Ellen Shipman Garden Photography Collection

Object Details

sova.aag.shp

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. The lantern slides were housed in a slotted box with the title 'Harvard University' written on the inside of the cover. None of the photographic images were captioned or dated; the garden plans specify the client and location.

Provenance: Taylor Belcher, III and Anthony W. Belcher donated the collection to the Archives of American Gardens in 2021.

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.

Extent: .48 Cubic feet (3 boxes, film negatives, glass plate negatives, glass lantern slides, and autochromes)

Citation: Smithsonian Institution, Archives of American Gardens, Ellen Shipman garden photography collection.

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

Rights: 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.

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.

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.'

Restrictions: 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.

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

AAG.SHP

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AAG.SHP

AAG

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .

There are restrictions for re-using this image. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page .