About the Trades Catalogs Database
This project ran from 1998 to 2002 in response to a need for images of objects
as expressed by members of the Historic Trades Department at Colonial Williamsburg.
An advisory committee met to discuss what kinds of pictures would be of interest.
For instance, the apothecary mentioned pictures of spectacles, the coachmaker
asked for anything with four wheels, the rural tradesman asked for pictures
of containers, etc. A volunteer carefully perused the eighteenth-century paintings
in auction catalogs for objects listed below. The database contains almost
1000 images.
A search using the primary and secondary subject headings below will yield
the most results, however one can search by keywords—searches for “spectacles”
or “sword” will find some hits.
| Primary Subject Headings |
Secondary Subject Headings |
| Agriculture/Horticulture |
Animals, Containers, Farmers, Gardeners, Outbuildings, Planters, Plants,
Tools and Equipment |
| Household Accessories |
Ceramics, Containers, Furniture, Glass, Kitchen Equipment, Metal Objects
(iron, Brass, Copper), Paintings, Prints, Maps, Pewter, Silver, Textiles
(Bed-hangings, Carpets, Curtains, Floor Cloths), Wallpaper |
| Leisure Activities |
Dance, Dining, Drinking Tea, Beverages, Games and Toys, Music, Taverns,
Theater |
| Trade Activities/Trade Tools |
Apothecary, Barber, Basket-maker, Blacksmith,
Bookbinder, Cabinetmaker, Coach maker, Cooper, Food-ways, Foundry, Grocer,
Gunsmith, Harness-maker, Milliner, Printer, Shoemaker, Silversmith, Tailor,
Weaver, Wheelwright, Wigs and Wigmaker. |
| Transportation |
Carriages, Carts, Wagons, Marine, Containers |
| Weapons |
weapons by name: sword, gun, cannon, etc. |
| Wearing Apparel |
Accessories, Children’s, Men’s, Servants, Women’s |
To search the database, enter a keyword or search term. You will see a list
of hits which match the term. Click on an individual item to show the full
record, which includes the following fields:
| Field |
Description |
| Auction Catalog Date |
Date of catalog |
| Auction Catalog Name |
Name of catalog |
| First Name |
First name of artist |
| Last Name |
Last name of artist |
| Painter Date |
Date(s) artist was active |
| Photo Copy # |
Internal tracking number |
| Photo Copy Subject Style |
Primary subject heading (see above) |
| Subjects |
Secondary subject heading (see above) |
| Title |
Title if given |
| Title Date |
Date if given |
The trade catalogs are available in the stacks of the John D. Rockefeller
Jr. Library. Please ask a Reference Librarian for help if you
cannot locate the issue that you want.
The following trade auction catalogs were included in this project:
- Christies, 1990 - April 1998
- Sothebys, 1990 - April 1998
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