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• Collection: Guide Records

• Title: Bulfinch architectural drawing archive (Library of Congress)
• Other Title: Charles Bulfinch architectural drawing archive
  Charles Bulfinch archive
  Bulfinch collection
• Creator(s): Bulfinch, Charles, 1763-1844,
• Date Created/Published: 1787-1860, bulk 1787-1832.
• Medium: whole collection 138 items.
  135 chiefly architectural drawings ; various sizes, most in folders 89 x 123 cm. or smaller.
  3 volumes (text, 51 architectural drawings, 2 prints); 40 x 25 cm. or smaller.
• Summary: Primarily architectural drawings by Charles Bulfinch, Architect of the Capitol (1818-1829), for and of residential buildings, government buildings, monuments, and churches in Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Maine, and unidentified locations. Among the designs represented in the archive are the U.S. Capitol, the White House, and the First Unitarian Church in Washington, D.C. and the Maine State House in Augusta, Maine. Materials document various phases of the design process, from preliminary and presentation drawings to working drawings. The archive also includes some landscape drawings, engineering drawings, design drawings, study drawings, and perspective studies, as well as architectural drawings formerly attributed to Bulfinch.
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
  
• Access Advisory: Architectural drawings; Served by appointment only.
• Call Number: Guide Record [P&P]
• Repository: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/pp.print
• Notes:
  • Arrangement: Organized into 59 groups (called UNITs or LOTs), which are usually based on separate building projects. Arrangement: Arranged numerically according to the staff-assigned UNIT or LOT number. Each UNIT and LOT is cataloged in a separate record. Search for the heading "Charles Bulfinch Archive (Library of Congress)" to see catalog records for the entire archive.
  • Collection title devised by Library staff.
  • Specific media or processes represented include ink, watercolor, wash, graphite, colored ink, photomechanical print, and stat.
  • Permanent deposit; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 1935.
  • Charles Bulfinch's involvement in the field of architecture began when it was practiced by gentleman amateurs and spanned its transition to professional architects. A representative sampling of the drawings he produced, spanning his entire career, are represented in the Charles Bulfinch Archive (Library of Congress), the principal repository of his work. Born into an affluent Boston family in 1763, he was educated at Harvard College. Following his graduation, he traveled in Europe. Financial reversals required Bulfinch to earn a living, which he did primarily as a politician and civil servant and secondarily as an architect. Bulfinch spent most of his life in Boston, where he had a significant influence on the architecture. His projects there include Hollis Street Church, Tontine Crescent, Massachusetts State House, and New North (now St. Stephen's) Church. In 1818 Bulfinch moved to Washington, D.C. to assume the position of Architect of the Capitol. During the 12 years that Bulfinch lived in Washington, D.C., he worked on finishing the Capitol, building the First Unitarian Church and a federal penitentiary for the city, as well as designing the Maine State House, his final commission.
  • Finding aid is available online https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/eadpnp.pp021001
  • A preliminary paper finding aid is available in the Prints & Photographs Reading Room.
• Subjects:
  • United States Capitol (Washington, D.C.)--1810-1830.
  • White House (Washington, D.C.)--1810-1830.
  • Dwellings--1780-1860.
  • Dwellings--Massachusetts--1810-1820.
  • Government facilities--Washington (D.C.)--1790-1850.
  • Government facilities--Maine--1820-1830.
  • Banks--Pennsylvania--1790-1850.
  • Monuments & memorials--1810-1850.
  • Churches--Washington (D.C.)--1810-1830.
  • Churches--Massachusetts--1800-1840.
  • Churches--Maine--1800-1810.
  • Churches--1790-1860.
  • Stoves--1790-1860.
• Format:
  • Architectural drawings--1790-1860.
  • Design drawings--1790-1860.
  • Engineering drawings--1790-1860.
  • Landscape architecture drawings--1790-1850.
  • Studies--1790-1860.
• Collections:
  • Guide Records
• Bookmark This Record:
     https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/95858243/

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The Library of Congress generally does not own rights to material in its collections and, therefore, cannot grant or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute the material. For further rights information, see "Rights Information" below and the Rights and Restrictions Information page ( https://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/rights.html ).

• Rights Advisory: No known restrictions on publication.
• Reproduction Number: ---
• Call Number: Guide Record [P&P]
• Medium: whole collection 138 items.
  135 chiefly architectural drawings ; various sizes, most in folders 89 x 123 cm. or smaller.
  3 volumes (text, 51 architectural drawings, 2 prints); 40 x 25 cm. or smaller.

Generally, Guide Records describe large groups of items from which a selection must be made. The individual items in the group may or may not be represented online.

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• Call Number: Guide Record [P&P]
• Medium: whole collection 138 items.
  135 chiefly architectural drawings ; various sizes, most in folders 89 x 123 cm. or smaller.
  3 volumes (text, 51 architectural drawings, 2 prints); 40 x 25 cm. or smaller.
• Access Advisory: Architectural drawings; Served by appointment only.

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