William C. Steuart photograph collection
Abstract
This collection contains over 600 images of sail and steam ships and scenes of the Baltimore waterfront, as well as related ephemera.
Dates
- 1847-1960
Creator
- Steuart, William Calvert, 1883-1977 (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The reproduction of materials in this collection may be subject to copyright restrictions. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine and satisfy copyright clearances or other case restrictions when publishing or otherwise distributing materials found in the collections. For more information visit the MCHC’s Rights and Permissions page.
Biographical / Historical
William Calvert Steuart (1883-1977) began his career at age 17, as an apprentice draftsman for Detrick and Hervey, a metal-working machinery firm. He worked for Consolidated Gas and Electric Company (later Baltimore Gas and Electric) from 1926 until retirement in 1948.
Steuart was well known in Maryland for his hobby of building ship models. He spent much of his childhood on the Baltimore waterfront, where explored ships docked there and interacted with the watermen who made their living on the water. He studied the ships, particularly the sail ships, meticulously. He began building his ship models in during his late 30’s. His models were extremely precise replicas, which were built without using any prefabricated parts. In 1962, he gave his large collection of model ships to the Maryland Historical Society. He also took hundreds of photographs of ships that passed through the Baltimore Harbor
Extent
1.42 Linear Feet (1 full Hollinger box; 2 small boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Arrangement
The collection is arranged in eight series by topic: Ships, Cargo, Shipyards and Ship Construction and Repair, Ship Parts, Scenes, Planes, Advertisements, Planes, and Ephemera. These are categorized further in to subseries by medium: 4”x5” and Smaller Negatives, Glass Negatives, 5”x8” and Larger Negatives, Photographic Prints, and Hand-Colored Photographs. Items within each subseries where then organized alphabetically. Ships are identified by name, type, and owner when possible.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of William C. Steuart, 1970.
Scope and Contents
The William C. Steuart Photograph collection contains over 600 images of sail and steam ships and scenes of the Baltimore waterfront, as well as related ephemera. A majority of the ships photographed were Baltimore-built or operated out the city from the Pratt and Light Street wharves. Many images of the ships that ran on Baltimore’s steam lines are included in the collection. Dock scenes of boats and workers loading and unloading cargo and ship construction and repair are other major themes of Steuart’s photography. A significant amount of maritime-related ephemera is also a part of the collection.
Creator
- Steuart, William Calvert, 1883-1977 (Person)
- Title
- Guide to the William C. Steuart photograph collection
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- Lara Westwood
- Date
- 2014-05
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- English
Revision Statements
- 2020-01-24: Manually entered into ArchivesSpace by Mallory Herberger.
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org