Skip to main content

Middleton family artwork

 Collection
Identifier: Mss 0001

Collection Overview

Collection consists of assorted architectural drawings, ink sketches, pencil drawings, and watercolors attributed to John Izard Middleton, Henry Middleton, and Thomas Walker as well as additional designs created for Williams Middleton by Fred J. Smith. Sets one through six contain measured architectural drawings attributed to John Izard Middleton with dates and watermarks ranging from 1808 to 1813. Five country houses and one greenhouse are depicted in these twenty five drawings. All buildings are in the Adamesque style and none of the designs is known to have been executed. Sets one through three are initialed "J.I.M." Set four is neither initialed nor dated, but has the same format, ink with watercolor, and is on the same paper as some of the drawings in sets one through three with watermarks from 1808 to 1809. Sets five through six are in pencil on paper by different manufacturers, though some are also watermarked 1809. All six sets appear to be by the same architect and to have notations in the same handwriting. Set seven contains an elevation for Adamesque flanking wings to an existing country house by Thomas Walker. The design is dated 1809, and the original house was constructed circa 1790. Set eight consists of four pencil sketches including one marked "Plan for altering and adding to Middleton Place. Front View. W. M. 1864." The initials are those of the owner of the plantation at the time, Williams Middleton, and the drawings relate to others prepared in 1863 by a builder Fred J. Smith. The main house would have been more than doubled in size, and it and the wings would have been renovated to resemble 17th century Dutch architecture. Set nine contains miscellaneous drawings including designs for a stable, a gate, and a watercolor perspective view of a street in Cambridge, England. Set ten contains two maps "drawn by Henry Middleton Jun[io]r. 1867."

Dates

  • Creation: 1809-1867

Creator

Language of Material

Materials in English.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Copyright Notice

The nature of the College of Charleston's archival holdings means that copyright or other information about restrictions may be difficult or even impossible to determine despite reasonable efforts. Special Collections claims only physical ownership of most archival materials.

The materials from our collections are made available for use in research, teaching, and private study, pursuant to U.S. copyright law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source.

Biographical Note

John Izard Middleton (1785-1849) was born at Middleton Place to Arthur Middleton (1742-1787) and Mary Izard (1747-1814). An amateur painter and archaeologist, he was referred to as "The First American Classical Archaeologist." Williams Middleton (1809-1883), son of South Carolina Governor Henry Middleton (1771-1846), served as an attaché to the American legion in Russia and resided at Middleton Place after inheriting it in 1846. Williams and his wife, Susan Pringle Smith (1822-1900) had two children, Elizabeth Middleton (1849-1915) and Henry Middleton (1851-1932).

Extent

1.5 linear feet (1 flat box)

Abstract

Collection consists of assorted architectural drawings, ink sketches, pencil drawings, and watercolors attributed to John Izard Middleton, Henry Middleton, and Thomas Walker as well as several sketches of additions to Middleton Place, the family seat located along the Ashley River near Charleston, South Carolina.

Collection Arrangement

Materials are described at the folder level.

Alternate Form of Materials

Digital reproductions available online in the Lowcountry Digital Library.

Related Material

Related materials in Special Collections include the Nathaniel Russell Middleton papers, 1823-1881 (Mss 0032).

Processing Information

Processed by Gene Waddell, 1998.

Title
Inventory of the Middleton Family Artwork, 1809-1867
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by: Gene Waddell; machine-readable finding aid created by: Joshua Minor
Date
2016
Description rules
Dacs
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections
College of Charleston Libraries
66 George Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424
(843) 953-8016
(843) 953-6319 (Fax)