Visual Resources, Collections

The bulk of the photographic collections in Visual Resources consist of black and white prints and color transparencies taken by staff photographers at Colonial Williamsburg from the 1940s up to the present. They document the exteriors and interiors of buildings in the Historic Area, educational programs, objects located in the Wallace Decorative Arts Museum and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, gardens, hotels and restaurants, Colonial Williamsburg employees at work, special events held at Colonial Williamsburg, and distinguished visitors to Williamsburg.

Visual Resources also houses photographic collections relating to the restoration of Williamsburg in the 1930s. Represented are twenty-six individual collections containing more than 10,000 images consisting of glass plate and sheet film negatives and positive master prints. The photographs in these collections were taken by town residents, Williamsburg Holding Corp. employees, and professional photographers hired on a contract basis. They document Williamsburg before, during, and after its restoration to its 18th-century appearance.

In addition, Visual Resources contains several named collections of archival photographs donated by or purchased from individuals who photographed the Historic Area and the city of Williamsburg.

Durant Collection

One of the most extensive, the Albert Durant Photography Collection, provides a visual record of the African-American community in Williamsburg in the 1940s and 1950s.

Architectural Collection

A photographic record of research undertaken by various architectural historians affiliated with the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation complements the holdings in the Architectural Collections, located in Special Collections.

Postcard Collection

Postcard collections, many of which have been donated to Visual Resources, further document the history of Colonial Williamsburg in the twentieth century.

See some sample images: Street scenes, gardens, buildings, costumed personnel and programs