• CASE 1—WHAT IF...?

• CASE 2 —PHOTOGRAPHY ARRIVES

• CASE 3—VISIBLE REMNANTS

• CASE 4 —ATTITUDES TOWARDS THE PAST

• CASE 5—PEELING BACK THE LAYERS

• CASE 6—TIMELESS ACTIVITIES

• CASE 7 —ENCROACHMENT OF URBANIZATION

• CASE 8 —COLONIAL SITES DURING THE CIVIL WAR

• CASE 9—EVOLUTION OF HISTORIC SITES

• CASE 10 —RESTORATIONS

• CASE 11—RE-ENACTMENTS

• CASE 12 —HENRY WHEELER'S EYE PT. I

• CASE 13—HENRY WHEELER'S EYE PT. II

• CASE 14 —HENRY WHEELER'S EYE PT. III

• CASE 15 —HENRY WHEELER'S EYE PT. IV

• CASE 16—DOCUMENTING OF CONDITION

• COLONIAL AMERICANA TODAY

• EXHIBITS PAGE

• CLEMENTS LIBRARY

Colonial Photography—Viewfinder on the Past

Documentation of Condition

Case 16

As Henry W. Wheeler's images are tinged with 19th century romanticism, the photographs of historian Howard Preston have the cool detachment of the 20th century. Wheeler at his best recorded a structure in its place; Preston focused on material condition. Preston's photographs may be coldly analytical in spirit, but they are detailed documentation of the condition of colonial Newport in the early days of the historic preservation movement.

Many of these structures are still standing and the views of Thames Street and the Courthouse Square appear very similar today. There are some key differences. Many of the houses, now cherished, were vacant and shuttered. Weathered siding has been replaced, and faded bare boards have been covered with gleaming paint. Overhead electrical lines and window air conditioners today clutter the streetscape and interrupt the unity of the facades.

Howard Preston. State House, Newport. Gelatin silver print. Ca. 1900. The Declaration of Independence was read to the citizenry from the steps of the State House in 1776.

Howard Preston. Ballisters from William Coddington's Home at Newport (1641). Gelatin silver print. Ca. 1900.