Pamela C. and Lammot du Pont Copeland family photographs
Creation: 1810-1994Abstract
Pamela Cunningham Copeland (1906-2001) and Lammot du Pont Copeland (1905-1983) were active in the land conservation movement, cultural institutions (including both the Hagley and Winterthur Museums), and local civic and philanthropic work. The collection contains photographs of Pamela and Lammot du Pont Copeland and family members. Many of the pictures document the couple's various activities and philanthropic endeavors.
Dates
- Creation: 1810-1994
Creator
- Copeland, Pamela C. (Pamela Cunningham), 1906-2001 (Person)
- Copeland, Lammot du Pont, 1905-1983 (Person)
Extent
3.5 Linear Feet
Physical Description
563 photographic prints : b&w ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller. 3 photographic prints : b&w ; 11 x 14 in. or smaller. 74 photographic prints : color ; 8 x 10 in. or smaller. 79 photographic prints : cartes de visite ; 4 x 2.5 in. 42 photographic prints : cabinet photographs ; 6.5 x 4.25 in. 7 photographic prints : tintypes ; 3.5 x 2.5 in. or smaller. 3 photographic prints : stereographs ; 3.25 x 6.75 in. 1 photographic print : cyanotype ; 1.5 x 2 in. 10 slides ; 35mm. 8 negatives : b&w ; 3.5 x 5.5 in. or smaller. 9 engravings ; 7.5 x 10.75 in. 3 prints ; 10 x 12 in. or smaller. 8 albums containing 1397 photographic prints ; 10.5 x 11 in. or smaller.
Biographical Note
Pamela Cunningham Copeland (1906-2001) and Lammot du Pont Copeland (1905-1983) were active in the land conservation movement, cultural institutions (including both the Hagley and Winterthur Museums), and local civic and philanthropic work.
Pamela Cunningham Copeland was born in Litchfield, Connecticut, on May 5, 1906, the daughter of Seymour and Stephanie Whitney Cunningham. She attended several boarding schools and graduated from the Knox School in Cooperstown, New York, in 1924. After graduation, she studied voice in New York City and took lessons at the Julliard School. In January 1929, she went to Paris to study voice and while there met Lammot du Pont Copeland.
Lammot du Pont Copeland was born in Christiana Hundred, Delaware, the only child of Charles and Louisa du Pont Copeland and a great-great-grandson of company founder E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Company. He graduated from Harvard in 1928 with a degree in chemistry and joined the DuPont Company at its Fairfield, Connecticut, plant in 1929.
The Copelands were married on February 1, 1930, and had three children: Lammot, Jr., Louisa d'Andelot Copeland, and Gerret van Sweringen Copeland. Lammot du Pont Copeland was transferred to the company's Wilmington headquarters in 1935, and the family settled on a 250-acre estate, Mount Cuba, which was completed in 1937.
Mrs. Copeland in particular has received many awards in horticulture and been active in historic preservation, most notably in the National Society of Colonial Dames' restoration of Gunston Hall and as a member of committees overseeing the preservation of the White House and the increase of its collection of historic art and artifacts. Mrs. Copeland was the co-author of "The Five George Masons" and the author of a memoir, "Recollections of Pamela Cunningham Copeland" describing her childhood in Litchfield. She died on January 25, 2001.
Scope and Content
The collection contains photographs of Pamela and Lammot du Pont Copeland and family members. Many of the pictures document the couple's various activities and philanthropic interests.
A large portion of the collection consists of portraits and other photographs of numerous family members, particularly the Cunninghams, Copelands, and du Ponts, spanning the early 1800s through the 1990s. Other families pictured in the collection include Chester, Coit, Knickerbacker, Lincoln, Orr, Shattuck, Sprague, Swearingen, Tribou, Walker, Wallace, and Whitney. In addition to the many portraits of people, there are photographs of family homes, birthdays, weddings, anniversaries, gravestones, and trips. In particular, several albums and scrapbooks include photographs of the school and leisure activities of Pamela Copeland and her Cunningham siblings, as well as trips to Europe and Morocco. Photographs from a 1929 trip Charles and Louisa du Pont Copeland took to France show Bois-des-Fosses and Chateau d'Andelot, du Pont ancestral homes in France. There are also photographs of Litchfield, Connecticut, and a photograph of the Troy-Waterford Bridge in Connecticut, 1881, which had been owned by the Knickerbacker family.
The collection also contains some photographs related to Lammot du Pont Copeland's career with the DuPont Company, including an office bridal shower, various meetings, and an album documenting the company's 150th anniversary celebration in 1952. In addition, there are many photographs of activities related to various organizations that the Copelands were involved with, such as the Gunston Hall Board of Regents, the Delaware Safety Council, Harbill Associates, Tastevin Society, and the Walpole Society. There are also photographs related to the philanthropic interests of the Copelands, including the White House Preservation Fund, the Chesapeake Bay Center for Field Biology, and Historic Red Clay Valley. Many photographs show one or both of the Copelands accepting awards and honorary degrees. There are also autographed photographs of Pamela Copeland meeting President Carter in 1978 and President Reagan in 1983. Miscellaneous subjects in the collection include a visit with King Baudouin of the Belgians; the Mt. Cuba bridge being moved by helicopter in 1970; a cabinet that once belonged to Lavoisier; and photographs from the play "Beyond Recognition" by James du Pont.
Language of Materials
English
Additional Description
Separated Material
Copeland Family Papers (Accession 2203), Manuscripts and Archives Department, Hagley Museum and Library
Subjects
Related Names
Subject
- Copeland family (Family)
- Du Pont family (Family)
- E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company (Organization)
Finding Aid & Administrative Information
- Title:
- Pamela C. and Lammot du Pont Copeland family photographs
- Description rules:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description:
- English
- Script of description:
- Latin
Repository Details
Repository Details
Part of the Audiovisual Collections Repository
