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Abbie Ann Stimson Purcell photographs and scrapbooks, approximately 1853-1945

Overview of the Collection

Collector
Purcell, Abbie Ann Stimson
Title
Abbie Ann Stimson Purcell photographs and scrapbooks
Dates
approximately 1853-1945 (inclusive)
Quantity
28 glass plate negatives, 36 photographs, and 3 scrapbooks (4 boxes)
Collection Number
PH1538
Summary
Glass plate copy negatives of the Stimson and Baillargeon families, and photographs of Abbie Ann Stimson (Purcell) and family members, professional photography by Abbie Ann Stimson (Purcell), baby book, scrapbooks from European trips.
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Entire collection can be viewed on the Libraries' Digital Collections website. Permission of Visual Materials curator required to view originals. Contact Special Collections for more information.

Request at UW

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

Abbie Ann Stimson Purcell is a daughter of Abbie Baillargeon and Harold Clarke Stimson. She was born at Hollywood Farm (in present-day Woodinville, Washington) on August 1st, 1916. Stimson was raised between Hollywood Farm and Queen Anne Hill in Seattle, and her siblings were Mary and Virginia. Abbie Ann moved to the Bay Area to attend Miss Wallace’s School in Piedmont, California, and went on to study journalism and University of Southern California from 1936 to 1938. Just before graduating, in 1938, Abbie and some of her friends went to Europe where they hoped to travel for about a year. The Spanish Civil War broke out, and though she wanted to stay and cover it as a journalist, she was denied access since it was considered too dangerous for a woman. She was sent for by her father, and returned along from Le Havre to New York with other refugees on the Queen Mary 1939. Presumably, Abbie’s journalistic ambitions were tempered by this experience, and she enrolled in The Art Center School of Photography in Pasadena. She was a student of Ed Kaminski and Ansel Adams, and her work shows their influence. Her early professional work is mostly interiors and industrial landscapes. In the 1940s, Abbie Ann settled in Inverness California, and was married to Steward Purcell of Fresno, California. Abbie Ann was a professional photographer throughout her life, and had her own studio located in Fresno, California. A poster that she created from her photography was featured in the “Artists for Victory” show at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1942. Abbie Ann created a postcard company in the mid 60s, and continued working as a professional photographer (primarily in northern California) until her death in 1988 (at the age of 72).

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Content Description

Glass plate negatives of the Stimson and Baillargeon families, and photographs of Abbie Ann Stimson (Purcell) and family members, professional photography by Abbie Ann Stimson (Purcell), baby book, scrapbooks from European trips.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Any copyrights belonging to the donor have been transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

Donor: Ann Read, May 9, 2011.

Processing Note

Processed by Melanie Kay; processing completed in 2018. Originally accessioned as PH2012-004.

Separated Materials

Material Described Separately:

Abbie Ann Stimson Purcell Papers (Collection No. 5634)

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Detailed Description of the Collection

 

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Photography--Washington (State)--History--Sources
  • Visual Materials Collections (University of Washington)

Personal Names

  • Baillargeon, John A.,  -1950--Family--Photographs
  • Purcell, Abbie Ann Stimson--Archives
  • Purcell, Abbie Ann Stimson--Family--Photographs
  • Purcell, Abbie Ann Stimson--Photographs
  • Stimson, Harold Clarke--Photographs

Corporate Names

  • Abraham Lincoln (Ship)--Photographs

Family Names

  • Stimson family--Photographs

Geographical Names

  • Europe--Photographs
  • Europe--Photographs--20th century


2012 (Last modified: 12/1/2023)

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