General

General
About half of the negatives were originally housed in paper sleeves, most of which were labelled with the client name. The rest were in unlabelled boxes and account for most of the unidentified gardens in the collection. None of the photographic images were captioned or dated; the garden plans specify the client and location.


Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Gardens -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

Archives of American Gardens
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Business Number: Phone: 202-633-5840
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aag@si.edu