Documentary Source Material

Description

This series contains photographs, correspondence, clippings, articles, and research notes on an eclectic array of decorative arts topics. While the title "Documentary Source Material," which stems from Nina Fletcher Little's labels, might suggest a focus on archival or primary source research, in fact these files do not vary greatly in content from Nina Fletcher Little's other research files. The wide variety of subjects covered in this series includes room interiors; furniture and objects related to tea service and other beverage service; flower vases; bed, window, and wall hangings; upholstery; and picture frames and the practice of picture hanging. These decorative arts related topics overlap with some of Little's other research files, particularly the Furniture series, the Sculpture series, and the China series.

The papers were found arranged in two letterboxes. The archival arrangement is based on this original order, with subseries for each of the two letterboxes. Each box contained several folders of papers; Nina Fletcher Little created some of these folders, while other folders appeared to be the sole creation of Selina Fletcher Little. The folders in "Letterbox I" were loose in the box, while the folders in "Letterbox II" were sorted into several alphabetical dividers. The organizational efforts of Selina Fletcher Little were evident through her post-it notes, paperclips, and edits made to the box labels and the indices.

While the papers were removed from the letterboxes in order to provide archival housing, their exact arrangement has been preserved. The actual letterboxes, located at the end of the collection, now contain only the alphabetical dividers, though they also feature handwritten indices on the inside cover.